What's On / Proms by Day

Sir Charles Mackerras returns to the Proms with one of his greatest loves, the music of George Frideric Handel. Dating from 1744, when Handel's creativity was at its peak, Belshazzar was written simultaneously with another oratorio, Hercules - and at colossal speed (he finished the work in a month).

It's based on the famous Old Testament story telling of the downfall of the Babylonian king. But Handel's libretto, by Charles Jennens, was considerably expanded with numerous incidents imported from other sources. The work was first heard at the King's Theatre in London in March 1745 (though the indisposition of one of its star performers meant that various of the solos had to be redistributed among other members of the cast, apparently rather unsatisfactorily).

Belshazzar is a work of consummate dramatic unity, wonderfully structured and perfectly paced, in which Handel skilfully characterises the three peoples portrayed - the Babylonians, the Jews and the Persians.