The German-born Handel had been resident in London since 1712 and had there enjoyed great success as a composer of Italian operas. His opportunities to set English texts to music had at first been more limited; he had spent the years 1717 to 1719 as composer in residence to the wealthy Duke of Chandos where he had written church anthems and two stage works, "Acis and Galatea" and "Esther"; and had composed vocal music to English words for various royal occasions, including a set of Coronation anthems for King George II in 1727, which had made a huge impact. In 1731, a performance of the 1718 version of "Esther", a work in English based on a Biblical drama by Jean Racine, was staged in London without Handel's participation and had proved popular, so Handel revised the work and planned to have it performed at the theatre where his Italian operas were being presented.