List of operas by Handel
Encyclopedia
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres. He began composing operas in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and then for a brief time in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to modest success. It wasn't until he came to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
that he truly found great success in the genre. His first opera in England, Rinaldo
Rinaldo (opera)
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's...
(1711), was met with enthusiasm, and several more Italian operas soon followed. However, Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's place as the central figure of opera in England during the eighteenth century was not solidified until, under the influence of Thomas Arne, he began composing large-scale works with English language texts. Though almost all of his English language works are technically oratorios
Oratórios
Oratórios is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Zona da Mata and to the microregion of Ponte Nova.-See also:* List of municipalities in Minas Gerais...
and not operas, several of them, such as Semele (1743), have become an important part of the opera repertoire.
During the 36 years in which Italian opera
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...
was his principal concern, Handel adhered closely to the typical form of the era, determined by the precedence given to solo singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and to stage presentation in which set changes were made in front of the audience and the curtain not lowered until the work's conclusion. Recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
s preceded solo aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
s, usually in da capo
Da capo
Da Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...
form (though frequently with an abridged return to the chief section), dominate the operas, and scenes are normally devised to start with several characters on stage, each of whom sings an aria and then exits. The last scene typically concludes with a coro sung by the soloists; ensembles are otherwise atypical and mainly limited to scenes of communal celebration; only "Dall’orror" in Act 3 of Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
(1735) reaches the depth of the choruses in the English choral works. Handel’s operas therefore seem to be highly similar to those of his contemporaries; what makes them unique is the brilliance of the music which skillfully conveys with instant fervor the emotional states of the characters within the context of the drama.
Overview
Almira
Almira, Königin von Castilien or Der in Krohnen erlangte Glückswechsel, is George Frideric Handel's first opera.-Background:Handel came to the city of Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, the local market place...
(1705), which are highly dramatic. Handel's music for his first operas in England was often derived from musical ideas and idioms found in his cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s and other works written during his time spent in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(1706–09). For example, the characteristic harmonic structure of Agrippina
Agrippina (opera)
Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel, from a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of...
(1709) is obviously a retention of material from this Italian period. In general, the orchestrations of Handel's earlier operas tended to be richer and smoother than in his later works, utilizing additional instruments like bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s to achieve different tone colours. The music for Rinaldo
Rinaldo (opera)
Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's...
(1711) notably utilizes four trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, an instrumental choice that Handel never repeated elsewhere.
Beginning with Ottone
Ottone
Ottone, re di Germania is an opera by George Frideric Handel, to an Italian–language libretto adapted by Nicola Francesco Haym from the libretto by Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti's opera Teofane. It was the first new opera written for the Royal Academy of Music 's fourth season...
(1722), Handel composed numerous operas for the Royal Academy of Music during the 1720s. With the exception of Flavio
Flavio
Flavio, re de' Longobardi is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's Il Flavio Cuniberto. It was Handel's fourth full-length opera for the Royal Academy of Music...
(1723), the operas from this period are more serious in tone and the musical expression is more astutely aligned to the opera's drama than in his earlier operas. Of particular importance from this period is Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
(1724), which contains one of Handel's most expansive and emotively powerful scores. The sumptuous music and deft characterizations found in this work has made it one of the more frequently revived Handel operas during the 20th and 21st centuries. Also of note are Tamerlano
Tamerlano
Tamerlano is an opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music , with music by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostin Piovene's Tamerlano together with another libretto entitled Bajazet after Nicolas Pradon's Tamerlan, ou La Mort de...
(1724) and Rodelinda (1725) which have particularly striking leading tenor roles that Handel wrote specifically for Francesco Borosini. The later operas that Handel wrote for the Academy were not as successful as his earlier ones. The two major sopranos at the Academy, Francesca Cuzzoni
Francesca Cuzzoni
Francesca Cuzzoni was an Italian operatic soprano of the Baroque era.-Early career:Cuzzoni was born in Parma. Her father, Angelo, was a professional violinist, and her singing teacher was Francesco Lanzi. She made her debut in her home city in 1714, singing in La virtù coronata, o Il Fernando by...
and Faustina Bordoni
Faustina Bordoni
Faustina Bordoni was an Italian mezzo-soprano.-Early career:She was born in Venice and brought up under the protection of the aristocratic brother composers Alessandro and Benedetto Marcello. Her singing teacher was another composer, Michelangelo Gasparini...
, were intensely competitive, and Handel had to cater to them both equally in these latter Academy operas. With the exception of Admeto
Admeto
Admeto, re di Tessaglia is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Haym. The story is partly based on Euripedes' Alcestis. The opera's first performance was at the Haymarket Theatre...
(1727), the attempt at balancing two leading soprano roles within an individual opera proved to hinder the work both musically and dramatically.
Partenope
Partenope is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730.-Background:...
(1730), Orlando
Orlando (opera)
Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and...
(1733) and Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
(1735), were influenced by the operas of Leonardo Vinci
Leonardo Vinci
Leonardo Vinci was an Italian composer, best known for his operas.He was born at Strongoli and educated at Naples under Gaetano Greco in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo. He first became known for his opere buffe in Neapolitan dialect in 1719; he also composed many opere serie...
and Leonardo Leo
Leonardo Leo
Leonardo Leo , more correctly Lionardo Oronzo Salvatore de Leo, was an Italian Baroque composer.-Biography:...
and are written in a pre-classical manner. During this period, Handel began to more frequently utilize the scena in his works, and by the mid-1730s he was writing some of his most dramatically moving arias, such as the mad scene of Orlando and the end of Act 2 of Alcina. The size of the orchestras for these works was also larger, with Handel typically employing 12 violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, 8 viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 6 cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, 4 double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es, and two harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
s in addition to four bassoons and a number of other wind instruments. In operas like Oreste
Oreste
Oreste is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s L’Oreste , which was in turn adapted from Euripides' Iphigeneia in Tauris....
(1734), Handel attempted to synthesize Italian opera with French opera in the sequences of dances and choruses , but made no further experimentation in this area outside of the operas of 1734 and 1735. Two of the operas from this period, Ariodante
Ariodante
Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso...
(1735) and Atalanta
Atalanta (opera)
Atalanta is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel composed in 1736. It is based upon the mythological female athlete, Atalanta, the libretto being derived from the book La Caccia in Etolia by Belisario Valeriani...
(1736), were a departure from the traditionally heroic librettos used by Handel, adopting a more realistic romantic intimacy.
By the late 1730s, Handel's attention was increasingly diverted away from composing operas and was much more focused on the English oratorio. A number of his operas from 1737 on lack the brilliance of his earlier works, most likely due to this shift in focus. Nevertheless, his operas Giustino
Giustino
Giustino is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.-Performance history:...
(1737) and Serse
Serse
Serse is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694...
(1738) contain some very fine music. Serse is also notable for successfully mixing comedy and poignant tragedy into a masterfully crafted plot, a development repeated less successfully in Imeneo
Imeneo
Imeneo is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Silvio Stampiglia's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740...
(1740). Handel's last Italian opera, Deidamia
Deidamia (opera)
Deidamia was George Frideric Handel's last Italian opera. The Italian text was by Paolo Antonio Rolli.-Performance history:The opera was first performed on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London. The opera received only three performances, at a time when the public was becoming...
, was produced in 1741 and was not received very well as England's taste for Italian opera had waned. Handel returned one more time to theatre music for the semi-opera
Semi-opera
The terms Semi-opera, dramatic[k] opera and English opera were all applied to Restoration entertainments that combined spoken plays with masque-like episodes employing singing and dancing characters. They usually included machines in the manner of the restoration spectacular...
Alceste
Alceste (Handel)
Alceste is a masque or semi-opera by George Frideric Handel.It was written as incidental music to a lost play by Tobias Smollett, which was rehearsed at Covent Garden Theatre but never performed. There was an overture and songs for Acts 1 and 4, 19 movements in total. It was composed from 27...
in 1750.
List of works
The following is a complete list of Handel's operatic works. All are opera seriaOpera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
in three acts, unless otherwise stated.
| HWV Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis The Händel-Werke-Verzeichnis is the Catalogue of Handel's Works. It was published in three volumes by Bernd Baselt between 1978 and 1986, and lists every piece of music known to have been written by George Frideric Handel... | |Libretto | |Première place, theatre | Almira Almira Almira, Königin von Castilien or Der in Krohnen erlangte Glückswechsel, is George Frideric Handel's first opera.-Background:Handel came to the city of Hamburg in the summer of 1703 and played as a violinist in the theatre at the Gänsemarkt, the local market place... (Der in Krohnen erlangte Glücks-Wechsel, oder: Alimira, Königin von Castilien) | Friedrich Christian Feustking, after Giulio Pancieri | 8 January 1705 | Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... , Theater am Gänsemarkt |
4 June 1994, Handel Festival Handel Festival, Halle The Handel Festival in Halle is an international music festival, concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel, in the composer's birthplace in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The festival was founded in 1922 and grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe... , Bad Lauchstädt Bad Lauchstädt ' is a town in the district Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 13 km southwest of Halle. Pop. 4,933. It contains an Evangelical church, a theatre, a hydropathic establishment and several educational institutions, among which is an agricultural school affiliated to the university of Halle.... |
Some music lost; announced as a Singspiel Singspiel A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera... but has no spoken dialogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Nero (Die durch Blut und Mord erlangete Liebe) | Friedrich Christian Feustking | 25 February 1705 | Hamburg, Theater am Gänsemarkt | Music lost | |
| 3 | Florindo Florindo Der beglückte Florindo is an opera composed by Handel at the request of Reinhard Keiser, the manager of the Hamburg Opera. It was first performed at the Theater am Gänsemarkt in January 1708... (Der beglückte Florindo) |
Hinrich Hinsch | January 1708 | Hamburg, Theater am Gänsemarkt | Almost all of the music is lost | |
| 4 | Daphne (Die verwandelte Daphne) | Hinrich Hinsch | January 1708 | Hamburg, Theater am Gänsemarkt | A sequel to Florindo, intended to be performed on the day after it. Almost all of the music is lost | |
| 5 | Rodrigo Rodrigo (opera) Rodrigo is an opera in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel. Its original title was Vincer se stesso è la maggior vittoria . The opera is based on the historical figure of Rodrigo, the last Visigothic king of Hispania... (Vincer se stesso è la maggior vittoria) |
After Francesco Silvani's II duello d'Amore e di Vendetta Italian libretto |
c, November 1707 | Florence Florence Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area.... , Teatro di via del Cocomero |
1984, Innsbruck Innsbruck - Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus... |
Some music is lost |
| 6 | Agrippina Agrippina (opera) Agrippina is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel, from a libretto by Cardinal Vincenzo Grimani. Composed for the Venice Carnevale season, the opera tells the story of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, as she plots the downfall of the Roman Emperor Claudius and the installation of... |
Vincenzo Grimani Vincenzo Grimani Vincenzo Grimani was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and opera librettist.Grimani was born either in Venice or Mantua.... |
26 December 1709 / early 1710 | Venice Venice Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region... , Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo The Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, now known as the Teatro Malibran, is an opera house in Venice. Founded in 1678 by the Grimani family, it was founded primarily to provide entertainment for the aristocracy and to advance the social position of the Grimani family, and was not expected to be a... |
1943, Halle Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia... |
|
| 7a/b | Rinaldo Rinaldo (opera) Rinaldo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1711. It is the first Italian language opera written specifically for the London stage. The libretto was prepared by Giacomo Rossi from a scenario provided by Aaron Hill. The work was first performed at the Queen's Theatre in London's... |
Giacomo Rossi Giacomo Rossi Giacomo Rossi was an Italian 'poet', translator and librettist who settled in London early in the 18th century and wrote librettos for George Frideric Handel, between 1710 and 1729.... /Aaron Hill, after Tasso Torquato Tasso Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem... , La Gerusalemme liberata, Italian libretto |
24 February 1711 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... , Queen's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre... |
June 1954, Handel Festival, Halle Handel Festival, Halle The Handel Festival in Halle is an international music festival, concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel, in the composer's birthplace in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The festival was founded in 1922 and grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe... |
HWV 7b is the 1731 revision; the libretto of a revision of 1717 also exists |
| 8a/b/c | Il pastor fido | Giacomo Rossi, after Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini Giovanni Battista Guarini was an Italian poet, dramatist, and diplomat.- Life :He was born in Ferrara, and spent his early life both in Padua and Ferrara, entering the service of Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, in 1567... 8b Italian libretto, 8c Italian libretto |
22 November 1712 | London, Queen's Theatre | 20 June 1948, Handel Festival Göttingen (third, November 1734 version); 14 September 1971, Abingdon Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with... , (first, 1712 version) |
HWV 8b/c are the revivals of May and November 1734 |
| 9 | Teseo Teseo Teseo is an opera seria with music by George Frideric Handel, the only Handel opera that is in five acts. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's Thésée... |
Nicola Francesco Haym Nicola Francesco Haym Nicola Francesco Haym was an Italian opera librettist, composer, theatre manager and performer, and numismatist. He is best remembered for adapting texts into libretti for the London operas of George Frideric Handel and Giovanni Bononcini... , after Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen... 's libretto for Thésée Thésée Thésée is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Metamorphoses first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 11 January 1675.-Roles:-Synopsis:... Italian libretto |
10 January 1713 | London, Queen's Theatre | 29 June 1947, Handel Festival Göttingen | 5 acts |
| 10 | Silla Silla (opera) Silla is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Giacomo Rossi. The story concerns the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla as recounted by Plutarch.The opera appears to have been a pièce d'occasion, whicht may have been performed only once... |
Giacomo Rossi, after Plutarch Plutarch Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia... 's Life of Sulla Parallel Lives Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century... Italian libretto |
2 June 1713? | London, Queen's Theatre? (or Burlington House Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in London. It was originally a private Palladian mansion, and was expanded in the mid 19th century after being purchased by the British government... ?) |
Much of the music was re-used in Amadigi | |
| 11 | Amadigi di Gaula Amadigi di Gaula Amadigi di Gaula is a magical opera in three acts, with music by George Frideric Handel. It was the fifth Italian opera that Handel wrote for London and was composed during his stay at Burlington House in 1715... |
Rossi or Haym (?), after Antoine Houdar de la Motte Antoine Houdar de la Motte Antoine Houdar de la Motte was a French author.He was born and died in Paris. In 1693 his comedy, Les Originaux, was a complete failure, and so depressed the author that he contemplated joining the Trappists. Four years later he began writing texts for operas and ballets, e.g... 's Amadis de Grèce, 1699 Italian libretto |
25 May 1715 | London, King's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre... |
Osnabrück Osnabrück Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest... , 1929 |
Various additions during the initial run and the revivals of 1716 and 1717 |
| 12a/b | Radamisto Radamisto (Handel) Radamisto is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, based on L'amor tirannico, o Zenobia by Domenico Lalli and Zenobia by Matteo Noris... |
Haym (?), after Domenico Lalli's L'amor tirannico, o Zenobia Italian libretto |
27 April 1720 | London, King’s Theatre | 27 June 1927, Handel Festival Göttingen | Librettos of the revised versions of December 1720 and 1728 exist |
| 13 | Muzio Scevola Muzio Scevola Muzio Scevola is an opera in three acts about Gaius Mucius Scaevola. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, adapted from a text by Silvio Stampiglia. The music for the first act was composed by Filippo Amadei , the second act by Giovanni Battista Bononcini, and the third by... |
Paolo Antonio Rolli Paolo Antonio Rolli Paolo Antonio Rolli was an Italian librettist and poet.He was born in Rome, Italy and like Metastasio was trained by Gian Vincenzo Gravina. He worked in London from 1715 to 1744 where he became Italian tutor to the prince of Wales and the Royal Princesses... , after a reworking of a Nicolò Minato Nicolò Minato Count Nicolò Minato was an Italian poet, librettist and impresario. His career can be divided into two parts: the years he spent at Venice, from 1650 to 1669, and the years at Vienna, from 1669 until his death.... libretto by Silvio Stampiglia Italian libretto |
15 April 1721 | London, King’s Theatre | 1928, Essen Essen - Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of... (Act 3 only) |
only Act 3 is by Handel |
| 14 | Floridante Floridante Floridante is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli after Francesco Silvani's libretto for Marc'Antonio Ziani dramma per musica La costanza in trionfo of 1696.... |
Rolli, after Francesco Silvani's La costanza in trionfo Italian libretto |
9 December 1721 | London, King’s Theatre | 10 May 1962, Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon | Revised versions premiered in 1722, 1727 and 1733 |
| 15 | Ottone Ottone Ottone, re di Germania is an opera by George Frideric Handel, to an Italian–language libretto adapted by Nicola Francesco Haym from the libretto by Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino for Antonio Lotti's opera Teofane. It was the first new opera written for the Royal Academy of Music 's fourth season... |
Haym, after Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino's libretto for Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti was an Italian composer of classical music.Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was Kapellmeister at Hanover at the time. In 1682, Lotti began studying with Lodovico Fuga and Giovanni Legrenzi, both of whom were employed at St Mark's Basilica, Venice's principal church... 's opera Teofane Italian libretto |
12 January 1723 | London, King’s Theatre | 5 July 1921, Handel Festival Göttingen | Revised versions premiered in 1726 and 1733 |
| 16 | Flavio Flavio Flavio, re de' Longobardi is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Matteo Noris's Il Flavio Cuniberto. It was Handel's fourth full-length opera for the Royal Academy of Music... |
Haym, after M Noris's Il Flavio Cuniberto Italian libretto |
14 May 1723 | London, King’s Theatre | 2 July 1967, Handel Festival Göttingen | The libretto of the revised version of 1732 exists |
| 17 | Giulio Cesare Giulio Cesare Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724... |
Haym Italian libretto |
20 February 1724 | London, King’s Theatre | 1922, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 18 | Tamerlano Tamerlano Tamerlano is an opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music , with music by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Agostin Piovene's Tamerlano together with another libretto entitled Bajazet after Nicolas Pradon's Tamerlan, ou La Mort de... |
Haym, after Agostin Piovene and Nicholas Pradon Italian libretto |
31 October 1724 | London, King’s Theatre | 7 September 1924, Karlsruhe Karlsruhe The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states... |
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| 19 | Rodelinda | Haym, after Antonio Salvi, after Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine... 's play Pertharite, roi des Lombards Italian libretto |
13 February 1725 | London, King’s Theatre | 26 June 1920, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 20 | Scipione Scipione Scipione is an opera in three acts, with music composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1726. The librettist was Paolo Antonio Rolli. Handel composed Scipione whilst in the middle of writing Alessandro... |
Rolli Italian libretto |
12 March 1726 | London, King’s Theatre | 1937, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 21 | Alessandro Alessandro (opera) Alessandro is an opera written for the Royal Academy of Music composed by George Frideric Handel in 1726. Paolo Rolli was the librettist and based the story on Ortensio Mauro's La superbia d'Alessandro... |
O Mauro Italian libretto |
5 May 1726 | London, King’s Theatre | 1959, Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... (in German) |
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| 22 | Admeto Admeto Admeto, re di Tessaglia is a three-act opera written for the Royal Academy of Music with music composed by George Frideric Handel to an Italian-language libretto prepared by Nicola Haym. The story is partly based on Euripedes' Alcestis. The opera's first performance was at the Haymarket Theatre... |
Haym Italian libretto |
31 January 1727 | London, King’s Theatre | 1964, Abingdon | |
| 23 | Riccardo Primo Riccardo Primo Riccardo primo, re d’Inghilterra is an opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was by Paolo Antonio Rolli, after Francesco Briani's Isacio tiranno, set by Antonio Lotti in 1710... |
Rolli, after Francesco Briani Italian libretto |
11 November 1727 | London, King’s Theatre | 8 July 1964, Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive... (Handel Opera Society), London |
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| 24 | Siroe Siroe Siroe, re di Persia , HWV 24, is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was his 12th opera for the Royal Academy of Music and was written for the sopranos Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni. The opera uses an Italian-language libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym, after Metastasio's... |
Haym, after Metastasio Metastasio Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:... Italian libretto |
17 February 1728 | London, King’s Theatre | December 1925, Gera Gera Gera, the third-largest city in the German state of Thuringia , lies in east Thuringia on the river Weiße Elster, approximately 60 kilometres to the south of the city of Leipzig and 80 kilometres to the east of Erfurt... |
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| 25 | Tolomeo Tolomeo Tolomeo, re d'Egitto is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text by Nicola Francesco Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's Tolomeo et Alessandro.-Performance history:... |
Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece Italian libretto |
30 April 1728 | London, King’s Theatre | 19 June 1938, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 26 | Lotario Lotario Lotario is an opera seria in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Antonio Salvi's Adelaide.-Performance history:... |
After Antonio Salvi Italian libretto |
2 December 1729 | London, King’s Theatre | 3 September 1975, Kenton Theatre Kenton Theatre The Kenton Theatre is an old theatre in the town of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England.The theatre was founded 7 November 1805 and is the fourth oldest working theatre in the United Kingdom. It is staffed by volunteers... , Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead... |
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| 27 | Partenope Partenope Partenope is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730.-Background:... |
After Silvio Stampiglia Italian libretto |
24 February 1730 | London, King’s Theatre | 23 June 1935, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 28 | Poro Poro (opera) Poro, re dell'Indie is an opera seria in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel... |
After Metastasio Italian libretto |
2 February 1731 | London, King’s Theatre | 1928, Braunschweig Braunschweig Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser.... |
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| 29 | Ezio | Metastasio Italian libretto |
15 January 1732 | London, King’s Theatre | 30 June 1926, Handel Festival Göttingen | |
| 30 | Sosarme Sosarme Sosarme, re di Media is an opera by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The text was based on an earlier libretto by Antonio Salvi, Dionisio, Re di Portogallo , and adapted by an unknown writer. Composed in 1732, the original setting of Portugal was changed to Sardis in... |
After Salvi Italian libretto |
15 February 1732 | London, King’s Theatre | 1970, Abingdon | |
| 31 | Orlando Orlando (opera) Orlando is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel written for the Royal Academy of Music . The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece's L'Orlando after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, which was also the source of Handel's operas Alcina and... |
After Capece, after Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions... 's Orlando furioso Orlando Furioso Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532... Italian libretto |
27 January 1733 | London, King’s Theatre | 6 May 1959, Abingdon | |
| 32 | Arianna in Creta Arianna in Creta Arianna in Creta is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted by Francis Colman from Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo, a text previously set by Nicola Porpora in 1727 and Leonardo Leo in 1729.-Performance history:The opera was first given at... |
After Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo | 26 January 1734 | London, King’s Theatre | ||
| A 11 | Oreste Oreste Oreste is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s L’Oreste , which was in turn adapted from Euripides' Iphigeneia in Tauris.... |
After Giangualberto Barlocci | 18 December 1734 | London, Covent Garden Theatre Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The... |
1990, Karlsruhe | Pasticcio Pasticcio In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the... |
| 33 | Ariodante Ariodante Ariodante is an opera seria in three acts by Handel. The anonymous Italian libretto was based on a work by Antonio Salvi, which in turn was adapted from Canti 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso... |
After Salvi, after Ariosto's Orlando Furioso Italian libretto |
8 January 1735 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | ||
| 34 | Alcina Alcina Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy... |
After Ariosto's Orlando Furioso Italian libretto |
16 April 1735 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | 1928, Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing... |
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| 35 | Atalanta Atalanta (opera) Atalanta is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel composed in 1736. It is based upon the mythological female athlete, Atalanta, the libretto being derived from the book La Caccia in Etolia by Belisario Valeriani... |
After Belisario Valeriani Italian libretto |
12 May 1736 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | 1970, Hintlesham Festival, Hintlesham Hintlesham Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh.The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th Century Grade I listed country house that was restored and turned into a hotel by the famous chef, restaurateur and food writer Robert Carrier... |
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| 36 | Arminio Arminio Arminio is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel.- Performance History :Together with Giustino and Berenice, Arminio is one of three operas Handel wrote within a period of half a year in 1736. He began with the composition of Giustino on 14 August 1736, followed by that of Arminio on 15... |
After Salvi Italian libretto |
12 January 1737 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | 23 February 1935, Leipzig (in German) | |
| 37 | Giustino Giustino Giustino is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Pietro Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino.-Performance history:... |
Adapted from Pariati's Giustino, after Nicolo Beregan's Il Giustino Italian libretto |
16 February 1737 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | 21 April 1963, Abingdon | |
| 38 | Berenice Berenice (opera) Berenice is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian libretto, written in Italy in 1709 and originally entitled Berenice, regina d'Egitto , by Antonio Salvi.... |
After Salvi | 18 May 1737 | London, Covent Garden Theatre | ||
| A 13 | Alessandro Severo Alessandro Severo Alessandro Severo is an opera by George Frideric Handel composed in 1738. It is one of Handel's three pasticcio works, made up of the music and arias of his previous operas Giustino, Berenice and Arminio... |
After Apostolo Zeno | 25 February 1738 | London, King’s Theatre | 18 March 1997, Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry... , London |
Pasticcio Pasticcio In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the... |
| 39 | Faramondo Faramondo Faramondo is an opera in three acts by George Frideric Handel to an Italian text adapted from Apostolo Zeno's Faramondo.-Performance history:... |
Adapted from Apostolo Zeno Apostolo Zeno Apostolo Zeno was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters.-Early life:Apostolo Zeno was born of Cretan Greek descent in Venice in 1669... 's Faramondo Italian libretto |
3 January 1738 | London, King’s Theatre | 5 March 1976, Handel Festival, Halle Handel Festival, Halle The Handel Festival in Halle is an international music festival, concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel, in the composer's birthplace in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The festival was founded in 1922 and grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe... |
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| 40 | Serse Serse Serse is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. It was first performed in London on 15 April 1738. The Italian libretto was adapted by an unknown hand from that by Silvio Stampiglia for an earlier opera of the same name by Giovanni Bononcini in 1694... |
After Stampiglia Italian libretto |
15 April 1738 | London, King’s Theatre | 5 July 1924, Handel Festival Göttingen | Also known as Xerxes |
| A 14 | Giove in Argo Giove in Argo Giove in Argo is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. The libretto was written by Antonio Maria Lucchini. It was first performed in King's Theatre, Haymarket, London on 1 May 1739.- History :... |
Antonio Maria Lucchini | 1 May 1739 | London, King’s Theatre | 15 September 2006, Markgräfliches Opernhaus Markgräfliches Opernhaus The Margravial Opera House or Margrave's Opera House is a Baroque opera house in the town of Bayreuth in Germany. It is one of Europe's few surviving theatres of the period and has been extensively restored. It was built between 1744 and 1748 by Joseph Saint-Pierre; the interior was designed by... , Bayreuth |
Pasticcio Pasticcio In music, a pasticcio or pastiche is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, or inauthentic.-Etymology:The term is first attested in the... |
| 41 | Imeneo Imeneo Imeneo is an opera seria in three acts by George Frideric Handel. The Italian-language libretto was adapted from Silvio Stampiglia's Imeneo. Handel had begun composition in September 1738, but did not complete the score until 1740... |
After Stampiglia's Imeneo | 22 November 1740 | London, theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes... |
13 March 1960, Handel Festival, Halle Handel Festival, Halle The Handel Festival in Halle is an international music festival, concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel, in the composer's birthplace in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The festival was founded in 1922 and grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe... |
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| 42 | Deidamia Deidamia (opera) Deidamia was George Frideric Handel's last Italian opera. The Italian text was by Paolo Antonio Rolli.-Performance history:The opera was first performed on 10 January 1741 at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, London. The opera received only three performances, at a time when the public was becoming... |
Rolli Italian libretto |
10 January 1741 | London, theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields |
See also
- Handel House MuseumHandel House MuseumThe Handel House Museum is a museum in Mayfair, London dedicated to the life and works of the German born baroque composer George Frideric Handel, who made his home in London in 1712 and eventually became a British citizen in 1727. Handel was the first occupant of 25 Brook Street, which he rented...
at 25 Brook Street and BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...
worked in partnership to celebrate Handel's life and music in 2009, with BBC Radio 3 broadcasting the complete 42 operas, 8 Jan - 25 July 2009. - List of compositions by George Frideric Handel
- Handel Reference DatabaseHandel Reference DatabaseHandel Reference Database is the largest documentary collection on George Frideric Handel and his times. It was launched in January 2008 on the server of the Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities at Stanford University...