List of operas by George Frideric Handel

The opera house in the Haymarket—first known as the Queen's Theatre and then later as the King's Theatre—where many of Handel's works were first performed. Illustration by William Capon.

George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres. He began composing operas in Germany and then for a brief time in Italy to modest success. It was not until he moved to England that he found great success in the genre. His first opera in England, Rinaldo (1711), was met with enthusiasm, and several more Italian operas soon followed. However, Handel'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 his English language works are technically oratorios and not operas, several of them, such as Semele (1743), have become an important part of the opera repertoire. Handel's first opera (opera seria - serious Italian opera) was Almira (1705).

Overview

First edition of Handel's Giulio Cesare (1724)

Handel's earlier operas tended to be of a lighter nature, although there are intermittent moments, such as the prison scene from Almira (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 cantatas and other works written during his time spent in Italy (1706–09). For example, the characteristic harmonic structure of Agrippina (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 bassoons to achieve different tone colours. The music for Rinaldo (1711) notably used four trumpets, an instrumental choice that Handel never repeated elsewhere.

Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) whose epic poem Orlando Furioso was the source for Handel's operas Orlando, Alcina, and Ariodante.

Beginning with Ottone (1722), Handel composed numerous operas for the Royal Academy of Music during the 1720s. With the exception of Flavio (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 (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 (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 and Faustina Bordoni, were intensely competitive, and Handel had to cater to them both equally in these latter Academy operas. With the exception of Admeto (1727), the attempt at balancing two leading soprano roles within an individual opera proved to hinder the work both musically and dramatically.

During the 1730s, Handel returned to writing operas of a comic and fantastic or heroic nature, largely because he no longer had to cater to the tastes of the Academy when choosing librettos. These works, such as Partenope (1730), Orlando (1733) and Alcina (1735), were influenced by the operas of Leonardo Vinci and Leonardo Leo 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 violins, 8 violas, 6 cellos, 4 double basses, and two harpsichords in addition to four bassoons and a number of other wind instruments. In operas like Oreste (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 (1735) and Atalanta (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 (1737) and Serse (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 (1740). Handel's last Italian opera, Deidamia, 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 Alceste in 1750.

List of works

The following is a complete list of Handel's operatic works. All are opera seria in three acts, unless otherwise stated.

HWV	Title	Libretto	Première date	Première place, theatre	Modern revival	Notes
1	Almira (Der in Krohnen erlangte Glücks-Wechsel, oder: Alimira, Königin von Castilien)	Friedrich Christian Feustking, after Giulio Pancieri	8 January 1705	Hamburg, Oper am Gänsemarkt	4 June 1994, Handel Festival, Bad Lauchstädt	Some music lost; announced as a Singspiel but has no spoken dialogue
2	Nero (Die durch Blut und Mord erlangete Liebe)	Friedrich Christian Feustking	25 February 1705	Hamburg, Oper am Gänsemarkt		Music lost
3	Florindo (Der beglückte Florindo)	Hinrich Hinsch	January 1708	Hamburg, Oper am Gänsemarkt		Almost all of the music is lost
4	Daphne (Die verwandelte Daphne)	Hinrich Hinsch	January 1708	Hamburg, Oper am Gänsemarkt		A sequel to Florindo, intended to be performed on the day after it. Almost all of the music is lost
5	Rodrigo (Vincer se stesso è la maggior vittoria)	After Francesco Silvani's II duello d'Amore e di Vendetta Italian libretto	c, November 1707	Florence, Teatro di via del Cocomero	1984, Innsbruck	Some music is lost
6	Agrippina	Vincenzo Grimani	26 December 1709, early 1710	Venice, Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo	1943, Halle
7a/b	Rinaldo	Giacomo Rossi/Aaron Hill, after Tasso, La Gerusalemme liberata Italian libretto	24 February 1711	London, Queen's Theatre	June 1954, Handel Festival, Halle	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 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, (first, 1712 version)	HWV 8c designates the version of May 1734 and its November revival. The prologue Terpsicore added to the November 1734 revival is 8b.
9	Teseo	Nicola Francesco Haym, after Philippe Quinault's libretto for Thésée Italian libretto	10 January 1713	London, Queen's Theatre	29 June 1947, Handel Festival Göttingen	5 acts
10	Silla	Giacomo Rossi, after Plutarch's Life of Sulla Italian libretto	2 June 1713?	London, Queen's Theatre? (or Burlington House?)		Much of the music was re-used in Amadigi
11	Amadigi di Gaula	Rossi or Haym (?), after Antoine Houdar de la Motte's Amadis de Grèce, 1699 Italian libretto	25 May 1715	London, King's Theatre	Osnabrück, 1929	Various additions during the initial run and the revivals of 1716 and 1717
12a/b	Radamisto	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	Paolo Antonio Rolli, after a reworking of a Nicolò Minato libretto by Silvio Stampiglia Italian libretto	15 April 1721	London, King’s Theatre	1928, Essen (Act 3 only)	only Act 3 is by Handel
14	Floridante	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	Haym, after Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino's libretto for Antonio Lotti'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	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	Haym Italian libretto	20 February 1724	London, King’s Theatre	1922, Handel Festival Göttingen
18	Tamerlano	Haym, after Agostin Piovene and Nicholas Pradon Italian libretto	31 October 1724	London, King’s Theatre	7 September 1924, Karlsruhe
19	Rodelinda	Haym, after Antonio Salvi, after Pierre Corneille's play Pertharite, roi des Lombards Italian libretto	13 February 1725	London, King’s Theatre	26 June 1920, Handel Festival Göttingen
20	Scipione	Rolli Italian libretto	12 March 1726	London, King’s Theatre	1937, Handel Festival Göttingen
21	Alessandro	O Mauro Italian libretto	5 May 1726	London, King’s Theatre	1959, Stuttgart (in German)
22	Admeto	Haym Italian libretto	31 January 1727	London, King’s Theatre	1964, Abingdon
23	Riccardo Primo	Rolli, after Francesco Briani Italian libretto	11 November 1727	London, King’s Theatre	8 July 1964, Sadler's Wells Theatre (Handel Opera Society), London
24	Siroe	Haym, after Metastasio Italian libretto	17 February 1728	London, King’s Theatre	December 1925, Gera
25	Tolomeo	Haym, adapted from Carlo Sigismondo Capece Italian libretto	30 April 1728	London, King’s Theatre	19 June 1938, Handel Festival Göttingen
26	Lotario	After Antonio Salvi Italian libretto	2 December 1729	London, King’s Theatre	3 September 1975, Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames
27	Partenope	After Silvio Stampiglia Italian libretto	24 February 1730	London, King’s Theatre	23 June 1935, Handel Festival Göttingen
28	Poro	After Metastasio Italian libretto	2 February 1731	London, King’s Theatre	1928, Braunschweig
29	Ezio	Metastasio Italian libretto	15 January 1732	London, King’s Theatre	30 June 1926, Handel Festival Göttingen
30	Sosarme	After Salvi Italian libretto	15 February 1732	London, King’s Theatre	1970, Abingdon
31	Orlando	After Capece, after Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso Italian libretto	27 January 1733	London, King’s Theatre	6 May 1959, Abingdon
32	Arianna in Creta	After Pietro Pariati's Arianna e Teseo	26 January 1734	London, King’s Theatre
A 11	Oreste	After Giangualberto Barlocci	18 December 1734	London, Covent Garden Theatre	1990, Karlsruhe	Pasticcio
33	Ariodante	After Salvi, after Ariosto's Orlando Furioso Italian libretto	8 January 1735	London, Covent Garden Theatre
34	Alcina	After Ariosto's Orlando Furioso Italian libretto	16 April 1735	London, Covent Garden Theatre	1928, Leipzig
35	Atalanta	After Belisario Valeriani Italian libretto	12 May 1736	London, Covent Garden Theatre	1970, Hintlesham Festival, Hintlesham
36	Arminio	After Salvi Italian libretto	12 January 1737	London, Covent Garden Theatre	23 February 1935, Leipzig (in German)
37	Giustino	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	After Salvi	18 May 1737	London, Covent Garden Theatre
39	Faramondo	Adapted from Apostolo Zeno's Faramondo Italian libretto	3 January 1738	London, King’s Theatre	5 March 1976, Handel Festival, Halle
A 13	Alessandro Severo	After Apostolo Zeno	25 February 1738	London, King’s Theatre	18 March 1997, Britten Theatre, Royal College of Music, London	Pasticcio
40	Serse	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	Antonio Maria Lucchini	1 May 1739	London, King’s Theatre	15 September 2006, Markgräfliches Opernhaus, Bayreuth	Pasticcio
41	Imeneo	After Stampiglia's Imeneo	22 November 1740	London, theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields	13 March 1960, Handel Festival, Halle
42	Deidamia	Rolli Italian libretto	10 January 1741	London, theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields
49	Acis and Galatea	John Gay, drawing on John Dryden's translation of "The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea" from Ovid's Metamorphoses	1718	Cannons, Little Stanmore		Variously described as a serenata, a masque, a pastoral opera, a "little opera" (by the composer), an entertainment, and an oratorio

See also

• Handel House Museum at 25 Brook Street and BBC Radio 3 worked in partnership to celebrate Handel's life and music in 2009, with BBC Radio 3 broadcasting the complete 42 operas, 8 January – 25 July 2009
• List of compositions by George Frideric Handel
• Handel Reference Database

References

• Hicks, Anthony (1992), 'Handel, George Frideric' in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
• Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
• Some of the information in this article is taken from the related Dutch Wikipedia article.

External links

• Handel House - Listing of operas with pages on each one.