Overview

When Richard Steele remarked that the greatest Evils in human Society are such as no Law can come at, he was not able to forsee the spectacular success of John Gay's satire of society, the administration of law and crime, politics, the Italian opera and other topics. Gay's The Beggar's Opera, with its mixture of witty dialogue and popular songs, was imitated by 18th century writers, criticized by those on the seats of power, but remained a favourite of the English theatre public ever since. With N. Playfair's 1920 revival and B. Brecht's and K. Weill's 1928 Dreigroschenoper, Gay's play has been a starting-point for dramatists such as V. Havel (Zebrácká opera, 1975), W. Soyinka (Opera Wonyosi, 1977), Ch. Buarque (Ópera do Malandro, 1978), D. Fo (L'opera dello sghignazzo, 1981), A. Ayckbourn (A Chorus of Disapproval, 1984), as well as others such as Latouche, Hacks, Fassbinder, Dear, Wasserman, and Lepage. Apart from contributions by international scholars analysing the above-named plays, the editors' introduction covers other dramatists that have payed hommage to Gay. This interdisciplinary collection of essays is of particular interest for scholars working in the field of drama/theatre studies, the eighteenth century, contemporary drama, postcolonial studies, and politics and the stage.

Full Product Details

Author:   Uwe Böker ,  Ines Detmers ,  Anna-Christina Giovanopoulos ,  Anna-Christina Giovanopoulos
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Editions Rodopi B.V.
Volume:   105
Weight:   0.706kg
ISBN:  

9789042021136

ISBN 10:   9042021136
Pages:   347
Publication Date:   01 January 2006
Audience:   Adult education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Further / Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Language:   English, German

Table of Contents

Calendar of Important Adaptations and Re-Writings 1920-2004 Uwe BOKER, Ines DETMERS and Anna-Christina GIOVANOPOULOS: From Gay to Brecht and Beyond: Imitation and Re-Writing of The Beggar's Opera - 1728 to 2004 Uwe BOKER: John Gays The Beggar's Opera und die sozialhistorischen Kontexte: Satire, Kriminalitat, Ballade, Oper, Kommerzialisierung Ian GALLAGHER: The Beggar's Opera and its Criminal Law Context Horst HOHNE: Die Fortsetzung der Beggar's Opera: Polly (1728) Anna-Christina GIOVANOPOULOS: Robert Walpole und Jonathan Wild: Die satirischen Bezugspersonen von John Gays The Beggar's Opera Frank ENGELMANN: A Late Eighteenth-Century Ballad Opera and John Wilkes: The Bow-Street Opera (1773) Klaus SCHUHMACHER: Ekstasen der Sachlichkeit: Zur Dreigroschenoper (1928) von Bertolt Brecht und Kurt Weill Uwe BOKER: John Gays The Beggar's Opera und Vaclav Havels Zebracka opera (1975) Wumi RAJI: Opera Wonyosi (1977): Strategies of a Postcolonial Response to a Western Operatic Drama Kathrin SARTINGEN: Rewriting als produktive Differenz: Chico Buarque de Hollandas Opera do Malandro (1978) als brasilianische Wiederkehr von John Gays The Beggar's Opera Christoph Oliver MAYER: Italiens Spassmacher schlagt wieder zu: Dario Fos L'opera dello sghignazzo (1981) als provokatives Rewriting der Bettleroper Anja MULLER: Alan Ayckbourn's Beggar's Opera as A Chorus of Disapproval (1984) Contributors

Reviews

Mit seiner ausgewogenen Mischung aus Analyse, soziokultureller Einbettung und Dramentheorie bietet der Band sowohl dem Anglisten als auch Theaterwissenschaftlern und interessierten Laien einen hervorragenden Einblick in Gays Stuck und dessen Wirkung auf das Theater[...] in: Das Achtzehnte Jahrhundert, Heft 2, 2008

Author Information

Uwe Böker has been Professor of English Literature at the Technische Universität Dresden till his retirement in 2006. His fields of research include the history of genres, the relationship between crime and literature as well as the history of publishing and bookselling. Ines Detmers is currently doing research on contemporary British women’s poetry, narratology, and the theory of genre, teaching English literature at the Technische Universität; she is also affiliated with the Gießener Graduierten Kolleg (GGK). Anna-Christina Giovanopoulos received her Ph.D. from Dresden in 2000 with a dissertation on American Literature in the GDR. She now teaches at the Dresden English Department. Her main areas of research are censorship (eighteenth and twentieth centuries), with a special focus on the public sphere, legal culture and literature.

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