Handel's Italian Cantatas

Refreshing music, lovely singing!  BBC IPlayer.

"The closest thing Handel had to a day job at this point in his life was the production of secular cantatas for his chief Italian benefactor, the Marchese Francesco Maria Ruspoli. Handel wrote dozens of these mini operatic scenas, yet they are among the least known of his works. Today's programme focuses on some of the gems of this rich and varied repertory".

Some of these cantatas are highly dramatic mini operas.

On YouTube, Veronique Gens sings La Lucrezia


More Handel, Diana cacciatrice, Emanuela Galli (YouTube)