From what I understand as far as popularity goes the Beggar's Opera has been performed every year since 1728. The lyrics have a lot to say about all of the classes high and low behaving badly and begs the question as to who is copying whom. It was written as a reaction, in a bit of xenophobia,to put some English music on the stage in place of the Italian operas that were so popular.

There is a movie of the Beggar's Opera with an arrangement by Britten which is a gem and I recommend everyone try and view it if you haven't seen it yet. It was made in 1963 and it includes really great performances by all of the casts including Janet Baker.