Author Description

John Gay's The Beggar's Opera became London's longest-running theatrical hit when first produced in 1728 and it was on the stage every year for the rest of the 18th century. The work set out as a deliberate contrast to the Italian operas by Handel and others that had dominated musical theatre in London for nearly twenty years. The popularity of The Beggar's Opera continued for much of the 19th century and a revival at the Lyric Hammersmith in 1920 again broke theatrical records, running for nearly 1,500 performances. The Beggar's Opera inspired several adaptations internationally, most famously Brecht and Weill’s Die Dreigroschenoper. Barlow’s scholarly performing edition restores the music of this ballad-opera to its original 18th-century state, reconstructing the scoring of the songs from evidence of surviving ballad-opera material from the period. The arrangements are historically authentic and dramatically plausible; their flexibility allows for performance by groups of widely differing size and constitution, whether professional or amateur. Jeremy Barlow specializes in English popular and dance music from 1550 to 1750, and also has a particular interest in the illustration of music and social dance over the centuries. After studying at Trinity College Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music, he first worked chiefly in the theatre as a musical director, flautist, and composer, and at the BBC as a producer and broadcaster. He then focused increasingly on early music as a performer, playing baroque flute, recorder, and harpsichord. In 1979 Barlow formed the Broadside Band, to specialize in 17th and 18th-century popular and dance music, especially from England. The group has toured widely in Britain, and in France, Sweden, Austria and Germany and has recorded The Beggar’s Opera with a cast including Bob Hoskins and Sarah Walker: Hyperion CDA 66591/2.