Gay/Britten: The Beggar's Opera (1963)

Music

A huge success at its first performance in 1728 John Gay's The Beggar's Opera satirized the conventions of Italian opera, using popular tunes to tell the story of rogues and criminals. With his distinctive musical arrangements at its heart, Britten's 1948 adaptation was a significant revision, amounting to a new twentieth-century opera. The BBC film, originally broadcast in 1963, feature a superb cast of English singers..

Cast

The Beggar
The Manager of the Company/Mat of the Mint
Mrs. Trapes
Jenny Diver
Ben Budge
Tom Tipple
Crook-finger'd Jack
Harry Paddington
Dolly Trull
Mrs. Vixen
The Stage Manager/Slippery Sam
Mrs Slammekin
Suky Tawdry
Molly Brazen
Filch/Wat Dreary
Mrs. Peachum
Polly Peachum
Captain Macheath
Lucy Lockit

Crew

Set Decoration
Original Music Composer
Original Music Composer