❦  The Encyclopedia of Classic Opera
Opera·Almanac
Opera in the Repertoire · Baroque

Catone

Music by George Frideric Handel · libretto by Pietro Metastasio · premiered 1732 · at Theatre Royal Haymarket

Catone (Cato, HWV A7) is an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. It is one of Handel's nine pasticcio works made up of music and arias by other composers than him. The opera was first performed at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, London, on 4 November 1732.

Text from the Wikipedia article "Catone (Handel)", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the Composer

George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( HAN-dəl; baptised Georg Fried[e]rich Händel, German: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈhɛndl̩] ; 5 March [O.S. 23 February] 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Handel spent his early life in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712, where he spent the bulk of his career and became a naturalised British subject in 1727. He was strongly influenced both by the middle-German polyphonic choral tradition and by composers of the Italian Baroque. In turn, Handel's music forms one of the peaks of the "high baroque" style, bringing Italian…

Text from the Wikipedia article "George Frideric Handel", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Read the full biography →

Other Operas by George Frideric Handel