Handel had “one of the most majestic, tender, and human voices ever lifted in praise of life, of love, of beauty, and of the art of music.”
Why are the overtures to Handel's operas so long? They're so long because Handel expected his audiences to be late. Very late. And he knew that they would be having passionate trysts on arrival, using the benches in the hall for this purpose. The women wore hoopskirts. Everything took a lot of time. So the overtures gave everyone ample opportunity to settle down so that they'd be able to listen. Attention, then as now, was a scarce resource.
Because the internet does away with time as well as distance (not to mention visible concert halls), what does it take to get people to pay attention to something as lovely as a Handel opera?