Divas who inspired Handel's music

The 18th-century composer wrote many famous works for a group of women whose performances on and off stage made them the talk of London.

For instance, Francesca Cuzzoni and Faustina Bordoni fought on stage, dividing their audience into braying factions. Susannah Cibber lived in a ménage à trois for years, encouraged by her husband to ease his financial problems, but fled to Dublin when a court case over the arrangement and subsequent book scandalised the city.

The exhibition is being mounted by the Handel House Museum, based in the home in Brook Street, Mayfair, where Handel lived from 1723 until his death in 1759.

It includes loans of paintings of Cibber and Kitty Clive from the Garrick Club, which was founded for the patronage of drama.

Director Sarah Bardwell said the composer wrote works specifically with certain women in mind and according to their character and place on the social ladder.

Although the term "diva" was not used until later, the period was the beginning of the idea of the great - and sometimes tempestuous - female singer. "The women were so important in Handel's work," said Ms Bardwell.

Deputy director Martin Wyatt added: "Tales of the great female singers filled the gossip pages of the 18th century London newspapers as opera was the most popular public entertainment. Amid the lurid tales and extravagant performances is the sublime music written by Handel, which continues to inspire audiences and divas alike."

Cibber was eventually rehabilitated. When Handel's work was presented in Dublin, he cast her in Messiah, assisting her restoration to polite society.

Some of the repertoire Handel created for these women will be performed in a series of live events at the house.

Handel And The Divas opens on 30 April and runs until 16 November.