Handel's Rinaldo in London
February 24, 1711
The young Saxon composer, newly arrived in London via Hamburg and Italy, premiered his first Italian-language opera at the Queen's Theatre. Its bird arias used real sparrows released onstage. London audiences went mad for Italian opera, and for Handel, who would become an Englishman in all but accent and spend the rest of his life there.
In context
Also in 1711 (3 other events on record)
- Death of Emperor Joseph I · Europe · Politics
- Treaty of Pruth · Middle East · War
- Tuscarora War Begins · North America · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Culture
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.