John Beard Exhibition Wednesday 14th September 2016 – Sunday 19th February 2017

Tickets: included in General Admission price to Handel & Hendrix in London.

This exhibition explores the extraordinary life of the celebrated tenor, John Beard – Handel’s ‘tenor of choice’. This theatre star and 18th century celebrity premiered several roles for Handel in a variety of opera and oratorio, wowed the public at the pleasure gardens with patriotic ballads and nonsense songs, and expertly managed the Covent Garden Theatre until his retirement. This exhibition presents the curious circumstances of his first marriage, music scores with Beard’s own performance markings, evidence of his kind philanthropy and many other fascinating items from his life. Alongside this, a painting of John Rich, Theatre Manager and Beard’s father-in-law, attributed to William Hogarth will be displayed in Handel’s Music Room in its first public outing, alongside an iconic painting of John Beard by Thomas Hudson. Come and delve into the theatrical world of John Beard.

Tenor Neil Jenkins, who has curated the exhibition adds ‘I am very excited to tell you that the exhibition that I am curating at the Handel House Museum (Handel’s actual London home) in Brook Street, Mayfair is opening to the public on Wednesday 14th September – next week in fact!  It runs until February 19th next year, and has come about because of the biography I have written of this remarkable singer.