From Singing : the first art by Marek, Dan:
Farinelli or Farinello (Carlo Broschi, 1705-1782)
Farinelli, who may have been the greatest singer who ever lived, was undoubtedly the most famous of the castrati. He was also remarkable in many other ways. Vernon Lee says that he was named for a certain Farina, who was his patron, while Pleasants states that the pseudonym Farinello was applied to the Broschi family-not just the singer and that it means rascal or rogue in Italian. Whatever the case, there was never a hint of scandal associated with Farinelli. The 1994 movie Farinelli adds a number of lurid details that were created for the titillation of modern audiences. The Broschis were a noble family and it is strange that they would have consented to Carlo's orchiectomy, but his father was an amateur musician and perhaps in some strange way-thought that he was assuring his son's future.
Farinelli moved to Naples while very young and studied with Porpora. He made his debut in a serenata, Angelico e Medoro, with book by Metastasio, in 1720. He was fifteen. The librettist and singer became lifelong friends. In a famous anecdote Burney mentions that:
When he was seventeen he went to Rome with Porpora. During the run of an opera there was a struggle between him and a famous player on the trumpet. It started as an amiable and sportive contest until the audience began to take sides. After sever-ally swelling a note, in which each manifested the power of his lungs and tried to rival each other in brilliancy and force, they had both a swell and shake together, in thirds, which was continued so long, while the audience eagerly awaited the event that both seemed to be exhausted and, in fact, the trumpeter wholly spent, gave it up, thinking that his antagonist was as much tired as himself and that it would be a drawn battle, when Farinelli, with a smile on his countenance, showing that he had only been sporting with him all the time, broke out all at once in the same breath, with fresh vigor, and not only swelled and shook the note, but ran the most rapid and difficult divisions and was at last silenced only by the acclamations of the audience. From this period may be dated that superiority which he ever maintained over his contemporaries.
Farinelli's fame became legendary; he was very handsome and was known as "Il Ragazzo" (The Boy). He was very popular with the female side of the audience, but no amorous scandals have ever been attributed to him. He traveled to Vienna in 1724 and then from one triumph to another all over Italy. In 1727 in Bologna, Farinelli had an encounter with Antonio Bernacchi, each trying to outdo the other in feats of skill and derring-do. The outcome was considered to be a draw and the two became fast friends. Bernacchi passed on his technique of developing a strong middle register with elaborate embellishments, and Fari-nelli used it ever after.
In Vienna in 1731 the Emperor Charles VI advised Farinelli to give up trying to astonish his hearers and to set about engaging their emotions. Farinelli took the advice, retired for a time for further study, and soon became as well known for his pathos as he already was for his brilliance and agility. In 1734, he traveled to London to sing for Porpora's Opera of the Nobility-the rival to Handel's company. At the first rehearsal, the orchestra was so astonished at Farinelli's virtuosity that they quite forgot to play. Heriot wrote:
"Senesino had the part of a furious tyrant, and Farinelli that of an unfortunate hero in chains; but in the course of the first air, the captive so softened the heart of the tyrant, that Senesino, forgetting his stage-character, ran to Farinelli and embraced him as his own." It was perhaps on this occasion too, that a lady of fashion uttered the famous phrase, "One God, one Farinelli!""
At first there was hysterical acclaim for Farinelli and great popularity for the Italian opera, but the expensive battle between Handel and Porpora caused the decline of opera in London by 1737. Then a surprising event occurred, which, no doubt, has been vastly exaggerated and has become the stuff of legend. Phillip V of Spain suffered from a deep melan-cholia and would not even attend to matters of personal hygiene, much less his duties as head of state. Elizabeth Farnese, who was interested in remaining Queen, arranged for the King to hear "accidentally" hear Farinelli, and Phillip is said to have come out of his depression as if by magic.
Farinelli was engaged to sing for the King nightly and is said to have sung the same four arias every night. The King lived for another nine years. Farinelli became practically a Prime Minister without portfolio and wielded great influence over the Spanish court. He seems not to have been ambitious in a political sense, and stories of his generosity and nobility are well known. In addition to his other duties, Farinelli became head of the court opera and many of the most famous singers of his era were anxious to work with him. When Phillip died, Farinelli had perhaps even more influence over his successor, Ferdinand VI. When the Queen also passed away, Farinelli was unable to console Ferdinand, who soon also died. Charles III, who became the King, cared nothing for music and felt the need to clean house; so, in 1759, Farinelli retired on a pension to Bologna. He lived very comfortably in a fine villa, often visited by those who, like Dr. Burney, treasured the memory of his glorious singing in days gone by.
