« Back to Composer Index
John Gay
Info
06/30/1685
Barnstaple, England
12/04/1732
London, England
England
Baroque
Opera
Barnstaple, England
12/04/1732
London, England
England
Baroque
Opera
Biography
John Gay was born at Barnstable in Devon on September 16, 1685 to William Gay. At the age of ten he was orphaned but was raised by his uncle, the Reverend John Hammer. His uncle saw to his education at the local grammar school. After school was finished Gay became and apprentice to a silk merchant. Gay did not like the work at all and when his apprenticeship was over he returned to Devon. In 1712 he became secretary to the Duchess of Monmouth. Through this he meet many oh the people who would become his patrons including the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry.
Gay achieved his greatest success with The Beggar’s Opera. This debuted in 1728 in London and was an instant success. Gay never married and in the last years of his life he lived mainly with his two patrons, the Duke and Duchess of Queensberry. Gay wrote many other works but none every achieved the success of The Beggar’s Opera. On December 4, 1932 John Gay died in London and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His self-written epitaph read "Life is a jest, and all things show it; / I thought so once, and now I know it."
Main Works
Opera:
Wine (1708)
The Mohocks (1712)
Rural Sports (1713)
The Wife of Bath (1713)
The Shepherd's Week (1714)
Wht D'ye Call It (1715)
Trivia: or, The Art of Walking the Streets of London (1716)
Three Hours After Marriage (1717)
My Lodging Is On The Cold Ground (1720)
Dione (1720)
The Captives (1724)
Fables (1727-38)
The Beggar's Opera (1728)
Polly (1729)
Acis and Galatea (1732)
