George Frideric Handel

When Handel turned 18 in 1703, he decided that he would fully commit to music. As such, he accepted the position of violinist at the Goose Market Theater of the Hamburg Opera. During this time, he also added to his income by teaching private music lessons, passing onto his students the concepts he learned from Zachow. 

Handel’s immense skill on the harpsichord and organ started earning him major attention from the public. Eventually, he would get more and more opportunities to perform in operas. This would also make Handel compose his own operas. And in 1705, he would make his operatic debut with Almira. 

The opera opened to instant success, having a good run with 20 performances. He would compose a few more popular operas, and in 1706 decided to try his in Italy, where opera is basically a religion. While there, he wrote two operas: Rodrigo and Agrippina, produced in 1707 and 1709. Aside from this, he was also able to write several dramatic chamber works. 

He toured major Italian cities over three operatic seasons, which allowed him to introduce himself to most of the country’s best musicians. Despite this, he was enticed to try out the British market, and in 1710 Handel left Venice and for London. While there, Handel was commissioned to write an opera by the manager of the King’s Theatre. He went on to compose Rinaldo in only two weeks. This would be his most critically acclaimed work to date, catapulting him to worldwide fame.

Handel would go on to compose more works, most of them oratorios, until his final years. He would die in London on the 14th of April 1759, at 74.