Film Night!

Saturday, November 22, at 7 pm
Room 406, Dalhousie Arts Centre, 6101 University Ave.
Admission free to EMSNS members; others by donation at the door

The 1994 movie Farinelli is the choice for film night this fall. The film is a fictional recounting of the life and career of the 18th-century Italian opera singer and castrato Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli.

In the 18th century, no singer was more celebrated than the castrato Farinelli. The incredible story of the world-famous opera singer, who was castrated during childhood in order to preserve his voice, comes to life in this Oscar-nominated drama of high notes and even higher passions.

Relatively little is known of Farinelli’s life, and the film makes inventive use of what is known, as well as taking dramatic license with many specific details about the facts of Farinelli’s life. Among the historically documented elements of the film are the rivalry between George Frederick Handel and the Italian composer and singing teacher Nicola Porpora, the account of Farinelli competing with a trumpeter for holding a note and his skill as a harpsichordist.

The film stars Stefano Dionisi, an Italian actor who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Farinelli in this movie. Although Dionisi provided the speaking voice (originally in French), Farinelli’s singing voice was given by the Polish soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewska and the American countertenor Derek Lee Ragin, who were recorded separately and then digitally merged to recreate the sound of a castrato.

The musical recording was made at a concert hall, the Arsenal in Metz, with the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques. The soundtrack includes music by Broschi, Hasse, Handel and Porpora. Parts of the movie were filmed at the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth.

The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category in 1995

All are welcome.