Biography
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), born in Halle as Georg Friedrich Händel and naturalised British, is among the supreme composers of the late Baroque era alongside his near-exact contemporary Bach. Handel spent his early career in Hamburg and Italy before settling permanently in London in 1712, where he served the Hanoverian and subsequent British monarchs. Handel composed over forty Italian operas including Rinaldo (1711), Giulio Cesare (1724), Alcina (1735), and Serse (1738). When Italian opera fell out of fashion, he pivoted to English-language oratorio: Messiah (1741), Samson (1743), Solomon (1748), and Jephtha (1752) became the foundation of the Anglophone choral tradition. Handel also composed the Water Music, the Music for the Royal Fireworks, and numerous concertos. He was buried in Westminster Abbey after his death in London; his grave is marked by a prominent monument in Poets' Corner.
On Stagelog
Loading stats...