Israel in Egypt

Israel in Egypt (HWV 54) is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. The libretto was compiled by Handel's collaborator Charles Jennens and, like Messiah is composed entirely of selected passages from the Hebrew Bible, mainly from Exodus and the Psalms. Israel in Egypt premiered at London's King's theatre in Haymarket on April 4 1739. Handel started it soon after the opera season at King's theatre was cancelled because of a lack of subscribers. The oratorio was not well received by audiences, although commended in the London Daily Post, and the second performance was shortened, and the mainly choral work was augmented with Italian arias.
See more at Wikipedia.org...