is one of Handel’s finest operas, unusual in its consistently tragic tone. Composed at the height of Handel’s Royal Academy opera success, it was the second of three masterpieces performed within the space of two seasons from 1724-5, along with

and

. Though it is now acknowledged by Handel scholars to be as great a masterpiece as the two other works, it was not always so. In 1970 the great Handel expert John Merrill Knapp noted that “The neglect of

is strange. It has not only just as much fine music as the other two operas but also one of the first important tenor roles in operatic history” (Knapp, 406).

The subject of the opera has iconic status in music, literature and art – the subjugation of eastern Europe and western Asia in the

1582 words

Citation: Alsop, Derek . "Tamerlano". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 June 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1698, accessed 21 November 2024.]