300 Years of the ‘Rival Queens’: Handel’s 1726 Opera Season
Jun 30 – Oct 25, 2026 Bloomsbury
A small display on Handel’s operas Alessandro and Scipione and the rival sopranos Cuzzoni and Faustina.
Marking 300 years since Handel’s 1726 London season, the display looks at the operas Alessandro and Scipione, written to give two star sopranos equal billing. Francesca Cuzzoni was London’s established prima donna when Faustina Bordoni arrived from Italy; fans fuelled a rivalry, though the singers worked well together.
It also touches on the castrato Senesino, for whom Handel wrote many lead roles. It is shown in the Handel Gallery on the museum’s top floor.
Full details at foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Museum Bloomsbury
