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Farinelli is a 1994 biopic film about the life and career of Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 singer Farinelli
Farinelli

File:Farinelli engraving.jpgFarinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, one of the most famous Italy contralto and soprano castrato singers of the 18th century....
, considered one of the greatest castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
 singers of all time. It stars Stefano Dionisi as Farinelli and was directed by Belgian
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 director Gérard Corbiau
Gérard Corbiau

G?rard Corbiau is a Belgium film director.He is best known for his costume dramas about music, Le ma?tre de musique , Farinelli and Le roi danse ....
.

Although Dionisi provided the speaking voice, Farinelli's singing voice was provided by a soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
, Ewa Malas-Godlewska and a countertenor
Countertenor

A countertenor is a male voice type whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or more rarely the normal or modal voice....
, Derek Lee Ragin
Derek Lee Ragin

Derek Lee Ragin is an United States countertenor.For the soundtrack of the 1994 in film film Farinelli Il Castrato, his voice was electronically blended with that of soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska to recreate the famous castrato's voice....
, who were recorded separately then digitally merged to recreate the sound of a castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
.

Although based on real life events, some dramatic license is taken.






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Farinelli is a 1994 biopic film about the life and career of Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
 singer Farinelli
Farinelli

File:Farinelli engraving.jpgFarinelli , was the stage name of Carlo Maria Broschi, one of the most famous Italy contralto and soprano castrato singers of the 18th century....
, considered one of the greatest castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
 singers of all time. It stars Stefano Dionisi as Farinelli and was directed by Belgian
Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
 director Gérard Corbiau
Gérard Corbiau

G?rard Corbiau is a Belgium film director.He is best known for his costume dramas about music, Le ma?tre de musique , Farinelli and Le roi danse ....
.

Although Dionisi provided the speaking voice, Farinelli's singing voice was provided by a soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody....
, Ewa Malas-Godlewska and a countertenor
Countertenor

A countertenor is a male voice type whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or more rarely the normal or modal voice....
, Derek Lee Ragin
Derek Lee Ragin

Derek Lee Ragin is an United States countertenor.For the soundtrack of the 1994 in film film Farinelli Il Castrato, his voice was electronically blended with that of soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska to recreate the famous castrato's voice....
, who were recorded separately then digitally merged to recreate the sound of a castrato
Castrato

A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto human voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinology condition, never reaches sexual maturity....
.

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
George Frideric Handel

George Frideric Handel was an England Baroque music composer of Germany birth who is famous for his operas, oratorios, and concerto grosso. His life and music may justly be described as "cosmopolitan": he was born in Germany, trained in Italy, and spent most of his life in England....
, played by Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Krabbé

Jeroen Aart Krabb? is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films....
, 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
Gérard Corbiau

G?rard Corbiau is a Belgium film director.He is best known for his costume dramas about music, Le ma?tre de musique , Farinelli and Le roi danse ....
. Its musical director was the French harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset

Christophe Rousset is a France harpsichordist and conducting, specializing in the performance of baroque music on Authentic performance....
. The musical recording was made at the concert hall "L'Arsenal" in Metz, with the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques
Les Talens Lyriques

Les Talens Lyriques is a baroque orchestra founded in 1991 by French Conductor Christophe Rousset....
.

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 Film in 1995. It was also nominated for an Academy Award in the same category, but did not win.

See also

  • List of Belgian submissions for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
    List of Belgian submissions for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

    Belgium has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film since 1969. The award is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English language dialogue....


External links