The Beggar's Opera is the operatic story of Peachum, a cheat, thief-catcher, and pawnbroker trying to justify his own corrupt actions in 18th-century England. The play's central conflict is Peachum's pursuit of the robber Macheath, a cad and a rogue who has proposed to Peachum's daughter, in order to kill him and steal his estate. The play toys with morality and presents a series of ambiguous situations built around morally compromised characters before resolving in a comedic wedding between Polly and Macheath, Peachum's ambitions foiled.
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