Esther (Handel)
Esther (HWV 50) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel and is generally acknowledged to be the first English oratorio. Handel set a libretto by John Arbuthnot and Alexander Pope after the Old Testament drama by Jean Racine. It is a short (1 hr. 40 min.) work compared to Handel's later oratorios. The work was originally composed in about 1718, but was heavily revised into a full oratorio in 1732.
Read more about Esther (Handel): Masque (1718), Oratorio (1732)
Famous quotes containing the word esther:
“So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?””
—Bible: Hebrew, Esther 6:6.