George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) was a Baroque composer famous for his operas and oratorios. Born in Halle in the Prussian Empire, Handel was initially discouraged by his father from pursuing a musical career. When the young boy performed organ at church, however, he was noticed by composer Frideric Wilhelm Zachow, who offered to teach him music lessons. After a brief attempt at pursuing law, Handel dedicated himself to music full time, becoming an organist and later, a violinist at the Hamburg Opera.

The beginning of Handel’s compositional career revolved around composing operas. He began in Hamburg, premiering his first opera, Almira, in 1705 to general success. He then moved to Italy, where he began composing Italian operas, along with some cantatas and oratorios. As Italian opera was becoming increasingly popular in England, the composer eventually moved there in 1710 to premiere London’s first original Italian opera, Rinaldo. Over the next several decades, Handel composed over forty operas, spanning several opera companies, three of which he ran himself. Some of his most famous operas include Alcina, Terpsichore, Berenice, and Serse. Eventually, Italian opera began declining in London, and Handel decided to give up composing for the genre.

Instead, Handel moved toward composing oratorios, which were large-scale works for orchestra and voices that did not include staging or costumes, thus decreasing the price of production. Handel wrote over twenty-five oratorios, which were received well by English audiences. By far his most famous, however, is the 1742 Messiah. A massive and monumental work, it was initially premiered in Dublin as a charity event. Though it did not reach immediate success in England, it has grown to become one of the most frequently performed pieces of all time. Just after the Messiah, Handel premiered his famous oratorio Samson.

Handel was a prolific composer who produced a huge range of works, including operas, oratorios, cantatas, concerto grossi, organ concertos, and works for small chamber groups or soloists. Some of his other most famous compositions include Water Music (1717) and Music for Royal Fireworks (1749). The composer died in 1759, but is still celebrated today as a leader of Baroque music and leading figure of opera and oratorio.