Too Haute to Handel

Ancient British costumes make a mockery of great men. Take George Frideric Handel for instance. In a 1733 portrait, he wears a lacy scarf, puffy shirt, and long white wig. Dude looks like an ugly and proud South Beach drag queen. Handel was born in Germany, but moved to the...

By Jacob Katel

December 9, 2010

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Ancient British costumes make a mockery of great men. Take George Frideric Handel for instance. In a 1733 portrait, he wears a lacy scarf, puffy shirt, and long white wig. Dude looks like an ugly and proud South Beach drag queen. Handel was born in Germany, but moved to the U.K. as a young lad trying to scratch a pound out of 16 bars and a dream. Like most of us, his luck was touch-and-go. As legend has it, during one particularly debt-ridden spell, he sat down in a little country house in jolly old England and wrote one of the most widely recognized choral songs in the world. Halle-freakin’-llujah, baby. We don’t know how the royalty system works, or if he’s getting points for publishing, but that song is worth millions. It has been performed to sold-out crowds since 1742. Find out why this Saturday at 8 p.m. when Seraphic Fire and the Firebird Chamber Orchestra perform Messiah, featuring verses from one of the most popular books ever, the Bible, at the Arsht Center’s Knight Concert Hall.
Sat., Dec. 18, 8 p.m., 2010

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