Göttingen International Handel Festival

The International Handel Festival Göttingen are the world's oldest festival of early music. Find annually since 1920 in Göttingen instead, works last for twelve days and had 22000 visitors (2010).

The dramatic works of George Frideric Handel were forgotten, as the staging of his opera Rodelinda on June 26, 1920 not only the beginning of the festival was in Göttingen, but caused many performances of his operas in Germany; their popularity lasts since then until today.

Artistic Director of the Festival since 2011 Laurence Cummings. Nicholas McGegan led them artistically from 1991 to 2011.

Organizers of the festival was the beginning of the University Association, after 1924 the Handel festival town, from 1931 to 2007, the Göttingen Händel-Gesellschaft eV, and since 2008, the International Handel Festival Göttingen GmbH. Financially support the Federal Republic of Germany, Lower Saxony, the city of Göttingen and the Göttingen district the festival.