THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 19, 1995 TAG: 9506170044
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
SUMPTUOUS COSTUMING and a mystically pure musical soundtrack spark ``Farinelli,'' the film biography of one of the most famed castrati singers of the 18th century.
Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi in the Naples of 1705, was equivalent to today's androgynous rock stars. Women fainted when he sang. Some claimed he had supernatural powers. Groupies followed him across Europe from opera house to opera house. The beauty of his sound, purity of his intonation and a range covering more than three- and-a-half octaves made him a public icon.
Belgian director Gerard Corbiau, working from a script written by his wife, Andree, goes perilously close to over the top. Dramatically, the film is too long, too rambling, and seems to fumble in search of an ending. The subplots, which are added to an already overripe plot, come close to sinking it. Nonetheless, it is to be treasured for its very excesses.
It is surprising that moviemakers haven't tackled the psychological and prurient natures of the castrati age before now. From the beginning of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century, promising boy singers were castrated to preserve their sound. Most sang only in choirs, but there were such superstars as Caffarelli, Farinelli, Porporino and Bernacchi.
Carlo Broschi is castrated at the age of 10 and reaches fame as a singer at age 17. His brother, Riccardo, (eight years older) is his manager and chief composer. The works of Riccardo Broschi are largely mediocre but are sustained on the strength of Farinelli's famed voice.
The two brothers share everything - including their women. Farinelli first seduces the women, then invites his brother to take over, and, as he puts it, ``plant the seed.'' These scenes are erotic fodder for those who didn't come just to hear the music.
Based on truth, the film wavers at obvious spots. The film is most on target when it adheres to the drama of the two brothers. When it sidetracks to a rivalry with famed composer George Friedrich Handel, things get a bit contrived.
Handel, portrayed with supreme wigs and a hammy limp by Jeroen Krabbe, is the villain of the piece. He breaks up the brothers by inviting Farinelli to come to England and appear at his theater alone. Farinelli holds out in favor of his brother and almost ruins Handel while a woman steals Handel compositions for him to sing. All this plotting tends to muddle things.
The flamboyancy and excesses of musical stardom, particularly in this age, are something to behold. As played by Stefano Dionisi, Farinelli is an egotistical, preening star who has an understandable bitterness mixed with his glory. The isolated world of musical fame is effectively suggested. Enrico Lo Verso sympathetically evinces the less-talented brother.
With all this talk about the fame of the singer, there was a real risk in actually producing the sound. What we hear had better match its build-up. It does.
In an age in which the castrato voice no longer exists, the moviemakers recreated an intriguing facsimile. Through digital mixing, the counter tenor of Derek Lee Ragin (an African American born in New York) and the soprano of Eda Mallas Godlewska (a Polish singer who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1992), the film voice of Farinelli soars. Of course, there is always the knowledge that this is mechanical manipulation, and the lip synching is not always perfect. Nonetheless, this is a soundtrack you will want to own.
The selections are altogether appropriate to the drama - works from Riccardo Broschi, Handel and Nicola Antonio Porpora (one of the more famed castrati teachers). Works by Pergolesi and Johann-Adolf Hasse are also there.
The film is told in flashback from the court of King Philip V of Spain where Farinelli retreated after he gave up his concert career at age 32, at the very pinnacle of his fame. The search through the past is an outright nod to ``Amadeus,'' but this film lacks the focus to keep on a logical narrative trail. One gets the idea that the central focus is meant to be the relationship of the two brothers - but the sidetrips are many.
Winner of the Golden Globe, ``Farinelli,'' understandably missed out on the Oscar. It is a flawed work, but, nonetheless, a flamboyant and appealing one. It offers a great deal to both our eyes and our ears. In costuming and sound, it is a spectacular effort to recreate an excessive era. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SONY PICTURES
Stefano Dionisi portrays Farinelli in the film bio of the famed
castrati singer from the 18th century.
MOVIE REVIEW
``Farinelli''
Cast: Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Jeroen Krabbe
Director: Gerard Corbiau
Screenplay: Andree Corbiau
MPAA rating: R (suggested nudity during the couplings)
Mal's rating: three stars
Locations: Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk
by CNB