Farinelli / Tosca (Bi-pack 2 DVD)

Farinelli is a 1994 Belgian-Italian-French 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 the relation with his brother, composer Riccardo Broschi. Although based on real-life events, dramatic license was taken to a great extent, and only the basic facts of Farinelli's life are correct, while the plot line is completely fictional and far removed from what is known about real-life Carlo Broschi (1705-1782). For example, the ambiguous relationship between the Broschi brothers, the stormy one with rival composer Handel, and Farinelli's own amorous escapades and over-the-top rockstar attitude are totally spurious. Additionally, Farinelli's brother is given much more importance than he actually had in his brother's career, while Porpora's own (and that of other composers of the Neapolitan School as well) is de-emphasized; the movie also offers a different explanation for how Carlo Broschi came to take the stage name Farinelli than what has been historically ascertained. George Frideric Handel, played by Jeroen Krabbé, is made out to be somewhat of a villain, but that is based on the competition between the London theater at which Handel's music was played and the rival theater at which Farinelli sang for a short period 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..

Not everyone's cup of tea - this is definitely an art rather than hollywood movie.But for anyone who appreciates early 18th century opera, this movie offers a real treat.Much digital effort has gone into blending soprano and counter-tenor voices to try to emulate the three octave range of castrati. Whilst admittedly not a perfect recreation of this lost sound, it provides a stunning new insight into what it might have been like to hear an accomplished castrato perform, and serves as a powerful reminder that many of the period's finest works were deliberately written for castrati like Senesino.Despite some historical licence taken, I found the story compelling and moving, and agree the message that robbing a human of the possibility of progeny and a fulfilling sex life can never be justified, not even to achieve this unique art form.I thought the acting was superb and the sex scenes didn't bother me - I thought these were in keeping with the mores of the time and the fact that this is a continental european (not anglo-saxon) movie.Music so sublime, I purchased the sound-track which I highly recommend.But you don't need to be a Baroque music expert to enjoy the soaring melodies of Handel, Pergolesi, Hasse and Porpora, or to imagine the loneliness and rejection felt by castrati after the curtain fell and the theatre emptied.

I purchased this heart rending film purely for the exquisite Baroque music and was not disappointed with it.Although extremely fictionalised, adding bucket loads of dramatic licence, the film does take us into the sadworld of the castrati, and the barbaric practice of emasculating boy choristers so that their voices mightcontinue to please the musical cognoscenti of the day.Stefano Dionisi plays the starring role of Carlo Broschi (1705-1782) the Farinelli of the title, who is castratedby his own brother, so that the brother Ricardo, a would be composer might achieve fame.Most of what we see in the film is complete fiction, the portrayal of Handel as an antagonist, the sexualshenanigans and so on, but the film does deal with some of the fears hopes and aspirations of the castrati.The music for the film was created by digitally merging separate recordings of a soprano and countertenorto recreate an approximation of how a Castrato might sound. Farinelli was known for being able to givegreat ornamentation to particular arias and was known as the greatest castrato of his day, his renditionof " Lascia ch'io pianga" by Handel being particularly heavenly.The film is a sad but interesting account of life at the time with beautiful costumes and exquisite music.Released in 1995.106 minutes viewing time.The language of the film is French and ItalianSubtitled in English

Believed by many to be the greatest castrato singer , his voice is ‘reproduced’ by the combined voices of the wonderful American countertenor,Derek Lee Ragin and the Polish soprano, Ewa Malays-Goltewska. I found the film’s sumptuous cinematography and speculative storyline hugely entertaining.

Do you like books? Do you like great stories? Then you have to, you absolutely must, watch this film. I'm not an opera goer myself, and if you are like me, you might perhaps be put off by hearing that the main character is an opera singer - in the 18th century, no less. But that's not what this film is about. This film is about passion, it is about love, love for a person, love for one's talent. It is a story about seduction, and beauty, and stardom. And it is about hope and dignity. The way the story is told, drawing on every strength of the medium of film - visually stunning backgrounds, human expressions, music - is brilliant. It draws you in from the opening scene: it is intense, it is tragic. And after 20 minutes, you will probably end up, like me, loving the music. I cried hearing it! Along with one of the characters. I even went out and bought the soundtrack.This is my favourite film ever.