During the second decade of the 18th century, Handel settled in England, there to remain and there to win his greatest fame and influence. One of his reasons for locating there was the popularity of a type of music with which he was already quite familiar, and through which he had won great success: Italian-style opera. Over the next 30 years, he devoted the major portion of his creative energies to supplying English audiences with that type of piece. Floridante and Ottone, re di Germania (Otho, King of Germany) premiered in London in 1721 and 1723, respectively.

Program note by Don Anderson © 2022