News about George Frideric Handel

UEFA has sparked controversy online after unveiling the new Champions League television intro for the 2024-25 football season, with some fans questioning whether the new theme music is a late April Fool's joke.  It comes as the governing body is set to introduce some of its biggest changes to the iconic competition, with this year's tournament set to follow a new format, departing from its traditional group stage system and will instead adopt a revamped league phase.  But some fans have not taken well to some of the new changes that are being introduced, with many wondering why UEFA has chosen to alter the hair-raising Champions League theme music that has set the stage for so many iconic European football nights since the 1992-93 season.

Katherine Jenkins OBE and Anthony Hopkins CBE join forces for upcoming Handel biopic The King Of Covent Garden. The Welsh opera singer, 43, will be the executive producer of the film with fellow Welsh native Anthony portraying Handel. Handel was a German-British composer born in Germany in 1685 and who died in Westminster in 1759. He wrote operas, organ concertos, oratorios, including Messiah in 1741, and four coronation anthems, one of which, Zadok the Priest, has been performed at every British coronation since 1727. The King Of Covent Garden, set to be directed by Andrew Levitas, will focus on the creation of Messiah.

EXCLUSIVE: The Israel-Hamas war has sparked a new wave of 'cancell culture' at some of Britain's universities, it is fearful, with lectures being cut off and activities postponed as the Middle East's horrific crisis unfolds. Academics have warned that the barbaric killing of 1,500 Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists in a surprise attack on October 7 has had a 'chilling effect' on free expression on campuses around the UK. Avi Shlaim, a respected Israeli-British scholar, was dismissed from his lecture at Liverpool Hope University due to concerns over employee and student wellbeing. Handel's Saul's upcoming performances were postponed due to the apparent'striking parallels' connection with Gaza's continuing civil war. Meanwhile, Jewish students at the University of Oxford have been "intimidated" and "harassed" after the Hamas terror attack, with 49 anti-Semitic incidents in the first 17 days of the war. More than 150 calls have been received from a helpline devoted to the problem. The University and College Union in Oxford sparked retaliation after its members planned to discuss a motion calling for a'mass uprising' and a'intifada until victory' against Israel.

Handel's Saul's opera society is facing criticism after canceling performances due to the'striking's parallels in the Middle East. The 18th Century concert piece will no longer be performed at Emmanuel College on Thursday and Friday, according to the 'current political situation and tragic escalation of Gaza and Israel,' according to the student body. The relationship between Saul, the first King of Israel, and his replacement David was detailed in the opera written by George Frideric Handel in 1738. David kills Goliath from the Philistines in one of the classic tales; the people who lived in the modern day Gaza strip 3,000 years ago and inspired the word Palestine.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner (left in 2021 and inset in 1990) has been at the top of classical music for decades, being so close to the King that he once gave him two generations of breeding heifers. The respected conductor has appeared worldwide in works by well-known composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Handel, earning acclaim from critics and audiences alike. However, his latest predicament may not be surprising to those who are familiar with him. He once boasted that he can be both 'impatient' and'stroppy.' Sir John, 80, who reportedly "punched and slapped" 29-year-old choir singer William Thomas in France on Tuesday, has since dropped out of the BBC Proms. According to The Telegraph, the BBC had investigated the incident and concluded that it would not have been comfortable with him performing if he had refused to do so. In 2014, Gardiner told the Daily Mail that the King 'drops in regularly' to his 500-acre organic Dorset farm (right, in 2007), which is close to the monarch's Poundbury development

Viewers from around the world were keen to pick out the best moments from Westminster Abbey's glamorous ceremony this morning. Among them was the Princess Royal's huge feather hat, which seemed to block Prince Harry's view (left), who had been relegated to the row behind his relatives for the showpiece occasion. Many wondered if it was a deliberate move to'punish' the Duke of Sussex, who has been outspoken in his critique of the Royal Family in his autobiography Spare and new Netflix film. During Harry's marriage last year, some people likened it to the present. Fans of Prince Louis' right wave (inset) and the similarity between coronation anthem Zadok The Priest (inset) and the much-recognised song performed at the start of Champions League football matches went viral.

Fans of King Charles III's coronation have poked fun online after a hymn performed during his coronation bore a striking similarity to the Champions League theme. During the service, a familiar song began playing that left football fans on social media questioning whether they had just heard the famous anthem. However, the song performed was not 'Champions League,' but rather 'Zadok the Priest,' a coronation anthem composed by George Frideric Handel in 1727 for King George II's coronation.

Sir John Eliot Gardiner said King Charles was "very approachable and congenial" and that the monarch has "enormous pressure" on him ahead of the event (right). He explained he was 'summoned to Windsor' before Christmas where the duo discussed the service over 'very large gin and tonic and supper' (left)

On May 6, Charles personally selected a musical program for the Westminster Abbey, which has been planned to showcase a variety of musical talent and styles from both the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. On a personal note, the monarch has requested that Greek Orthodox music be performed in honor of his late father, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died in 2021. The Byzantine Chant Ensemble will perform it. Six orchestral commissions, five choral commissions, and one organ commission have been created by British composers whose styles include classical, sacred, film, television, and musical theatre.

As a mark of respect for the Queen, the Champions League anthem will not be played in England or Scotland this week. The well-known tune, which is simply titled "Champions League," is based on George Frideric Handel's composition Zadok the Priest. Zadok the Priest is usually performed at the coronation of British monarchs, but will not be heard until the Champions League matches on British soil this week.