ABSTRACT
George Frideric Handel spent nearly his entire opera career in one theater, the Haymarket opera house in London. The Haymarket remained Handel's operatic home from 1710 to 1739, with only a single, involuntary break from 1734 to 1737 (when another opera company performed at the Haymarket and Handel conducted operas at Covent Garden). Thirty of Handel's forty-four operas were written for the Haymarket Theatre. The Haymarket's stage extended 13 feet (4 meters) in front of the proscenium arch and narrowed to 40 feet (12.2 meters) wide owing to the stage boxes. The Haymarket Theatre was well suited to opera for several reasons. Reports indicate that the acoustics of the Haymarket space were very sympathetic to opera. The Haymarket Theatre had five pairs of grooves for wing flats on each side of the stage, parallel to the front of the stage.
