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Who's the German guy who wrote Italian operas in England? Whoever he is, he wrote music you really can Handel.
Howdy, howdy, howdy! I’m Solomon Reynolds, and this is: Saturday Morning Car Tunes! This morning…
George Frideric Handel was born in Germany in 1685, the same year as J. S. Bach. He’s one of history's greatest composers, writing in every musical genre of his time, but he was most famous early on for his operas. As a teenager, he first heard Italian opera in Berlin and fell in love with it. He even borrowed some of that music for this trio sonata, one of his first compositions.
When he turned 18, Handel moved to Hamburg, Germany, known for its opera house. He played in the orchestra as a violinist and harpsichordist. There, he got the chance to write his first opera, Almira, which was a big hit right away.
But Handel realized, in order to write better operas, he had to go to Italy. His second Italian opera, Agrippina, opened the Carnival season in Venice and was a huge success, making him world-famous. This music proved he had already mastered the Italian style.
After Italy, Handel eventually settled in London. When he got there, people were hungry for real Italian music sung by real Italian singers. Handel’s Rinaldo was the first Italian opera written specifically for London. It opened with an all-Italian cast and started a new era in London’s music scene.
Julius Caesar is probably the most popular opera Handel wrote. After hearing this music, the character Caesar responds, “There’s no music in heaven that can match such a beautiful song.”
Rodelinda is one of Handel’s most dramatic operas, with melodies just as beautiful as Julius Caesar.
Handel wrote a lot of music for castrati—male sopranos who were the rock stars of their day—like in this aria from Ariodante.
Alcina is still one of Handel’s most popular operas and gets performed all the time today. Can you tell why?
“Ombra mai fu” from the opera Xerxes is so well-known, you might have heard it in movies like The Holdovers or TV shows like The Sopranos.
See? I knew you could Handel it.
I’m Solomon Reynolds. I write and produce Saturday Morning Car Tunes, with research assistant Carolina Correa and audio engineer Stephen Page, only on Classical California. Tune in—or out of your car—next Saturday morning!
