Beggar's Opera, The

Ballad opera, first produced at the Theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, England, on 29 January 1728, consisting of a play by John Gay interspersed with songs. The music, popular tunes of the day but for the most part not folksongs, was arranged by John Christopher Pepusch, who also composed the overture. There have been several modern realizations, including one by Benjamin Britten (1948).