Belshazzar (1745 Haendel / Jennens), oratorio

Belshazzar (1745) is an oratorio by Georg Frideric Haendel (mus.), and Chalres Jennens (libr.).

Characters

• Beshazzar, King of Babylon = tenor
• Nitocris, mother of Belshazzar = soprano
• Cyrus = mezzo-soprano
• Gobrias, an Assyrian Nobleman, revolted to Cyrus = bass
• Daniel, a Jewish prophet = contralto

Editions, performances

Composed in late Summer 1744, premiered in London [England]: King's Theatre, 27 March 1745.

Performance History

The work fell into neglect after Handel's death, with revivals of the work occurring in the United Kingdom in 1847, 1848 and 1873. With the revival of interest in Baroque music and historically informed musical performance since the 1960s, Belshazzar receives performances in concert form today and is also sometimes fully staged as an opera.

• Belshazzar (1745 / @1745 Haendel), London production, world premiere (oratorio)
• Belshazzar (19?? Harnoncourt / @1745 Haendel), sound recording (oratorio)
• Belshazzar (19?? Pinnock / @1745 Haendel), sound recording (oratorio)
• Belshazzar (19?? Budday / @1745 Haendel), sound recording (oratorio)
• Belshazzar (2008 Jacobs / @1745 Haendel), Aix-en-Provence production, video recording (oratorio)
• Belshazzar (2013 Christie / @1745 Haendel), sound recording (oratorio)

References

• Smither, 2 (1977) 283-94.

External links

• Wikipedia