Larry Zazzo

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193 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard May 2026 last heard 7 May

Larry Zazzo’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in May 2026 with 1.

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In Our Time · Handel's Messiah · 7 May 2026 podcast

There is some singer inflation, even more than there is nowadays, I suppose.

Or I wish there was more inflation.

So he was in a situation where he has started to write some oratorios.

And it was remarked on a very famous quote, which is worth just quoting for very quickly.

Horace Walpole writes to Horace Mann saying,

Handel has set up an oratorio against the operas and succeeds.

He's hired all the goddesses from farces and singers of roast beef.

And that's such wonderful.

So who were these singers of roast beef?

What's a different type of singer?

These aren't singers of Italian opera.

These are singers of ballad opera.

So think beggars opera.

Think of the precursors of musicals, a different type of musical style, shorter musical phrases, less virtuosity, more limited vocal range.

And so I think Handel is writing for he doesn't know whom, but perhaps a singer who's a slightly less trained, a singer of English.

And a classic example of that who he didn't know he was going to have was Susanna Kibber.

Some of your listeners might be surprised.

I always thought it was Susanna Sibber.

But are we saying Susanna Kibber now?

So Susanna, born Susanna Arne to Thomas Arne, so born into a theatrical family, an acting impresario family.

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