Carlo brioschi farinelli biography template

Broschi was castrated as a boy to preserve his young voice into adulthood. As was often the case, an excuse had to be found for this always illegal operation, and in Carlo's case it was said to have been necessitated by a fall from a horse. In , Carlo's family moved to Naples, where the young singer later studied with the famous composer and singing-teacher Nicola Porpora.

He made his public debut in in Porpora's Angelica e Medoro, and soon became famous throughout Italy as il ragazzo "the boy"; the origin of his stage name of Farinelli is unclear, though a possible explanation is that three rich Neapolitan music-loving brothers by name Farina sponsored Carlo in his studies. In he made his first appearance at Rome in his master's Eumene and was received with enormous enthusiasm.

From about this time there dates an almost legendary story that he had to perform an aria with trumpet obbligato, which evolved into a contest between singer and trumpeter. The latter thought he had achieved prodigies of technique and ornamentation, only for Farinelli to surpass him so much that he "was at last silenced only by the acclamations of the audience" to quote the music historian Charles Burney — this account cannot be verified one way or the other, since no surviving work which Farinelli is known to have performed at this time contains an aria for soprano with trumpet obbligato.

In common with many young castrati, Farinelli, in the early stages of his career frequently sang women's roles, including the title-role in Porpora's Adelaide. Career in Europe. In , Farinelli first appeared at Vienna, spending the following season in Naples. In , he also visited Parma and Milan, where Johann Joachim Quantz heard him and commented: "Farinelli had a penetrating, full, rich, bright and well-modulated soprano voice, with a range at that time from the A below middle C to the D two octaves above middle C.

His intonation was pure, his trill beautiful, his breath control extraordinary and his throat very agile, so that he performed the widest intervals quickly and with the greatest ease and certainty. Passagework and all kinds of melismas were of no difficulty to him. In the invention of free ornamentation in adagio he was very fertile. There he met and acknowledged himself vanquished by the singer Antonio Bernacchi twenty years Farinelli's senior , to whose instruction in finer points of technique he was much indebted.

With ever-increasing success and fame, Farinelli appeared in nearly all the great cities of Italy. Handel was keen to engage him for his company in London and while in Venice in January , tried unsuccessfully to meet him. Farinelli, by Corrado Giaquinto c In , Farinelli visited Vienna for a third time. There he was received by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI, on whose advice, according to the singer's first biographer, Giovenale Sacchi, he modified his style, expanding his affective repertoire to include pathos and simplicity alongside bravura.

After further seasons in Italy, and another visit to Vienna, during which he sang in oratorios in the Imperial chapel, Farinelli came to London in He had been engaged by "The Opera of the Nobility", a company, supported by Frederick, Prince of Wales in opposition to Handel, that had Porpora as its composer and Senesino as principal singer.

Farinelli's first appearance, at the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, was in Artaserse, a pasticcio opera for which his brother Riccardo Broschi had composed some of the music. Though his success was instantaneous and enormous, neither the Nobility Opera nor Handel's company was able to sustain the public's interest. Farinelli, nonetheless, was still under contract in London in the summer of when he received a summons, via Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, Secretary of the Spanish Embassy there, to visit the Spanish court.

Farinelli in London. Noble born, he was instructed in music since he was a child. His father died in , his elder brother, Riccardo, a composer, chose to have him castrated, as it allowed him to reach a very wide vocal range. His debut was in Napoli in In brief, the quality of his voice in virtuoso opened to him all of the doors of the major Italian and European theatres.

After receiving great success all over the world, he chose Bologna where he performed several times during the course of his brillant career as the place where he would spend his old age once he retired from the scene. In November , one month after he was honored with Bolognese citizenship, he bought a farm outside Porta Lame and had a villa built there.

Thanks again for a great comment! If I remember correctly, the castrati first came about because women weren't allowed to take part in choirs. How they eventually stepped into the opera house from the church, I don't exactly know. When talking about baroque opera, we can't describe their artistry as sincere in the modern context. They have plots which are even more ridiculous than later operas and the vocal displays, ornamentation and mannerisms exhibited by the castrati were excessive.

Yes, some people may find the music and the singing therapeutic since baroque, after all, is classical music at its purest and simplest. However, others, like me, don't. An aria 10 minutes when it takes a counter-tenor forever to sing a sentence seriously wears out my patience. Still, we must be grateful that baroque opera existed.

It was what gave rise to opera as we know it. I feel that the castrati and opera seria was a baroque fad. In the early 18th century, you see hundreds of these opera seria. Quite a number succeed.

Carlo brioschi farinelli biography template

As time goes by, you see fewer of them. Most hardly succeed. Maybe the baroque audiences came to realize the above things I mentioned. Mozart didn't even cast a castrato in the penultimate opera seria, Idomeneo. Rossini would later write them out of opera altogether with his innovations. One of these would be the musico, the mezzo playing the role of a male lover.

I don't think the castrati sounded like females. If I remember correctly, Senesino was described as having an exaggerated falsetto. I think Farinelli would probably have such a voice. This falsetto should be a really beautiful one. After all, Farinelli would later quit the opera house to sing the King of Spain to sleep. He would also have amazing vocal technique.

That was one thing which the castrati were really good in even if their singing is questionable. I recently found out that several of the top singers during Rossini's and Bellini's time were trained by castrati. Thank you, Darren. Yours is a most interesting comment. Thank you very much. I cannot personally say yea or nay to any speculative observations, because we simply cannot tell what the great castrato singers sounded like.

I think the fact that Senesino sang alto, and Farinelli, as we can see from the song his brother wrote for him, could sing high soprano, indicates a difference between the voices. From accounts of the day, Farinelli's voice seems to have been uncommonly powerful he was a big man as well as very high. Radu Marian seems to me to be an example of how genuinely high and soprano-like a voice of this kind can be.

The outline you draw of the history of opera during that period is essentially correct. I could add there that one of the reasons Mozart quit using castrati was that he did not personally like them. They tended rather to prima donna antics. Also, the best ones were extraordinarily well paid. Thanks again. The castratis of the past is the sad fundament of the art and music we love and the way of bell canto singing.

It came something good out of the horrible abuse of the children. And they should be honoured, because of them, none of the singers we love had been around. Carlo initially studied singing with his father and later at the Neapolitan conservatory "Sant'Onofrio" under the renowned musician and singing teacher Nicola Porpora, who had trained other famous singers such as Caffarelli, Porporino, and Montagnana.

Farinelli impressed audiences with his vocal virtuosity and expressive singing style. He gained particular fame for his ability to sustain long phrases and navigate the three-octave range of his voice. His performances captivated both critics and audiences, establishing him as one of the greatest singers of his time. In , Farinelli traveled to England, where he performed at the Royal Theatre.

He became a sensation and was hailed as a musical genius. Farinelli's vocal talents and virtuosic abilities garnered him immense popularity and the admiration of the English public. His performances were met with overwhelming applause, and he received a substantial salary as well as generous rewards from admirers, including Prince of Wales and the Spanish ambassador.