Born in Halle in central Germany, George Frideric Handel was
lured from his intended career in law by music, and had his
first opera produced in Hamburg before he was 20. The following
year he took himself to the fount of all things operatic, Italy,
where a four year stay added a new sophistication and finish to
his already notable abilities. Many of his most brilliant vocal
works date from this time, including the choral psalm-setting
Dixit Dominus, the opera Agrippina and the oratorio La
resurrezione. Handel emerged from his Italian experience looking
for a career in opera, and after a brief period in Hanover was
soon in London, scoring a significant success in 1711 with the
spectacular Rinaldo. Over the next 30 years he was to compose
around 40 Italian operas for the London stage, the climaxes of
his achievement coming in 1724–5 with Giulio Cesare, Tamerlano
and Rodelinda, and in 1735, the year of Ariodante and Alcina. At
the same time he gained a sure foothold with the British
establishment, cultivating w