When I look online for journals contemporary with the Beggar's Opera, to see how that famous quote was written, what I find is: "It made Rich gay, and it made Gay rich." Consistently in that order. So Michael Flanders, in his Guide to Britten, flipped this around in order to get a more workable rhyme, in the 1950's (Airs on a Shoestring): Of the first Beggar's Opera, they used to say That it made Gay rich, and it made Rich gay; Revived by our hero after all these years, It made Bundles for Britten and Piles for Pears. I saw a university-level student production, directed and produced by faculty members, which took BOTH pieces and made a mash-up of them. They opened with a big strapping baritone swinging his way through Mac the Knife, then moved on to 'Through All the Employments of Life,' with the Peachums. It was all high-spirited and great fun: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I guess Brecht would have found it too cheerful and good-natured for his taste. I had a wonderful time.
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