“Handel warmed up for Messiah with his oratorio Israel in Egypt. The bottom had recently dropped out of the Italian opera market, so Handel turned his hand to composing oratorios in English, which he made every bit as dramatic as opera. In Israel in Egypt, there are rivers of blood, frogs, lice, blotches, blisters, hailstorms, and locusts. There are some achingly beautiful tunes too, and all’s well that ends well.”

https://mayfieldfestival.co.uk/events/handels-israel-in-egypt/