Taglines: Où s’arrête le pouvoir de sa voix?
Farinelli movie storyline. The prologue begins with Carlo Broschi, the famous castrato “Farinelli”, reminiscing about his childhood as a singer in the church choir. A newly castrated boy runs in and warns Carlo to stop singing, warning that his voice will result in castration, before leaping to his death.
Carlo is so traumatized by this that he is then unwilling to sing when told to by his voice teacher, Nicola Porpora later during his voice lessons. He runs off crying and asking why this the castrato had to die. Carlo’s father runs after him, and after comforting him, makes him promise that he will never refuse his voice to his brother Riccardo ever again.
The film opens in Madrid, Spain, at the palace of King Philip V. Riccardo Broschi (Enrico Lo Verso) demands to see his younger brother, the Italian castrato Carlo Broschi (Stefano Dionisi)—better known by his nickname, “Farinelli”. Carlo refuses.
The rest of the film is told in flashback. Eighteen years earlier, Carlo and Riccardo watched as an itinerant trumpet player humiliated a young castrato. Angered, Carlo humiliates the trumpeter in turn. The crowd gives Carlo the nickname “Farinelli”. When Carlo attempts to have sex with a local woman, Riccardo interrupts, pushing Carlo aside and making love to the girl himself.
Meanwhile, George Frideric Handel (Jeroen Krabbé) has heard Farinelli sing from his carriage. He asks Carlo to come to England and perform, but Riccardo demands to be included. Handel sneers at Riccardo as a hack, and humiliates Carlo as a freak, leaving Carlo despondent and Riccardo angry.
Farinelli is a 1994 internationally co-produced biographical drama film directed by Gérard Corbiau and starring Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein and Jeroen Krabbé. It centers on the life and career of the 18th-century Italian opera singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli, considered the greatest castrato singer of all time; as well as his relationship with his brother, composer Riccardo Broschi.
Farinelli (1995)
Directed by: Gérard Corbiau
Starring: Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein, Jeroen Krabbé, Caroline Cellier, Omero Antonutti, Marianne Basler, Pier Paolo Capponi, Graham Valentine
Screenplay by: Marcel Beaulieu, Andrée Corbiau, Gérard Corbiau
Production Design by: Gianni Quaranta
Cinematography by: Walther van den Ende
Film Editing by: Joëlle Hache
Costume Design by: Olga Berluti, Anne de Laugardière
Music by: Johann Adolf Hasse, Nicola Porpora
MPAA Rating: R for depiction of adult themes and sexuality.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: December 7, 1994 (France), March 16, 1995 (Italy)
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