Excerpts from Handel’s Life Time


In 1710, Handel was appointed court conductor in Hanover, and also visited London. Around this time, he produced his opera Ronaldo (1711). However, after travelling several times between Hanover and London in the following years, he decided to settle in Great Britain after the spectacular success of his Te Deum, which was first performed to celebrate the peace of Utrecht in 1713. At this point in his career, he established a link with the court of St. James, although still nominally in the service of the Grand Elector of Hanover, who eventually became George I of Great Britain. Following a last visit to Hanover in  1716 when the Brockes Passion was composed, Handel’s connection with his native country, Germany, ended. He became a British citizen by the act  of parliament in 1727, and anglicized his name.
The next few years, he dedicated to composing the first and second water music, the anthems for the Duke of Chandos, and the early masques. Handel’s struggle for supremacy and recognition in the London world of opera began in 1719 with the founding of the Royal Academy of Music for the production of opera at the Hay Market Theatre. He was then appointed director of this enterprise, which was wholly supported by the king but hotly disputed over by the Prince of Wales and part of the English  nobility. This vehement and violent opposition lasted for nearly twenty years, but eventually ended in Handel’s final defeat. The pressure took a toll on his health and finances as he went bankrupt, and collapsed physically. He then summoned up a little courage and rallied once again , this time going into partnership with the impresario, John Jacob Heidegger, and finally gave up opera composition altogether after the production of his last opera, Deidama, in 1741.

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