Customer Reviews

Farinelli, Il Castrato - Bande Originale Du Film

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a huge interest in Baroque opera and period reproductions. I thought that 'Farinelli, Il Castrato' was a terrible injustice to the real man, Carlo Broschi, who may have been the greatest singer that ever lived. However, what the movie lacked in plot and intrigue was completely compensated for by this beautiful soundtrack. I have never heard anything to match this articifical castrato voice - it is beautiful. For an indepth discussion on how the voices of a countertenor and soprano were merged to create the incredible voice of Farinelli, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/farinelli/about/fmusic.html
For further listening, I recommend checking out Andreas Scholl. He is a German countertenor considered one of the best in the world today. His intonation and artistic expression are incredible and his performances are informed and true to the nature of the pieces he performs. Also, Daniel Taylor is a wonderful Canadian countertenor. For those interested in period Baroque music, Tafelmusik Chamber Orchestra is wonderful. For a taste of what a castrato may have sounded like, there is an American sopranist named Michael Maniaci who just completed a run as Nerone (Emperor Nero) in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea. He has a wonderful warm soprano sound that is quite remarkable.

This album features music and operatic arias from the film Farinelli. The movie was a highly dramatized and untrue account of the life of Farinelli, the stage name of Carlo Broschi, the greatest castrato singer of all time. The castrati were castrated before puberty so as to preserve their soprano range and maintain awesome lung power of the male voice. In the film, Stefano Dionisi lip synched but the voices that were used were a combination in synthesizer of the tenor Derek Lee Regin and the soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. Their voices, though distinctly male and female, sounded very alike and director Gerard Corbiau decided to creatively edit their voices. The music is sublime. These obscure and rare Baroque classics are not performed today, not even in Europe. So many of the libretti have been lost in time and even with the libretti and music available, the castrati voice can never again be heard and much of the Baroque type of singing is difficult for most singers to undertake. Nowadays, the singers that come close to castrati are highly developed falsetto-singing countertenors or mezzo-sopranos with coloratura like Cecilia Bartoli or Vivica Genoux. On this album, we hear unique and rare composers, like Farinelli's brother Riccardo Broschi, and his operas. The aria "Son Qual Nave Agitata" and the more impressive "Ombra Fidele" are exquisite, full of lyrical grandeur and coloratura gymnastics. The rest are arias from long forgotten operas and even religious works for the Roman Catholic Church, like Palestrina, who thought the castrati voice was the closest thing to God. It's a great album to have if you are a fan of Farinelli and the msuic of his day.

I had the chance to watch the movie back in 96 and was so impressed that I immediately went and bought the CD and a couple years later the VHS (no DVDs at that time). I'm not an expert on music but the experience of listening to this CD aloud while resting on a quiet place is the closest thing you can be to heaven. I've been listening to this album for the last 6 years and I still consider it my most valuable acquisition.

This album contains music from the 1995 foreign film Farinelli. The film dealt with the life of Carlo Broschi, otherwise known by his stage name Farinelli. He was the great castrato singer who dazzled audiences with his amazing bravura and vocal virtuosity. He was supposedly able to hold a long note in a single minute. In the movie the actor Stefano Dionisi was lip-synching to the creative synthesized combination of tenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This blending of male and female voices is what the castrati voice must have been like.

The album is chalk-full of rare Baroque treasures. Although the music of Handel was prominent in the film, there is nothing by Handel here which is suprising because Handel wrote mostly for castrati voice. The composer Riccardo Broschi, Farinelli's brother, wrote many operas and specific arias for his voice alone. Here, we get the sublime lyrical aria "Son Qual Nave Agitata" from the opera Idaspe and the more impressive "Ombra Fedele Anchio" which is full of hair-raising coloratura gymnastics. The beauty and rarity of these arias alone is worth getting the album. The instrumental music, perfectly Baroque in structure, includes the Overture to Artaserses. The other vocal music even has a spiritually uplifting work by Palestrina who wrote vocal music in religious contexts for the Roman Catholic Church and who believed the castrati voice was the most divinely inspired voice and closest to God. This album is worth getting if you are a fan of the movie, a fan of the Baroque period and a fan of Farinelli in particular.

I was first introduced to the film Farinelli as a freshman in college. Since childhood, I was drawn to Baroque music by Bach, Albinoni, and Handel, but primarily of an instrumental nature. It wasn't until Farinelli that I discovered the sensual power and beauty of the castrati voice (sung in modern times by countertenors and male sopranists). Farinelli was a musical revelation for me, and started my obsession with countertenors and castrati repertoire that led to the amassing of a large library of Baroque castrati gems such as Rinaldo, Rodelinda, and CDs by superstar countertenors Andreas Scholl, Daniel Taylor, and Yoshikazu Mera.

Castrati were young boys who were castrated in the hopes of preserving their angelic prepubescent voices. In the absence of testosterone, their singing voices would not drop, but they would still possess the lungpower and stamina of an adult (the range would be either soprano, mezzo-soprano, or alto). The Catholic church made use of castrati in its Sistine Chapel choir until the early 1900s, long after castrati roles had fallen out of fashion. (Alessandro Moreschi - The Last Castrato made the only known surviving recording of a castrato in 1913.) Horror author Anne Rice even wrote a novel revolving around the rich world of the castrati in the erotically-charged Cry to Heaven.

The Belgian film Farinelli was based on the life of Carlo Maria Broschi, Europe's wealthy superstar castrato that held a god-like status over popular imagination (and held some sway in the courts). Farinelli was appointed Chamber Musician to King Phillip V of Spain in 1737 in an attempt to cure his depression through music therapy, which proved the end of his public singing career.

Since modern countertenors do not possess the three-and-a-half-octave range of a real castrato, two voices were blended: that of countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This is seamless and homogenized on the recording, and allows for greater flexibility of tone and range. The featured compositions include some by Farinelli's Svengalian brother Riccardo Broschi as well as Handel, Hasse, Porpora and Pergolesi. Typical castrato vocal fireworks ensue on Son Qual Nave (castrati were famed for their ability to hold very long notes, as well as super-ornate flourishes and ornamentation that was the style). Alto Giove is heartrending in its measured melancholy. This was also my introduction to what I believe to be one of the most beautiful arias ever written, Lascia Ch'io Pianga, and I now own several versions by various countertenors and mezzo-sopranos. Several of Handel's works for castrati from Rinaldo are featured.

This is a stunning CD that opened my ears to the fascinating, rich world of castrati roles and the ornate vocal style that was the rage of the stage and courts for a brief period in musical history. If you enjoy Farinelli, be sure to check out the works of other superstar countertenors such as Andreas Scholl, Daniel Taylor, and Yoshikazu Mera, who all specialize in Baroque repertoire, including opera written for castrati.

This album contains music and operatic arias used in the film Farinelli, about the dramatic life of the famous castrato opera legend of the Baroque period. The creative editing and synthesizing blended the voices of the male tenor Derek Lee Ragin and the female soprano Ewa Mallas Godlewska. This combination of male and female, which sounds like the singing voice of a hermaphrodite, is probably what the voice of Farinelli sounded like. It was an absolute fetish in Baroque Italy of the 1600's. Castrati were the highest paid singers, enjoyed the fame equal to today's legends of rock (and that included groupies) and lived in luxury in the courts of European royalty. Farinelli was the most famous and the greatest of these singers. His voice was like nothing on earth. The male part of his voice enabled him to hold his breath for long periods of times in awesome displays of lung powers, usually demonstrated in the legato phrasing and long, sustained notes. His female voice was the real fire, though, especially impressing audiences with the roulades and high-flying coloratura acrobatics.

Farinelli the movie was dramatized to make the life of Carlo Broschi, Farinelli's real name, seem more interesting. But the music is sublime that any fan of opera, with a particular fascination for Baroque opera, will enjoy this cd album immensely. The composers offered here are obscure and their operas are long forgotten. Handel, a big name in the period, composed many arias for Farinelli and other castrati, but the film and this album feature several composers who are lesser known and whose operas have disappeared forever. These lavish operas were always associated with myth and fantasy. Gods and goddesses, Muses, military heroes and noble virtue was usually the theme. Orpheus was the darling of this period and many operas were made about his myth. All the instrumental and vocal music on here is sublime and real gems of the Baroque period. Especially noteworthy is Ombra Fidele from the opera Idaspe, composed by Farinelli's brother Ricardo Broschi. Also real treasures are Artaserses, Rinaldo and even a religious piece by Palestrina. This is a great buy for opera lovers.

This performance electronically blends the voices of a soprano and a counter tenor in an attempt to create a voice that might be like that of the famous castrato Farinelli, reputedly to have had a voice of great power and range. Technically it is successful, you certainly would not know it was a composite voice unless you were told. And musically, too, it is quite satisfying. But I must question if it were realy necessary, listen to Mezzo Soprano Vivica Genaux's CD, Arias for Farinelli, her performance is dazzling, with far more expression and fire than you get with the composite, a far more satisfying performance. Please try to hear it.

I bought this years ago after watching Farinelli, the movie, based on a true story. The music on this album is a mixture of colatura soprano and some kind of mixing, that I can't really understand, but it truly is an excellent recreation of what a true "castrato" might have sounded like. Years later, I still listen to this, especially "Lascia ch'io pangia", which has got to be one of the MOST haunting versions of this famous Handel aria that I have ever heard. Some of the music by Farinelli's brother (Carlo Broschi), I'm not too crazy about, but the rest of the CD more than makes up for it.

Important facts to know for persons interested in purchasing this CD:

1. The CD soundtrack contains more complete arias rather than the mere portions contained in the movie (although the middle and da capo are absent in "Alto Giove".) This fact is important because the listener needs to remember that Baroque scores were merely outlines, and the singers were meant to be "co-composers"; therefore, hearing the full development of the music, and especially the vocal ornamentations and variations in the da capo, is essential for better understanding and enjoyment. This fact alone is worth the purchase of this CD.

2. The sound and quality of the two voices chosen to approximate the castrato sound are not even close; therefore, do not expect to hear a "Farinelli". Heavy vibrato (e.g., with the soprano, as opposed to voci bianche), difficulty with longer vocal lines (their not possessing the amazing breath capacity of a castrato), and a very loose technique (e.g., the soprano, i.e., scooping up to high notes, sliding from note to note, some none-Baroque habits that even are warned about in the film dialogue.) A matching of superlative countertenor Andreas Scholl with pure-voiced Maria Cristina Kiehr (for example) would have provided the Sony sound engineers with a far better base for their soundtrack. Had the producers done so, I would have rated this CD five stars, rather than four.

3. As for the film (one of my favourties that I do recommend) for which these recordings were made, note that the story has little to do with the actual castrato superstar Farinelli: the film is approximately 10% taken from his life (some "facts" are in error), 20% borrowed from what is known about other castrati of the time, 20% in general about the Baroque opera and society of the time, and 50% just made-up story to create a successful film script.

This recording is full of good works by some of the baroque masters. It also has some rare recordings of the works of Riccardo Broschi. The sound of the voice of a castrato was made by fusing a countertenor and a soprano, so the result is highlt listenable but probably nothing like the sound of an actual fine castrato. For fans of the movie this is a must have to round out the collection. I listened to it again and again starting when I was just 17. Thanks!