Main Cast: Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein, Caroline Cellier, Jeroen Krabbé
Release Year: 1994
Country: IT/FR/BE
Run Time: 110 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The performer known as Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi (and played in this film by Stefano Dionisi), was famous in the 18th century as the world's greatest castrato, a male singer whose testicles were removed in childhood so that he would retain the high, clear voice of a child while gaining the control and power of an adult vocalist. A strikingly gifted singer with a range of more than three octaves, Farinelli was given little choice but to sacrifice his manhood in exchange for his art, and as his career was founded on the surgery that would dramatically restrict his off-stage life, his art was in turn hemmed in by his family. Carlo's father declared early on that he should only sing the songs of his brother Riccardo (Enrico LoVerso), and while Farinelli's fame gives Riccardo's career a needed boost, the mediocrity of Riccardo's compositions holds Farinelli back. When the singer is given the opportunity to work with the great composer Handel (Jeroen Krabbe), his brother's jealously and Farinelli's own poorly chosen career alliances stand in his way. The brothers' often contentious partnership also extends to the bedroom; while Farinelli's performances set women on fire, he's physically incapable of satisfying them sexually, so he provides the foreplay in a bizarre game of seduction and then turns his conquests over to his brother. Farinelli il Castrato received a Golden Globe award as Best Foreign Language Film of 1994 and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Jacques Boudet - Philippe V; Omero Antonutti - Porpora; Marianne Basler - Countess Mauer; Graham Valentine - Prince of Wales; Pier Paolo Capponi - Father; Delphine Zentout - Young Admirer; Hubert Burczek; Renaud du Peloux de Saint Romain - The child; Richard Reeves
Credit
Gerard Moulevrier - Casting, Jose Villaverde - Casting, Anne Delaugardiere - Costume Designer, Olga Berluti - Costume Designer, Fernando Pacheco - First Assistant Director, Gerard Corbiau - Director, Joëlle Hache - Editor, Aldo Lado - Executive Producer, Linda Gutemberg - Executive Producer, Dominique Janne - Executive Producer, Stephane Thenoz - Executive Producer, Richard Shorr - Musical Direction/Supervision, Jean-Paul Muguel - Musical Direction/Supervision, Christophe Rousset - Musical Direction/Supervision, Paul Le Marinel - Makeup, Kuno Schlegelmilch - Makeup, Yves Vandermeeren - Camera Operator, Gianni Quaranta - Production Designer, Walther van den Ende - Cinematographer, Véra Belmont - Producer, Ewa Mallas Godlewska - Singer, Derek Lee Ragin - Singer, Dominique Hennequin - Sound/Sound Designer, Marcel Beaulieu - Screenwriter, Gerard Corbiau - Screenwriter, Andrée Corbiau - Screenwriter
Farinelli is a 1994 biopic film about the life and career of Italianopera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time. It stars Stefano Dionisi as Farinelli and was directed by Belgian director Gérard Corbiau.
Although based on real life events, some dramatic license is taken. For example, Farinelli's brother is given much importance and Porpora is de-emphasized, while the movie offers a different explanation for how Carlo Broschi came to take the stage name Farinelli. George Frideric Handel, played by Jeroen Krabbé, is made out to be somewhat of a villain, but this is based on the competition between the theater at which Handel's music was played and the theater at which Farinelli sang.
The film was directed by Belgian Gérard Corbiau. Its musical director was the French harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. The musical recording was made at the concert hall "L'Arsenal" in Metz, with the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques.
It is rated R by the MPAA for depictions of adult themes and sexuality. It is available on Region 1 DVDs with a spoken track in French and Italian with a little English, and subtitles available in English and Spanish.
Reception
It was released in 1994 and won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in the same category.
