Farinelli, il Castrato [SOUNDTRACK]

Riccardo Broschi (Composer), George Frideric Handel (Composer), Johann Adolf Hasse (Composer), Giovanni Pergolesi (Composer), Nicola Porpora (Composer), Christophe Rousset (Conductor), Les Talens Lyriques (Orchestra), Derek Lee Ragin (Performer), Ewa Mallas-Godlewska (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Derek Lee Ragin, Ewa Mallas-Godlewska
• Orchestra: Les Talens Lyriques
• Conductor: Christophe Rousset
• Composer: Riccardo Broschi, George Frideric Handel, Johann Adolf Hasse, Giovanni Pergolesi, Nicola Porpora
• Audio CD (March 21, 1995)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Travelling
• ASIN: B000025T4I
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,683 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Son Qual Nave Ch'agitata: Air De Arbace

2. Alto Giove: Air D'Acio

3. Se Al Labbro Mio Non Credi: Instrumental

4. Ombra Fedele Anch'io: Air De Dario

5. Artaserse: Ouverture

6. Lascia Ch'io Pianga: Air De Almirena

7. Cara Sposa: Air De Rinaldo

8. Rinaldo: Ouverture

9. Generoso Risuegliati O Core: Air De Poro

10. Salve Regina

11. Alto Giove: Instrumental

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Asia exclusive reissue of the soundtrack to 1995 biopic (winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film) on the life of the 18th century vocalist! Rock. 2004. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Sublime, December 10, 2002

By	"patricia_leung" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

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.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fame Of Farinelli, May 14, 2004

By	Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fame Of Farinelli, May 14, 2004

By	Rudy Avila "Saint Seiya" (Lennox, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.