Athalia is an English-language oratorio composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Samuel Humphreys based on the play Athalie by Jean Racine. The work was commissioned in 1733 for the Publick Act in Oxford – a commencement ceremony of the local colleges, one of which had offered Handel an honorary doctorate (an honour he declined). The story is based on that of the Biblical queen Athaliah. Athalia, Handels third oratorio in English, was completed on 7 June 1733 and first performed on 10 July 1733 at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.The Bee (14 July 1733) reported that the performance was performed with the utmost Applause, and is esteemed equal to the most celebrated of that Gentlemans Performances: there were 3700 Persons present. Athaliah was first given in London on 1 April 1735 at Covent Garden theatre. Christopher Hogwood was a great english conductor and scholar whose extensive research led to a resurgence in interest in early music.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:35:42 +0000
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