Farinelli

Farinelli is a 1994 drama about Carlo Broschi, the eighteenth-century Italian castrato known as Farinelli, and the price of his fame. Trained from childhood and castrated young, he becomes the most celebrated singer of his age, touring the great opera houses of Europe alongside his brother Riccardo, a composer. His voice wins him wealth, admiration and the attention of powerful patrons, yet personal happiness stays out of reach. A rivalry with George Frideric Handel and a love affair with Alexandra bring the tensions of his life into the open.

The film was directed by Gérard Corbiau from a screenplay by Marcel Beaulieu, and produced by Véra Belmont. Stefano Dionisi plays Carlo, with Enrico Lo Verso as Riccardo, Elsa Zylberstein as Alexandra, Jeroen Krabbé as Handel and Caroline Cellier as Margareth Hunter. It runs 111 minutes and was made as a co-production between Belgium, Italy and France. Corbiau had previously directed films about music and musicians, and this one continues that interest.

On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 5.7 out of 10 from 25 reviews, while on TMDB viewers give it 6.5 out of 10 from 199 votes. The two scores sit close together, indicating a generally moderate response rather than sharply divided opinion.