George Frideric Handel, Rinaldo

Derek Alsop (University of Chester)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication Feb 1711

Places

England (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Music (any)
- Classical Music
  - Opera

Resources

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The first performance of Handel’s Italian opera

Rinaldo

in 1711 was one of the most important events in the history of opera production in England. There had been other operas in “the

Italian

manner of Musick” (Dean and Knapp, 142), as early as 1705, but

Rinaldo

was the work that truly established the genre. After his great success in Italy with

Rodrigo

(Florence, 1707) and

Agrippina

(Venice, 1709), Handel chose London as his next stage, and was to dominate the musical scene there until his death in 1759. His commitment to Italian opera would see the establishment of the Royal Academy of Music, in 1719, and the composition of over forty operas (all in Italian). Under Handel’s direction, London would become the opera capital of the world, signing up, at enormous expense, the best…

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1594 words

Citation: Alsop, Derek . "Rinaldo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 June 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34234, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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