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The solo singing department of the Choral school CS performed very successfully at the 39th Eastern Slovenian competition – a competition of young musicians of the Republic of Slovenia. Jasmina Črnčič won in her category and received the first prize and a Golden Award and thus classified for the state competition in March, in Maribor. Eva Germ and Tadeja Gajser were awarded with Bronze Awards. Their mentor is Simona Raffanelli Krajnc. 

THE BEGGAR'S OPERA

Union Hall

27 January 2010, 18:00

Mentor: Simona Raffanelli Krajnc 

Performing:

Solo singing department CS

Choir Secunde

A baroque stage work from the 18th century – The Beggar's Opera by the British author John Gay which will be performed by the Choral school CS as a music stage project – had an important influence on the development of music history and also on the creation of the famous Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera.

The Beggar’s Opera was John Gay’s greatest success. It was premiered in 1728 in London with great acclaim. It ran for a record number of consecutive performances, which was the longest run in theatre history up to the end of the 18th century. At the same time it represented a complete break with the popular Italian operas of that time; in terms of narration The Beggar’s Opera uses music as well as dialogues. Gay took music from all the various sources he had at hand. Forty-one of all sixty-nine arias are popular ballads from his time, the rest of the melodies are borrowed from his contemporaries (also from Händel). He then wrote lyrics to these melodies. Rather than on mythological origins, Gay concentrated on the social bottom of the society – he introduced characters such as thieves, prostitutes, middlemen, dealers and jailors into his stories. The world of The Beggar’s Opera is dirty and real, and the optimistic end is only the result of a popular demand that operas should have a happy end.

Despite the bleak reality which it depicts, The Beggar’s Opera is a comedy and it should be understood as a tomboyish and satirical commentary on the life of the time. Satire was directed at the wide, workers’ social class as well as at the politicians. The critics and the audience had no problems recognizing that many scenes were targeted at the notable Robert Walpole, a statesman and the one who proposed the controversial censorship act which cut deeply into the development of the British theatre. His next work based on The Beggar’s Opera – Polly – was not allowed staging.