THE BEGGAR’S OPERA -- “HOW HAPPY COULD I BE WITH EITHER“

The Beggar’s Opera was the work that changed the course of theater music in England, and drove Handel from the stage. A bitter but hilarious satire of the class struggle in the 18th century, it was actually a pastiche, with a musical score cobbled together from popular music of the day, and arranged by Johann Pepusch. It is ironic that some of Handel’s own music made his future operas passé. The songs are short, but the score contains 69 of them. Lucy (Diane McEwen-Martin), daughter of Lockit the jailer,