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When Dr Johnson described opera as “an exotic and irrational entertainment”, he was taking aim at works sung in Italian, for English audiences. Handel epitomised everything that Johnson was complaining about: not only was he German (he arrived in London in 1710), but he wrote to Italian texts, yet he was far and away England’s favourite opera composer.
Handel was always alert to market forces, so when, in the 1730s, religious rules forbade stage performances during Lent, he set about virtually inventing the English oratorio: music dramas based on biblical stories, but without scenery, acting or movement. Crucially, they were sung in English. Audiences loved them, and they still do, as witness last night’s sell-out performance of Saul, one of his grandest oratorios and the opening attraction of the 2026 London Handel Festival (LHF).
