| Farinelli | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gérard Corbiau |
| Written by | Marcel Beaulieu Andrée Corbiau Gérard Corbiau |
| Starring | Stefano Dionisi Enrico Lo Verso Elsa Zylberstein |
| Cinematography | Walther van den Ende |
| Editing by | Joëlle Hache |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics (Region 1 DVD) |
| Release date(s) | 7 December 1994 (France) 16 March 1995 (Italy) |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | Italy Belgium France |
Farinelli is a 1994 biographical film about the life and career of the Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time. It stars Stefano Dionisi as Farinelli and was directed by the Belgian director Gérard Corbiau.
Although Dionisi provided the speaking voice, Farinelli's singing voice was provided by a soprano, Ewa Malas-Godlewska and a countertenor, Derek Lee Ragin, who were recorded separately then digitally merged to recreate the sound of a castrato.
Although based on real life events, dramatic license was 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.
Its musical director was the French harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. The musical recording was made at the concert hall, the Arsenal in Metz, with the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques.
Contents |
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Stefano Dionisi | Carlo Maria Broschi (Farinelli) |
| Enrico Lo Verso | Riccardo Broschi |
| Elsa Zylberstein | Alexandra |
| Jeroen Krabbé | George Frideric Handel |
| Caroline Cellier | Margareth Hunter |
| Renaud du Peloux de Saint Romain | Benedict |
| Omero Antonutti | Nicola Porpora |
| Marianne Basler | Comtesse Mauer |
| Pier Paolo Capponi | Broschi |
| Graham Valentine | Prince de Galles |
| Jacques Boudet | Felipe V |
| Delphine Zentout | Young admirer |
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.
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.
A Blu Ray director's cut edition is available from either France or South Korea, but neither edition has English subtitles. The Korean version also includes a DVD-Audio 2.0 disc. Korea also has a director's cut on regular DVD but also with no English subtitles, just French and Korean.
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