BEMF makes musical history
Ulrike Hofbauer as Princess Almira. Photos: Kathy Wittman.Classical music buffs think they know Handel.But do they?The official story goes that the great German composer, who already had two operas under his belt by age twenty, was musically transformed by a visit to Italy in 1706 - a sojourn which opened the tap on a string of masterpieces, and inspired a style which would inform much, if not most, of his subs…