CHANDOS ANTHEMS; PARNASSO IN FESTA, hwv73

Gay's imitators effectively invented a new 'English opera' which entertained London audiences through a discourse upholding British values in their native language, the craze for which peaked in the period 1728-1736, fuelled largely by public disdain for endless and expensive Italian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEighteenth-century music Vol. 7; no. 2; p. 305
Main Authors LEECH, PETER, HANDEL, GEORGE FRIDERIC
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.09.2010
Subjects
British English
Chamber music
Musical performances
Musicians & conductors
Opera
Singing
Theater
Voice professionals
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Summary:Gay's imitators effectively invented a new 'English opera' which entertained London audiences through a discourse upholding British values in their native language, the craze for which peaked in the period 1728-1736, fuelled largely by public disdain for endless and expensive Italian operas with elevated mythological themes set in a language many could not understand, performed by egotistical divas. The unpredictable and precarious theatrical world of Italian opera at the King's Theatre, one of Handel's chief sources of income for over a decade, teetered towards financial collapse during the 1732-1734 seasons with the loss of his most important singers to the 'Opera of the Nobility' and the move to Covent Garden.
ISSN:1478-5706
1478-5714
DOI:10.1017/S1478570610000199