Classical History and Handel’s ‘Alessandro’

The study of eighteenth-century reception of Handel’s operas has produced at least four viable theses. The first of these may be termed the ‘great singers’ approach: Handel’s audience attended the operas primarily to hear star singers and their feats of ‘athletic’ prowess. ¹ The second thesis concerns itself with ‘affect’: the operas were conceived and received as a series of situations in each of which a single mood, or ‘affect’, was explored. ² Third, it has been suggested that Handel’s operas would have been understood as political or social commentary—as metaphors for contemporary events. ³ Finally (and this is so obvious that it is rarely stated), the operas are thought to have been viewed as human drama. ⁴