Word: torquato
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...German barber-surgeon, Handel had left his home town of Halle at 18, had spent three years in Italy schooling himself in opera and oratorio. On his first visit to England, he patched Rinaldo together in a scant two weeks. Based on the poem by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595), the opera was derided by Addison in The Spectator for its "Painted dragons spitting wildfire, and enchanted chariots drawn by Flanders mares." But its lush melodies were just what the public wanted: it became the first real operatic hit in English history. Its success won Handel a ?200 annual pension from...