John Gay was the inventor of the ballad opera which found great success, as a form, in England during the decade from 1728 to 1738. Gay was primarily a librettist who used the catchy tunes popular in England to introduce music with stories of real-life, every-day people. He wrote the story for Handel's "Acis and Galatea" and is famous for his ballad opera "The Beggar's Opera". His second ballad opera "Polly" was banned and the third "Achilles" was unsuccessful. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi