On 26 April 2021, Prof. Dr. Manfred Rätzer passed away at the age of 91. The Handel House Foundation as organiser of the Handel Festival 2022 dedicates the concert “Fernando, Re di Castiglia” on Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 7.30 p.m. at the Francke Foundations to the great Handel enthusiast.
Manfred Rätzer, a professor of economics at the University of Halle by profession, compiled out of passion in the course of his life a documentation of the staged performances of Handel’s works from the 18th century to the present day. For this, he held a wide-ranging correspondence and travelled to many performances and to libraries and archives. The premiere of a yet unknown opera fragment by Handel would certainly have delighted Manfred Rätzer and inspired him to many informed comments.
Obituary for Prof. Dr. Manfred Rätzer by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hirschmann