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How did George Frideric Handel develop English oratorio?

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Oil portrait of composer Georg Frideric Handel by Thomas Hudson, showing Handel in a red coat with gold trim, white wig, and holding a sheet of music. — George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel, oil on canvas by Thomas Hudson, c. 1736; in the Foundling Museum, London.

George Frideric Handel developed the English oratorio as a response to the declining popularity of Italian opera in London and the financial difficulties he faced as an impresario.123

His transition to the genre was rooted in his earlier work with masques, specifically Acis and Galatea and Haman and Mordecai (later renamed Esther). The successful 1732 revivals of these works provided the foundation for the English oratorio—a large-scale musical composition for soloists, chorus, and orchestra that utilized English-language lyrics and biblical narratives.21

Handel’s oratorios appealed to the middle-class Protestant sensibilities of his audience, who preferred moral tales over the conventions of Italian opera. By synthesizing his dramatic aptitude with his mastery of choral writing, he created works that were often performed without acting or scenery. His development of the genre culminated in masterpieces such as Saul, Samson, and the world-renowned Messiah.1234