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George Frideric Handel

Joyce DiDonato's 'Eden' beckons humanity back to the garden

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's new album, Eden, is a meditation on the natural world. Sergi Jasanada/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sergi Jasanada/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Deceptive Cadence

Joyce DiDonato's 'Eden' beckons humanity back to the garden

On her new album, the opera star suggests Mother Nature has a lot to teach us, if we'd only listen.

Joyce DiDonato's 'Eden' beckons humanity back to the garden

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Jimi Hendrix And George Frideric Handel Were Neighbors Across The Centuries

A look inside George Frideric Handel flat at 25 Brook Street (left), and Jimi Hendrix's at 23 Brook Street (right) Kimberly Junod/WXPN hide caption

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Kimberly Junod/WXPN

World Cafe

Jimi Hendrix And George Frideric Handel Were Neighbors Across The Centuries

XPN

If 1960s rock icon Jimi Hendrix and 18th century composer George Frideric Handel were alive at the same time, they would have been next door neighbors in London.

Handel And Hendrix In London On World Cafe

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Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

Anthony Roth Costanzo takes opera to unlikely places, including NPR Music's Tiny Desk. Morgan Noelle Smith/NPR hide caption

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Morgan Noelle Smith/NPR

Deceptive Cadence

Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

The resourceful singer is unafraid to bring opera — and his high-flying top notes — to unlikely places, from sixth-grade classrooms to the offices of NPR.

Anthony Roth Costanzo: A Countertenor For The 21st Century

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300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

A portrait of George Frideric Handel, presenting his Water Music to King George I. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

Three hundred years ago, England's embattled King George I decided to divert public attention from the country's woes with a big musical party on the River Thames.

300 Years Of Handel's 'Water Music,' With A Splash Of Politics

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A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

Harry Christophers leads the Handel and Haydn Society, now celebrating its bicentennial. James Doyle/Handel and Haydn Society hide caption

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James Doyle/Handel and Haydn Society

Deceptive Cadence

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

The group gave the first U.S. performance of Handel's Messiah, and still plays it today. Yet the ensemble has constantly evolved.

A Bicentennial For Boston's Handel And Haydn Society

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Ensemble Matheus At Carnegie Hall
Melanie Burford for NPR

Classics in Concert

Ensemble Matheus At Carnegie Hall

WQXR Radio

Hear a top French chamber orchestra bring passionate life to operatic works by Vivaldi, Handel and the little-heard Nicola Antonio Porpora — a composer who was once Handel's rival.

Ensemble Matheus At Carnegie Hall

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The New Baroque And A Nod To Minnesota

Violist Nadia Sirota. Samantha West/courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Samantha West/courtesy of the artist

Review

Deceptive Cadence

The New Baroque And A Nod To Minnesota

From Christopher Purves' bottomless bass voice and the soaring Sibelius Fifth to a violist's new take on the Baroque, it's this week's list of albums we can't stop listening to.

Hear Nadia Sirota Play Greenstein's 'In Teaching Others We Teach Ourselves'

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Music

Scandal in Scotland: Handel's 'Ariodante'

Handel, a German composer, became a superstar in London, England, by writing Italian operas. Ariodante, one of his best, was premiered in 1735 at a then brand new opera house at London's Covent Garden.

Grand Theatre of Geneva on World of Opera -- 'Ariodante'

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From Hyperpianos To Harmonious Handel: New Classical Albums

Lisa Smirnova studied Handel's suites for five years before recording them. ECM hide caption

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ECM

Deceptive Cadence

From Hyperpianos To Harmonious Handel: New Classical Albums

NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin an eclectic mix of new classical releases.

From Hyperpianos To Harmonious Handel: New Classical Albums

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Handel's Miraculous 'Messiah'
Courtesy of VocalEssence

The NPR Classical 50

Handel's Miraculous 'Messiah'

Handel's deeply felt musical setting of the life of Christ conveys the emotional tide of its story with almost miraculous insight. In the process, it's acquired a universality that is unique in the history of music.

Ted Libbey And Fred Child Recommend Handel's Messiah

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An Epic Spin-Off: Handel's 'Alcina'

Anja Harteros in the title role of Handel's Alcina, with Vesselina Kasarova as Ruggiero. Vienna State Opera hide caption

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Vienna State Opera

Music

An Epic Spin-Off: Handel's 'Alcina'

WDAV

Who knew there were story franchises in the Baroque era?

Hear An Introduction To Alcina

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Going With The Flow: Handel's 'Semele'

Richard Croft and Danielle de Niese star in Handel's 'Semele' at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Alvaro Yañez/courtesy of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées hide caption

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Alvaro Yañez/courtesy of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

Music

Going With The Flow: Handel's 'Semele'

WDAV

Bowing to market forces isn't just a modern concern: 'Semele' was Handel's attempt to appeal to fans of spiritually minded oratorios and lusty operatic dramas alike.

'No, no, I'll take less'

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'Flora' — An 18th-Century British Invasion

The ballad opera 'Flora': from early 18th-century England to 21st-century Charleston. William Struhs/courtesy of Spoleto USA hide caption

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William Struhs/courtesy of Spoleto USA

NPR World of Opera

'Flora' — An 18th-Century British Invasion

WDAV

How an English innovation led to the first opera to be produced in North America.

'Flora' — An 18th-Century British Invasion

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When A Man Sings Like A Woman: A Countertenor Convergence

Bejun Mehta's new CD features the music of Handel. Marco Borggreve hide caption

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Marco Borggreve

Deceptive Cadence

When A Man Sings Like A Woman: A Countertenor Convergence

In classical music, when you're a guy who sings high, you're called a countertenor. Three excellent practitioners of the art form -- Andreas Scholl, Bejun Mehta and Philippe Jaroussky -- each have brand new CDs.

Alfred Deller sings "music for a While" by Henry Purcell (rec. 1949)

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