The Life and Times of Georg Friedrich Handel

During his lifetime, Handel was celebrated as »Orpheus«, and his music is played in opera houses and concert halls all over the world to this day. Yet we know very little of the man himself, as he rigorously protected his privacy, leaving neither notes nor a diary when he died. Because of this, Franz Binder has had to rely on Handel's works and the accounts of his contemporaries to trace a life that was characterised by phenomenal creative talent, prodigious productivity and international fame, but also by considerable setbacks.

In addition, the author provides us with information essential to gaining a full understanding and appreciation of Handel's work, covering such subjects as castrati, opera seria, and the theatre audiences of the Baroque period.