Friday, October 2, 2015

THE BEGGAR’S OPERA: A CD Review

Like Kurt Weill’s THE THREE PENNY OPERA, this “ballad opera” by John Gay was also inspired in the story of “Macheath and his band of beggars and thieves”. The original opened in 1728 and, according to Wikipedia, it has been called "the most popular play of the eighteenth century.” This new release by Masterwoks Broadway, gives us the original 1968 London Cast recording starring Peter Gilmore as Macheath.

I guess that for people who may enjoy eighteenth century music, this might be a must, but not for me. My musical taste is very restrict and that I don’t even like the famous Gilbert & Sullivan operettas; I confess I also don’t enjoy that much Kurt Weill’s THE THREE PENNY OPERA.

So, keeping that in mind, there isn’t much I can say about this recording. To begin with there’s too much talk, something that I always think that, with rare exceptions, doesn’t work on a recording.  The cast sounds like the real thing and my favorite is Hy Hazell as Mrs. Peachum. As for the songs they sound too much alike and, although they don’t hurt my ears, I found the all score monotonous and boring.

The truth is I’m probably the worst person to review this recording and I’m sure there’s a public for it.

Rate: 1 (from 1 to 10)

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