Farinelli, Farinello, in fact Carlo Broschi, *24 January 1705 Andria (near Bari), †16 September 1782 Bologna, Italian castrato (soprano) and composer. He came from a musical family. His father, Salvatore Broschi, belonged to the petty nobility and held the position of governor of the city of Maratea from 1706. He was a great lover of music, and his brother, Riccardo, became a composer. He first learned music from his father and brother, then from N. Porpora in Naples, and in 1727 he received some lessons from A. Bernacchi. He debuted in Naples in 1720, singing part of Tirsi in the serenata Angelica e Medoro to a libretto by P. Metastasio with music by N. Porpora. In 1722, he made his debut on the stage of the Teatro d’Alibert in Rome. In the years 1722–1724, he performed prima donna parts there. Afterwards, he sang in Naples (1724–1726) appearing only in primo uomo roles. Additionally, he sang in Parma, Milan (1726), Rome (1727, 1728), Bologna (1727, 1731), Munich (1728). During the carnival of 1728, he made his debut in Venice, and in 1732, he performed at the Viennese court, achieving great success. In 1730 he was appointed a member of the Accademia Filarmonica in Venice, and from 1734 to 1737 he was in London, staying there with the Opera of the Nobility led by Senesino and N. Porpora. In 1736 and 1737, he spent several months at the royal court in Paris and Versailles, then went to Madrid, where he worked for 22 years, remaining in the service of two successive rulers: Philip V and Ferdinand VI. From then on, he no longer sang in public, but was an influential favourite of the king, reorganising the theatre and founded the Italian opera. He acted as director and stage designer, and supervised construction work in the palace and royal gardens. In 1750 he was awarded the Order of Calatrava. In 1759, after the death of Ferdinand VI, he went to Bologna and settled there permanently. He owned a collection of valuable keyboard instruments and paintings. He gained lasting fame and received fabulous emoluments and gifts. In total, he appeared in around 80 opera productions during his career, which lasted just 15 years (1722–1737). His three-octave vocal range (to D3) was characterised by technical perfection, he was unsurpassed in messa di voce, trills, and fast scale progressions. Farinelli is the author of several arias and instrumental pieces. The Austrian National Library in Vienna preserves a manuscript, Farinelli’s autograph, given by him to Empress Maria Theresa (A-Wn Mus. Hs.19111). This manuscript contains a list of the arias from Farinelli’s repertoire, as well as the coloraturas and embellishments (which he performed) inscribed by him.
Literatura G. Sacchi Vita del cavaliere Don Carlo Broschi, Venice 1789; C. Ricci Burney, Casanova e Farinelli in Bologna, Milan 1890; J. Desastra Carlo Broschi, Zürich 1908; L. Frati Metastasio e Farinelli, “Rivista Musicale Italiana” XX, 1913; F. Haböck, Carlo Broschi Farinelli, Gesangkunst der Kastraten, 1. Notenband, Vienna 1923; A. Maroni Il celebre cantante Farinelli alla corte di Parma, in «Aurea Parma» XLVI Parma 1962; A. Giovine Carlo Broschi detto Farinelli, published in: Musicisti e cantanti di Terra di Bari, Bari 1968; P. Barbier, Farinelli. Le castrat des Lumières, Paris 1994; S. Cappelletto, La voce perduta. Vita di Farinelli evirato cantore, Turin 1995; Il fantasma del Farinelli. Centro studi Farinelli (1998–2003). Saggi e conferenze, Lucca 2005; Il Farinelli e gli evirati cantori, Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi in occasione delle manifestazioni per il 300o anniversario della nascita di Carlo Broschi detto il Farinelli, Lucca 2007; C. Broschi Farinelli, La solitudine amica. Lettere al conte Sicinio Pepoli, Palermo 2007.
