Trailer
Plot summary
Carlo Broschi was castrated as a child to preserve his voice, and as a young man he sings in the opera houses of 18th-century Europe under the name Farinelli. His older brother Riccardo composes the music he performs and directs his career. Georg Friedrich Händel hears him sing and invites him to Great Britain, but Riccardo demands to be included, and Händel turns him down. Händel later wants Carlo in Dresden. Carlo's former teacher Nicola Porpora runs the Opera of the Nobility in London, sponsored by the Prince of Wales, against Händel's Covent Garden. The wealthy Comtesse Mauer prefers books to opera but is taken with Carlo.
Cast
- Graham Valentineas Prince of Wales
- Renaud du Peloux de Saint Romainas Benedict Hunter
Show all 14 cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Farinelli (1994)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Farinelli's castrato singing was not one voice: Polish soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewska and American countertenor Derek Lee Ragin were recorded separately and their voices digitally merged, while Stefano Dionisi supplied the spoken dialogue.
