A studio performance of one of Handel's best known operas by the English National Opera. The Opera, a tale of love and power based on Shakespeare's play, was first performed in 1724 at the Haymarket Theatre in London using castrati singers in the heroes roles. This production follows modern practice in using women in these parts, and in particular, Dame Janet Baker creates the virtuoso role of Julius Caesar.

"George Friedrich Handel remains one of the unchallenged geniuses of musical history. Yet many revealing and fascinating aspects of his work have been obscured by generations of adulation, prejudice or misinterpretation. Christopher Hogwood takes us back to the original Handel, blending the evidence from documents of all kinds with judicious biographical observations as well as a delightful selection of illustrations." "The result is a comprehensive...

During his lifetime, the sounds of Handel's music reached from court to theater, echoed in cathedrals, and filled crowded taverns, but the man himself-known to most as the composer of Messiah-is a bit of a mystery. Though he took meticulous care of his musical manuscripts and even provided for their preservation on his death, very little of an intimate nature survives. One document-Handel's will-offers us a narrow window into his personal life. In...