The Beggar's Opera of 1728 was the first and most successful ballad opera, defined as a British stage production from 1728 to 1760 that combines a comic or sentimental play with musical numbers. Ballad operas allowed both women and men to perform, unlike Greek theaters where only men acted. Ballad opera audiences were middle to upper class adults, as wealthier patrons would attend in couples or groups while leaving children at home with babysitters.

1. Ballad Opera
English stage entertainment
18th Century
It is generally accepted that the first ballad opera, and the one that was to prove
the most successful, was The Beggar's Opera of 1728.
The purposes of this project, ‘ballad opera’ are defined as any British stage
production from 1728 to 1760 that combines a comic or sentimental play with musical
numbers.
In Greek Theatres men were the only people that were allowed to act. However in
Ballad Operas both women and men are allowed to take part.
Ballad opera has been called an "eighteenth-century protest against the Italian
conquest of the London operatic scene".
The audiences were middle and top class, the age groups where just Adults, say in a
couple or a group. The children were at home with a babysitter as the Adults where
wealthy who went.
BY Michael McCauley