Apre a Venosa la “Galleria 25” con la mostra “FramMenti d’Arte”

Si inaugura a Venosa (PZ) il prossimo 28 novembre la “Galleria 25”, uno spazio dedicato all’arte nel cuore del centro storico della città di Orazio, situata proprio nella piazza dedicata al sommo poeta latino, alle spalle della statua che lo raffigura. Per l’occasione, a partire dalle ore 19.00, si terrà nella stessa galleria il vernissage della mostra collettiva “FramMenti d’Arte”, con un’ampia selezione di opere pittoriche di artisti contemporanei.

La galleria prende il suo nome dal numero civico di Piazza Orazio in cui è collocata e si propone di diventare nel tempo uno spazio privilegiato per la promozione dell’arte e più in generale della cultura. Venosa, con la sua storia millenaria e i secoli di cultura che ha alle spalle, costituisce l’ambiente ideale per questo tipo di iniziative, soprattutto in un momento storico in cui, nel territorio del Vulture, molto fermento si percepisce intorno all’arte pittorica.

La mostra “FramMenti d’Arte”, con cui la “Galleria 25” intraprende nel migliore dei modi le sue attività, vuole portare all’attenzione non solo della popolazione locale, ma anche di un pubblico più ampio a livello regionale ed extra-regionale, un gruppo di pittori che, con le loro opere e il loro genio artistico, hanno dato lustro, e ancora continuano a dare, all’arte italiani nel corso degli ultimi decenni.

L’esposizione comprenderà dipinti di R. Guttuso, R. Mussolini, S. Dalì, S. Fiume, A. Corbello, C. Dupriez, C. Franchi, A. D. Fornaciari, E. Baj, E. Di Tuccio, E. Farinelli, E. Traccani, F. Giacomazzi, F. Grassi, G. Falzoni, G. Trombini, G. F. Gonzaga, L. Alinari, M. Antonelli, M. Fiorentino, M. La Sala, M. Martini, A. Faccincani, G. Pedota, M. Santoro, R. Buratti, Ulisse, W. Piacesi, W. Venzi. Tutte queste opere, i “frammenti” del titolo della mostra, vogliono rappresentare tante tessere di un mosaico, che accoglierà i visitatori alla scoperta della bellezza dell’arte e delle emozioni che essa trasmette.

L’esposizione sarà visitabile tutti i giorni fino all’8 dicembre, dalle ore 17.00 alle ore 21.00 e la domenica anche dalle 11.00 alle 13.00. Nelle prossime settimane, fino alla fine di febbraio, altre mostre verranno ospitate nella “Galleria 25”, tra cui collettive, personali e bipersonali.

Scheda tecnica

Titolo mostra: “FramMenti d’Arte”

Sede: “Galleria 25”, Piazza Orazio Flacco n. 25, Venosa (PZ)

Durata: 28 novembre – 8 dicembre 2009

Inaugurazione: sabato 28 novembre, ore 19.00

Orari di apertura: da lunedì a sabato ore 17.00 / 21.00, domenica: ore 11.00 / 13.00 – 17.00 / 21.00

Ingresso: libero

Info mostra: tel. 0972.36198

Ufficio stampa: Francesco Mastrorizzi – email: francescomas@email.it – cell: 347.1241178

Farinelli, Il Castrato

Farinelli, retratado por Corrado Giaquinto 1753

Aria “Son Qual Nave Ch’agitata”, de la ópera “Air De Arbace” de Riccardo Broschi, hermano de Farinelli, de “Farinelli il castrati”, interpretado por el contratenor Derek Lee Ragin.

An article in Slate yesterday on the castrati caught my eye. I remember the first time I learned about the castrati, from a professor who guest-taught one of my classes. She lectured on Farinelli, who some consider the greatest Italian castrato of them all. He and his three-octave range became very famous, and he spent his later years singing solely for the melancholy Philip V of Spain.

Castrati are in the news due to Cecilia Bartoli, an Italian opera singer who has just released a recording of some of the gorgeous arias written for them — men with heartbreakingly beautiful voices who were castrated before they hit adolescence.

Was this in the Dark Ages? No — rather, the 16th through the 19th centuries. Tens of thousands of boys went under the knife and then on to vocal training and careers in church choirs or on the opera’s stage. Women weren’t allowed to sing in a Catholic church, and the vocal quality of a castrato was much preferred to that of a falsettist. Show-stopping choirs are a good way to get people to come to church — and then stay for the homily and perhaps the passing of the collection basket.

The horror of the procedure and the idea of castrating a child to preserve his high voice didn’t stop a lot of people from offering up their sons, or anyone else from hiring the castrati. Some, like Farinelli, went on to fame and celebrity and could command astronomical prices for their performance, but most went on to sadder fates — prostitution and suicide were all too common.

Eventually, the practice was outlawed. We have but a few recordings from one castrato, Alessandro Moreschi, who died in the 1920s, and those, vocally speaking, aren’t impressive. All we have to go on are breathless accounts of the beauty, the power, the brilliance of the castrati.

Today, the castrati are a focus of a lot of people interested in gender studies. It’s been suggested that some of the fascination a 16th-century audience had with them may have had less to do with their voices and more with the always-titillating subject of transgression.

If you want more on the castrati, Mark and John of Stuff from the B-Side, the HowStuffWorks music podcast, recorded an episode on the subject recently.

A clip from 1994’s “Farinelli,” which illustrates his effect on audiences:

Does singing make you happy?
Sydney Opera House
How Gender Reassignment Works

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHM2UZf4ld8]

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ6mDPCKbMc]

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IY447K3Q_k]

Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fe2FbHOyChI]

Part 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7VL0pXzsu8]

Part 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_S-iu1dRs

Part 8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NA54Tu7kyk

Part 9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJmWfRpGD2c

Part 10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yi2UjAU-jk

Part 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVuyM3T6hv8

Part 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTay9EbqOUA

Part 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swwVyFsMs7c

Muzyka popularna zawsze pełna była  falseciarzy. Wypełniali wszystkie jej rejony, nawet takie, które dziś awansowały na półkę kultury wysokiej (czyli takiej, której zwolennicy lubią czuć się wyżsi od innych). Przykładem jest tu nie tylko Farinelli, bohater słynnego filmu Gérarda Corbiau o ostatnim kastracie, ale i rzesza facetów wydających z siebie piski niewymuszone operacyjnie (mężczyźni mogą zbliżyć się jedynie do altu, najniższego głosu kobiecego).

Zostawiając już na boku odcięte narządy płciowe, które i tak męczyć nas będą, przybrawszy formę freudowskich kompleksów, zróbmy krótki przegląd współczesnych muzyków “śpiewających cienko”. Bo falset to tak na prawdę ciężka praca. Etymologicznie pochodzi od włoskiego słowa “falso” (fałszywy) i realizowany jest poprzez silne napięcie strun głosowych, co wymaga niezłego treningu. Odliczamy dziesięciu naszych ulubionych falseciarzy:

10. Mika – Młody półlibańczyk, który swoimi chwytliwymi melodiami i głosem przypominającym wymuszającego uwagę dzieciaka, podbił popowy świat.

9.  Justin Hawkins – romansujący z dramatycznymi dźwiękami opery i histerycznie uwielbiający wszelkie wydania Glam Metalu, charyzmatyczny wokalista The Darkness.

8. Frankmusik – falset z pomocą elektroniki. Niedawno w Łodzi na Venie na bis zaśpiewał “It’s a Sin” Pet Shop Boysów.

7. Antony Hegarty – głos drżący z niepewności, a jednocześnie bardzo czysty, mocny i pewny.

6. Russell Mael – młodszy z braci Sparks, którzy już blisko 40 lat raczą nas swoimi pstrymi hymnami i wciąż wychodzi im to świetnie.

5. Jake Shears ze Scissor Sisters – disco falset – czasem campowy, czasem wzruszający, ale zawsze gorgeous.

4. Andy Bell z Erasure – pionier pełnego emocji ostentacyjnego falsetu lat 80.

3. D’Angelo – były chłopak Angie Stone z wielkim talentem w pięknej piosence ze świetnym teledyskiem.

2. Maximilian Hecker – niemiecki wokalista, eks-model, melancholik. Szkoda, że tak słabo znany.

1. Klaus Nomi – falset pierwszej klasy. Przeszywający operowy głos, połączony z wykreowaną w stylu marsjańsko-kabuki personą Klausa Divy, wciska w fotel.

by: Maria Durska, Adam Kruk 2009

Store owner Mauro Farinelli is probably best known as a denim head who operates in a Virginia shop that sells premier jeans and tough to find but hip and upscale brands like Engineered Garments and Band of Outsiders (see shopfarinellis.com). But these days, he’s getting some coverage for his new line of clothing called Wolf vs. Goat — a bizarre name that combines the nicknames he and his girl call each other.

Farinelli is a big fan of that workman’s look — the almost industrial feeling of companies like Engineered Garments — but he is synthesizing that look with some classic tailoring to gentleman-it-up. He’s also a big fan of color, so expect some Italian-level boldness: “You’ll see a lot more Italian-tailored style meshing with workwear, in fabrics by Thomas Mason and Monti,” he said. And his first piece is a hit for us: a cool tattersall shirt with some American colors that will go for $175 later this month. The shirt comes in two fits: Before-Dinner and After-Dinner (hopefully you can tell which fit is bigger), and interestingly, and perhaps a bit frustratingly, there will only be about 30 of each style.

He was the most adored singer of his time, his vocal brilliance bringing him fame and wealth beyond comparison. Before the age of 10, Carlo ‘Farinelli’ Broschi (1705-1782) had joined countless other young boys subjected to that barbaric snip that kept their voices high-pitched, pure, and flexible. As women were barred from taking part in Roman Catholic services, “castrati” became commonplace from the 16th century onwards. Their lucrative careers – boosted by starring roles in Handel and Vivaldi operas – inspired thousands of poor families to offer up their sons for castration. But of all of them, it was Farinelli who hit all the right notes with the public. Now, more than two centuries later, I am interested to learn that researchers examining his exhumed remains are finding out much more about this extraordinary musical legend.

I called up Luigi Verdi, Secretary of Bologna’s Farinelli Study Centre, to find out a bit more. ”Farinelli’s bones were chosen because, as a castrato, he might have physical features completely unknown to scientists,” Luigi told me. “We’ve already noted interesting things about their dimensions and structure, which seem to relate to his being a castrato.” Castrated boys’ vocal cords were smaller and softer than an adult male’s. Their bones – including the ribs – kept growing, allowing for phenomenal lung power. Contemporary images of Farinelli depict a slender man with an unusually small head and extended limbs.  ”We have this abnormally thick skull, the dental arch, the legs and ribs,” he says. “We are learning what effects castration had on the bone structure, the metabolism, and the diseases that castrati were particularly prone to. We hope to discover more about his diet and habits. It may even be possible to reconstruct his face.”

The Farinelli project is the latest in a series of experiments being carried out on the remains of classical music’s greatest geniuses. Poor Beethoven has not had much undisturbed rest since his death in 1827. He was first exhumed in 1863, then again 25 years later. In recent years, scientists have confirmed the presence of large amounts of lead in Beethoven’s hair and bones, bona fide samples of which have popped up from time to time at auction and among family heirlooms. A significant portion of his genetic make-up has been identified using DNA analysis and it’s now thought lead poisoning may well have caused the composer’s illnesses and legendary irascibility. Late in 2005, when some thirteen fragments of Beethoven’s skull came to light among the inheritance of a Californian businessman whose family in Europe had possessed the relics for generations, an American Beethoven scholar enthused, “It puts you in the physical presence of Beethoven’s body and if Beethoven’s music means a great deal to you, that is a very powerful thing and has a lot of meaning.”

When Mozart’s 250th birthday celebrations got underway in January 2006, there was much media interest when researchers tried to establish whether a skull kept in a Salzburg museum since 1902 was Mozart’s. Staff claimed musical notes, even screams, were heard to emanate from it at night. However DNA analysis of the skull alongside bones from a Mozart family grave proved inconclusive and the mystery continues.

This fascination with the physical remains of extraordinary people may well be traced back to the Middle Ages cult of the saints. “A relic – some bodily reminder of a saint – gave people access to the divine and served a very personal need,” my old schoolfriend Dr.Michael Spitzer, now lecturing at Durham University, tells me, “But as religion’s influence declined, so composers and other great heroes of romanticism took the place of religious figures. The remains of a composer are deeply affecting because they communicated with a ‘divine voice’ that is all-embracing and, at the same time, personal.”

Several composers’ skulls were stolen from tombs during the 19th century as the science of phrenology tried to prove that a genius could be identified by the bumps on his head. Haydn’s was removed by a group of phrenologists in 1809. Police failed to find the skull which, it later transpired, was hidden up the nightdress of one of the grave-robbers’ wives. Haydn’s head and body were only reunited in 1954. J.S. Bach was also exhumed, 144 years after his burial in Leipzig. A scientist who analysed his remains concluded that his ears were “exceptionally suited to music.”

While phrenology and its more sinister offspring eugenics have now long been discredited, our interest in manufacturing human perfection remains. “Today’s fascination is cloning,” says Michael, “We love to imagine what would happen if we could somehow bring Mozart back using his DNA and hear how he would finish his Requiem.”

As the research continues into the bones of Farinelli, I wonder if this obsession with the remains of great musical geniuses ultimately reveal to us anything more about their talents, or increase our appreciation of their music? Michael thinks not. But Luigi Verdi at the Farinelli Study Centre is more open-minded: “We don’t know yet whether studying Farinelli’s corpse will help us to understand better the features of his voice and of his art,” he says. “I personally think that some of the analysis may change the image that we have of castratos – but we will need to wait a little longer to see the results.”

Discover Your Voice

www.theschoolofsinging.com

E’ giunto il gran giorno delle celebrazioni: Georg Friedrich Händel moriva a Londra 250 anni fa il 14 aprile 1759.

Georg Friedrich Händel

Un clin d’oeil à Patrick ce matin. Et à tous mes autres lecteurs.

Bonne journée

apres http://comaki.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/aie-ou-comment-carlo-broschi-est-devenu-le-farinelli/voila une autre explication possible

Till tonerna av Lascia ch’io pianga tänker jag på hur mycket jag beundrar operasångens kraft och liv. Den berör på djupet, skakar om tonernas vanliga klang, skapar en beundran för livet. Få sångstilar får mig att sitta så still och hänförd som en aria di bravura. Tänk att så mycket ljud kan komma från en sådan liten människa.

En av mina favortfilmer genom tiderna är Farinelli som kom 1994. Den handlar om den italienske sångaren Carlo Broschi som kastrerades som pojke för att behålla sin vackra röst. Här är ett klipp från filmen med en av de bästa sångerna genom tiderna. Närs eller förtärs av hans storhets röst.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu1Z2PoaE5I

]]> http://muumuu.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/na-miekko/ Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:56:02 +0000 krowibog http://muumuu.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/na-miekko/

Kastratem Farinelli, ukrywa to piżama

Jednojajowi Leszek i kopia jego Jarek

Nie wszyscy może wiedzą, że Barak to oba ma

Litr ajerkoniaku mieści mój mały barek.

Pour la petite histoire ou si vous ne comprener pas le sens de mon titre je vous invite à faire un petit tour sur Wikipedia (pour un peu de culture G).
Cette video, c’est que de la douleur, et j’avoue avoir eu des frissons jusqu’aux parties en voyant cette video pour la première fois. Bonne chance les mecs !!!

En av mina vänner: H, var klart före sin tid i delar av sin musiksmak. Först nu har jag hunnit i fatt honom på en sång. Plötsligt sista veckan föll genom livets nycker Claus Nomi på plats. Sången, artisten och framträdandet är både väldigt bisarrt och en stor aning queer. Valet av hans hit blir både tragiskt och väldigt humoristiskt. Hans framträdande är så oerhört stiliserat skruvat men samtidigt ganska kongenialt med sångens text “…Let me freeze again to death….” Det är omöjligt att inte bli charmad, men jag får samtidigt nästan faderskänslor inför hans veka märkliga framtoning. Här syns det sista stora framträdandet av dunderhiten “Cold Song” ur operan Purcells opera King Arthur

What power art thou, who from below hast made me rise unwillingly and slow from beds of everlasting snow. See’st thou not how stiff , how stiff and wondrous old far unfit to bear the bitter cold.
I can scarcely move or draw my breath, can scarcely move or draw my breath -
Let me, let me freeze again to death, Let me, let me freeze again to death, Let me, let me freeze again to death.

Men det finns också en gemensam tragedi mellan tonsättaren bakom sången Henry Purcell, och sångaren Claus Nomi: Henry Purcell dog av dåtidens mest fruktade pandemi Tuberkulos, Claus Nomi av AIDS, vår tids motsvarighet. Dessutom dog de i ungefär samma ålder Purcell blev 36 och Claus 39.

En annan tragisk gestalt, för att stanna i manliga sopranröster, är Farinelli (Carlo Maria Broschi 1705 – 1782) som alltså levde lite senare än Purcell. Farinelli sägs vara den främste kastraten genom tiden, en sångare som nådde kändisskap i Michael Jacksons nivå, men samtidigt undrar man om inte kändisskapet som hjältemodig kastrat, måste ha känts som en sorts lönsam “freak show” en anledning att kastrater blev populära var ju just detta att de var kastrater – vilket egentligen var förbjudet. Farinelli hade i alla fall tur med pengar anseende och vänner, och till skillnad från Purcell och Nomi blev Farinelli hela 77 år gammal.

I detta snitt från filmen om Farinelli torde tydligen rösten dubbas av Cecilia Bartoli. Arian är från Händels opera Rinaldo – en opera där de älskande faktiskt för ovanlighetens skull får varandra på slutet, men givetvis blev hon tvungen att konvertera till kristendom. Operan skulle kunna sägas vara en inspiration till Wagners Parsifal. Wagner jobbade ju bla i London ett tag och satte upp just musik av Händel, så tanken kan nog påverkats. Å andra sidor så handlar de flesta operor om ungefär samma sak – alltid…

Rinaldo och Armida

Après avoir mouvé, on chante maintenant…

Eviva il coltello! (Lank lewe die mes!)

Dit was die reine, skoon en absolute fantastiese klanke van die Castrati se stemme wat die Barok-gehore veral in die 18de eeu vir die mes laat skreeu het. Die supernatuurlike stemme van die Castrati het saamgesmelt, met wat destyds ‘n fusie van poësie, musiek en ‘n visuele spektakel was – die Gesamentkunstwerk.

Vandag is dit die bekende werke van die Castrati wat vir my bekoor. Ons het natuurlik weens menslikheidsredes nie meer die fantastiese stemme nie en die enkele mans wat vandag die musiek sing, is maar tientalle. Om dit vandag te sing, moet die man oor ‘n falsetto-stemvermoë (kontra-tenoor) of selfs sopraan beskik.

Die werke is besonders en pragtig om te hoor. ‘n Mens kan nie glo dit is ‘n man wat sing nie -tog dit kan nie dieselfde wees as die Castrati nie. Daar is talle bekendes vandag en ek is gek na hulle musiek.

Gaan luister hier!! Dit is ‘n kontra-tenoor wat van die falsetto-stemtegniek gebruik maak. Ek belowe dit is ‘n moderne man Jörg Waschinski wat hier sing (Invan minacci e credi vincer)

 Listen here

Maar as mens na die musiek luister is daar iets tragies aan, dit is vir my besonders mooi! Dit neem mens ver weg.

Die Mes

‘n Seun wat mooi kan sing word voor puberteit gekastreer. Dit is natuurlik wreed en talle (sowat 4000) seuns van arm families het die proses ondergaan sonder veel keuse, in die hoop van die familie dat dit hulle uit armoede sal red. Die wat die top bereik het, het besonders ryk en bekend geword. 

Die kastrasie verhoed dat die larinks groei en die suiwer seun-sopraanstem word behou, maar die borskas ontwikkel met die sterkte, die longe en akoestiese vermoe van ‘n man.

Seker die bekenste Castrato was Carlo Broschi (1705-82), bekend as Farinelli. Sy beendere is in 2006 opgegrawe sodat wetenskaplike toetse daarop gedoen kan word. Een van die redes was om sy bene (veral die langbene) te meet, daar is ook gekyk na die ontwikkeling van sy larinks en die effek van jare se oefening of sy liggaam. Daar is ‘n pragtige fliek genaamd Farinelli oor hom gemaak.

Farinelli

Vir 300 jaar was die Castrati deel van die opera in Italie, hoewel dit amptelik onwettig was, om die betrokke operasie uit te voer, het almal hul oë weggedraai. Daar was natuurlik ook Castrati was gesing het in die pouslike kapelle in Rome sedert 1600 en in ander kerkkore.

Die laaste Castrato was Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922). Hy is die enigste een van wie se stem ‘n opname gemaak is,  vroeg in 1900. Ek het Berlyn platgeloop agter die betrokke CD aan, maar helaas niks gevind nie. Ek het wel ‘n hedendaagse opname gevind van werke uitgevoer van die Castrati se bekendste werke en dit is ‘n briljante troosprys. 

Moreschi was al ouer toe die opname in 1902 gemaak is en baie senuwee-agtig, omdat hy natuurlik nie die grammafoon geken het nie. Later is nog ‘n grammafoon-opname gemaak wat beter is, maar kliek hier om na ‘n stukkie van Ave Maria te luister. So ‘n mooi lied (ek weet nie hoe om dit direk op te laai…frustrasie)

http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-castrato_recording.html

En hier is nog ‘n lied – in beide sing hy effe huiwerig. Ek glo nie hy was die beste Castrati nie, maar sy waks-opname is al wat ons het! Ek wens so ek kon die ander hoor.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Alessandro_Moreschi.ogg

Moreschi

Een van die hoofredes is natuurlik dat vroue nie in kerkkore en op die verhoog toegelaat is nie, maar iemand moes, soos in die teater hulle rolle vertolk.

Die laaste plek wat Castrati nog gehoor kon word teen die einde van die 1800’s was waar dit begin het, in die kerk, en ook in die imposante Sistynse Kapel. Ek kan my net indink hoe pragtig die unieke musiek daar moes klink. En die einde het gekom in 1903 toe die pous verklaar het hulle rolle moet deur seuns oorgeneem word.

Seks?

Om een van ander vreemde rede dink mense vandag die mans was gay, net omdat hulle gekastreer is. Dit spreek natuurlik boekdele van ons enorme vooroordele oor gay mense. En is eintlik lagwekkend as mens daaraan dink. Wat die fisiese gebrek aan testes met die aantrekkingskrag tot dieselfde geslag te doen?

Destyds is hulle egter deur die gemeenskap as reuse sekssimbole gesien, omdat dit die opinie van die dag was. Hulle is aantreklik gevind deur mans en vroue, en is amper soos gode aangehang.

Of die betrokke Castrati tot seks instaat was het heeltemal berus op wanneer die operasie in elke geval uitgevoer is.

Bronne: BBC, Die Welt der Kastraten; Wiki

Farinellis (eigentlich Carlo Broschi (*24. Januar 1705 in Andria † 15. Juli 1782 Bologna) Bruder, oder wer auch immer für die Kastration Farinellis verantwortlich war, scheint dieses Verbot nicht besonders Ernst genommen zu haben.
Immerhin war er nicht alleine damit, denn Farinelli war bei weitem nicht der einzige Kastrat seiner Zeit.
“Dass die armen italienischen Kinder auch immer soo unglücklich fallen müssen” wurde bisweilen gespottet.

Selbst dem erst 1922 gestorbenen Alessandro Moreschi, dem (zumindest offiziell) letzten “päpstlichen Kastraten” hat das alte Verbot nicht geholfen.

1587 verbietet ein Papst Kastrationen, 1922 stirbt der letzte päpstliche Kastrat? Nein, das ist kein Widerspruch. Denn schon 1601 bot Papst Clemens VIII voller Gnade den Opfern der verbotenen und dennoch fortgeführten Praxis eine Stelle in der päpstlichen Kapelle. Doch schon 1904 wurden Kastraten im päpstlichen Chor (von Pius X.) verboten – nur Moreschi durfte bleiben.

Die von Moreschi erhaltenen Aufnahmen sind sicher nicht vergleichbar mit dem was Farinelli und seine Leidenszeitgenossen sängerisch zu leisten imstande waren. Man hört eine gealterte Stimme, in einem ganz anderen Stil ausgebildet.

Wie groß Farinellis Kunstfertigkeit war, lässt sich nur noch anhand der für ihn geschriebenen Arien einigermaßen abschätzen: Nicht nur hohe Töne, sondern auch ein unglaublich langer Atem sind ein Merkmal der Kastratenstimme.

Wie diese Partien wohl geklungen haben?

Nein, das wollen wir nicht ausprobieren.

The movie is (very!) loosely based in the life story of Carlo Broschi, the most famous and brilliant castrato singer of all times.

We follow his career and life while he tours Europe with his brother Riccardo with whom he shares his success and his women. They have a very especial relationship, since we immediately see that Riccardo’s success is due only to his brother’s talent. Without Carlo’s voice, he would be nothing more than an average musician. 

While not having detailed information about the operation Carlo suffered as a young child, the scene in the milk bath can be shocking and reveal how much he had to go through to reach success…

Our genius had to have a rival and who else than the perfectionist and also gifted Handel, who is clearly portrayed as the villain.

Historical inaccuracies are many and the acting is sometimes awkward, for instance when Stephano Dionisi (Carlo Broschi) is singing. The brother’s relationship and the sexual scenes were used to add some more drama to the story, since Carlo was known to be chaste and a very religious man.

Despite its flaws, the movie is a lavishing and flamboyant portrait of the 18^th century with an amazing photography who will make you hold your breath during the musical performances.

Since it was impossible to find a castrato’s voice, the director had to use an electronic voice which combined the voices of countertenor Derek Rogin and soprano Ewa Mallas. The result is intriguing and Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga will certainly remain in your memory and make you wonder how would it be to listen that particular music by the real Farinelli.

Directed by the Belgian, Gérard Corbiau, Farinelli, was the winner of a Golden Globe and a Oscar nomination for the Best Foreign Movie. 

If the subject of castrato singers and the Baroque music interest you, this is certainly a movie to watch.

Handel’s Lascia ch’io pianga:

More about the music :

http://mediatheque.ircam.fr/sites/voix/creer/farinelli.html (french)

http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/farinelli.htm

Hier le hasard m’a fait changer de chaine et je me suis retrouvée par hasard sur un programme dont je ne saurai vous donner la chaine ni le titre. L’important c’est que cette émission a réveillé des souvenirs intenses. Ceux du film retraçant la vie de Farinelli, le plus célèbre des castrat jamais connu. L’histoire de Farinelli, célèbre castrat, devenu une légende de son temps et qui arrêta brusquement sa brillante carrière pour suivre le roi d’Espagne. http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=11094.html

Cette scène, si puissante, vous donne des frissons à vous transpercer les os… Elle est si présente dans ma mémoire que j’ai l’impression de l’avoir vue hier. La voix de castrat de Farinelli vous transporte à tel point que vous avez l’impression de vivre la scène. Vous vibrer avec lui…

This scene is so powerfull it could go deeply to your bones and brek them. This scene has remained deeply buried in my memories and still wakes the same emotion today. It seems you are travelling in the dreamworld of Farinelli. Like a bird on its journey for freedom.

La tragédie de Farinelli et de tout castrat, c’est de n’avoir pas choisi dê devenir ce qu’ils sont, mais d’avoir été choisi pour le devenir… SEt que leur célébrité était responsable de leur maheurs.

The tragedy of Farinelli and every Castrato is that no choice wa offered to them. And overall, their fame was also the cause of their sorrow. Fsarinelli was so famous however he couldn’t take advantage of this success wiht ladies…. 

When I listen this song, I close my eyes. When the Farinelli’s tone soars up to the pinnacle and stays at the limit of human voice, my blood runs cool and I can feel something explode inside me. Personally, I like shouting voice. It can blow all the emotional garbage away. I feel like flying above the sky for a short moment as if I were a rocket launched vertically toward the air.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWMOmBohlTE

Merci à Yester21 de Youtube

Pour aller plus loin avec ce sujet

For further information about castrat and farinelli here are more links

http://www.forumopera.com/dossiers/castrats/03.htm

http://fr.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562918/Farinelli.html

http://www.femme-en-ville.com/blog/index.php/2007/11/07/1270-jaroussky-lhistoire-dun-castrat-10-cd-a-gagner

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castrat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castration

Jarrousky est une exception dans l’univers du baroque et de l’opéra, il a les dons d’un castrat sans en être un…

Preuve qu’il n’y avait nul besoin d’enlever à ces individus ce dont la nuture les avait doté. La mutilation n’était certainement pas necessaire pour qui avait un talent inné.

Wanted to address one question that some of you may have had about last night’s (wonderful) performance: why were all but one of the male roles performed by women? Simple: castrati, who performed those roles in the first production of the opera, are now in short supply. So while the number of women onstage was unusually, and to my mind, refreshingly, high, it was a practical necessity.

Some links:

• Farinelli, a lush film of 1994 about a famous castrato (clip on YouTube; for more, follow links. Image, above, is of Stefano Dionisi in the title role. But don’t worry: no actors were harmed in the making of the film. Handel is a central character.)
• “Singing in the pain: Castrati were the singing superstars of the 18th Century. But, as a new exhibition illustrates, theirs is a tale with some modern parallels,” Sean Couglan, BBC News Magazine (29 Mar/06). Includes link to a recording of the “last castrato”, Alessandro Moreschi (1902).
• Website of Elsa Scammell, musical scholar
• Selected literature on the male high voice: a bibliography by Dorothe Kugler
• YouTube: Alessandro Moreschi – Crucifixus (Rossini), 1902 (follow links for more)
• Arias for Farinelli and Castrato
• Portrait of Farinelli and friends by Jacopo Amigoni

Portrait of Farinelli

Sul supplemento domenicale del Sole, dettagli sul libro di Scarlini ( v.castrati ). Giovan Battista Velluti era di Corridonia, provincia di Macerata: il paese di Massimo Ciocci, ex Inter, poi alla gloriosa Società polisportiva ars et labor. Alessandro Moreschi, unico del quale rimangano incisioni su disco, era di Monte Compatri, appena sopra Monte Porzio. In piazza c’è un’ottima trattoria. A proposito, Vlad : che fine ha fatto la Pro patria et libertate ?