13 April 1742 – the first performance of Handel’s Messiah. Handel was running the Covent Garden Theatre and had enjoyed fame and success in London. But times were changing, he was falling out of favour and the theatre was gaining a reputation as a low haunt. Handel jumped at an invitation to Dublin, to host a charity performance. He had written Messiah in three weeks in London, and despite initial protest from the church in Ireland, in Dublin it was debuted, to a rapturous reception.
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