He had a taste of the theatre, and did not like abandoning his plan; so he turned his eyes again towards London. Having tested the soil of England, and judged it favourable, Handel decided to establish himself there. He received regular news from England whilst in Hanover.[166] Since his departure no opera could hold its own except _Rinaldo_. The English amateurs recalled him, and Handel, burning to depart, asked for a new leave from the Court of Hanover. This was granted on the easiest of terms: "on condition that he returned after a reasonable time."[167] He returned to London towards the end of November, 1712, in time to supervise the representation of a pastoral, _Il Pastor Fido_, a hasty work, from which he abstracted the best airs later on.[168] Twenty days later he had finished writing _Teseo_, a tragic opera in five very short acts,[169] full of haste and of genius, which was given in January, 1713. Handel endeavoured to settle himself firmly in England. He associated himself with the loyalty and pride of the nation by writing for political celebrations. The conclusion of the Peace of Utrecht, a glorious day for England, approached. Handel prepared a _Te Deum_, which was already finished in January, 1713, but the laws of England forbade a foreigner to be charged with composing music for official ceremonies. Parliament alone could authorise the representation of this production. Handel cleverly wrote the flattering Ode for the anniversary of the birth of Queen Anne, _Birthday Ode of Queen Anne_. The Ode was performed at St. James's on February 6, 1713, and the Queen, enchanted with the work, commanded Handel to write the _Te Deum_ and the _Jubilate_ for the Peace of Utrecht, which was played on July 7, 1713, at a solemn service at St. Paul's, on which occasion the Members of Parliament attended. These works, in which Handel was helped by the example of Purcell,[170] were his first great efforts in the monumental style.