Belshazzar (HWV 61) is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel. The libretto was by Charles Jennens, and Handel abridged it considerably. Jennens' libretto was based on the Biblical account of the fall of Babylon at the hands of Cyrus the Great and the subsequent freeing of the Jewish nation, as found in the Book of Daniel.

Librettist Charles Jennens
Date of composition 1744
Premiered 1745, March 27th (King's Theatre in the Haymarket) in London, UK
Type Oratorio
Catalogue HWV 61
Spoken language English
Instruments Orchestra
Voice (Tenor) - Belshazzar, King of Babylon
Voice (Soprano) - Nitocris, mother of Belshazzar
Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Cyrus, Prince of Persia
Voice (Bass) - Gobrias, an Assyrian Nobleman, revolted to Cyrus
Voice (Contralto) - Daniel, a Jewish prophet
Links
Autotranslations beta Georg Friedrich Haendel: Belshazzar, HWV 61
Georg Friedrich Händel: Belshazzar, HWV 61
Georg Friedrich Händel: Belshazzar, HWV 61