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(SOUNDBITE OF HANDEL'S "LA RESURREZIONE (1708), HWV 47 / PARTE PRIMA: 'DISSERRATEVI, O PORTE D'AVERNO'") GROSS: Sometimes we can overlook something that's right under our noses. Classical music critic ...

But many other glories spill forth, including dreamy or chipper arias for virtually every principal singer and orchestral interludes of Handelian splendor. As conducted by Harry Davidson, the various ...

This is a Handel year, the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. We remember George Frideric Handel primarily for his oratorio, "Messiah," one of the greatest masterpieces in the classical canon.

“Opera proibita” means forbidden opera. The Catholic Church essentially banned opera during the first decade of the 18th Century in Rome, leading to the rise of the Italian oratorio. As a result, ...

GROSS: Sometimes we can overlook something that's right under our noses. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells us a story about a singer he discovered only a few months ago without realizing he ...