On This Day

Premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera "Ariodante" at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres.

George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres. Though his large scale English-language works written for the theatre are technically oratorios and not operas, several of them, such as Semele (1744), have become an important part of the opera repertoire. Other English language oratorios which are sometimes fully staged as operas include Saul, Samson, Hercules, Belshazzar, Theodora and Jephtha.

Parnasso in festa, a festa teatrale composed by Handel to an Italian text and performed in London to celebrate the royal wedding of Anne, Princess Royal and Prince William of Orange in 1734, has many characteristics of an opera.

Historical Significance

George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres.

Key People

George Frideric Handel

Musician

German-British Baroque composer

Events Before

  1. King of Prussia Frederick the Great (21) weds duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (18) at Schlo

    King of Prussia Frederick the Great (21) weds duchess Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (18) at Schloss Salzdahlum in Wolfenbüttel, Germany

  2. British officer James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrive at Charleston, South Carolina

    Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in...

  3. First polar bear exhibited in America in Boston

    First polar bear exhibited in America in Boston

  4. Georgia founded by James Oglethorpe at site of Savannah

    Savannah ( sə-VAN-ə) is a city in, and county seat of, Chatham County, Georgia, United States.

  5. First international boxing match: Local fighter Bob Whittaker beats “The Venetian Gondolier”, Tito di Carni at James Fig

    First international boxing match: Local fighter Bob Whittaker beats “The Venetian Gondolier”, Tito di Carni at James Figg's academy amphitheatre in Marylebone, London

Events After

  1. Paul Revere is born

    Paul Revere silversmith and military officer, known for american silversmith and military officer, was born on 1735-01-01. Paul Revere (December 21, 1734 O.S.

  2. First opera performance in North American colonies, "Flora," opens in Charleston, South Carolina

    First opera performance in North American colonies, "Flora," opens in Charleston, South Carolina

  3. First opera performed in America, "Flora," in Charleston, South Carolina

    First opera performed in America, "Flora," in Charleston, South Carolina

  4. Author, poet, critic and lexicographer and writer of the first English dictionary Dr. Samuel Johnson (25) marries the wi

    Author, poet, critic and lexicographer and writer of the first English dictionary Dr. Samuel Johnson (25) marries the widow Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, 21 years his senior

  5. An agreement between Nadir Shah and Paul I of Russia is signed near Ganja and Russian troops are withdrawn from Baku

    An agreement between Nadir Shah and Paul I of Russia is signed near Ganja and Russian troops are withdrawn from Baku

More from the 1730s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on January 8, 1734?
George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres. Though his large scale English-language works written for the theatre are technically oratorios and not operas, several of them, such as Semele (1744), have become an important part of the opera repertoire. Other English language oratorios which are sometimes fully staged as operas include Saul, Samson, Hercules, Belshazzar, Theodora and Jephtha.
Why is Premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera "Ariodante" at the Royal Opera Hou... significant?
George Frideric Handel's operas comprise 42 musical dramas that were written between 1705 and 1741 in various genres.
Who was involved in Premiere of George Frideric Handel's opera "Ariodante" at the Royal Opera Hou...?
Key figures include George Frideric Handel (Musician).

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