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ballad opera |
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ballad opera, in English drama, a play of comic, satiric, or pastoral intent, interspersed with songs, most of them sung to popular airs. First and best was The Beggar's Opera (1728) by John Gay Gay, John, 1685–1732, English playwright and poet, b. Barnstaple, Devon. Educated at the local grammar school, he was apprenticed to a silk mercer for a brief time before commencing his literary career in London. ..... Click the link for more information. . The vogue for these operas lasted until c.1750. ballad operaEnglish 18th-century comic opera in which songs and musical interludes, usually consisting of existing popular tunes or opera melodies with new words, are interspersed with spoken dialogue. The first ballad opera, The Beggar's Opera (1728), by John Gay and J.C. Pepusch (1667–1752), was a sharply satirical work that became wildly popular and led to numerous similar works. Ballad opera led directly to the German singspiel and can be seen as the source of the modern musical. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Part II, "Comic Opera and Musical Comedy: Britain and America," includes one of the book's highlights in its coverage of the British musical stage from ballad operas, to romantic operas, to the imported Offenbach one-act operettas. |
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