Beyond 'The Beggar’s Opera': John Rich and English Ballad Opera

This chapter outlines the signficance of ballad opera in the career of John Rich, the founder of Covent Garden. John Rich helped father ballad opera, agreeing to mount John Gay's _Beggar's Opera_ after Drury Lane rejected Gay's manuscript. Thereafter, however, Rich was unable to maintain his hold over the ballad opera market, despite the popularity of the _Beggar's Opera_. This was not for want of ingenious experiments, which included mounting John Gay's second ballad opera, _Achilles_and _The Cobler's Opera_ , crafted around the star of _The Beggar's Opera_, Lavinia Fenton