The Beggar's Opera

by John Gay

seen at Farnham Maltings on 27 January 2017

This comic ballad opera from 1728 was presented in modern dress by the Farnham Amateur Operatic Society directed by Heather Legat. A small orchestra directed by Diana Vivian provided the musical accompaniment.

It's a curious piece, satirising the Italian operatic style so popular in early 18th century London by allotting operatic arias to criminals and whores, the arias in many cases being based on popular ballad tunes. Spoken dialogue replaces the recitatives common at the time. The result is that a sordid tale of prostitution, highway robbery and the corrupt management of both crimes and arrests is invested with often quite ravishing tunes, most of which vanish before they can be properly appreciated (the arias are very short). A ridiculous reprieve 'by popular demand' rounds off the story just when its logic leads one to suppose that Macheath, the principal highwayman and object of several women's affections, will be executed. This too is a joke at the expense of Italian opera conventions.

In this production the setting was wisely modernised, but even so it must be admitted that the ladies of FAOS are not really comfortable playing a group of prostitutes. However, the chorus singing was accomplished, and both Polly Peachum and Macheath had fine voices. Some of the dialogue fell flat - the verbosity of 18th century prose is not easy to manage on stage, and the targets of its satire are long gone so that only the general gist of the joke survives.

It was perhaps an odd choice for an amateur production, though it does provide opportunities for a wide number of soloists as many of the characters have at least one aria to sing.