Farinelli

Farinelli (1994) is a biographical drama directed by Gérard Corbiau — watch online on iFILM. It follows Carlo Broschi, the 18th-century singer who performed under the name Farinelli and drew audiences across Europe with a voice no natural singer could produce. Stefano Dionisi and Enrico Lo Verso star in this Belgian-French-Italian co-production.

The voice itself was recreated in post-production by digitally blending a countertenor and a soprano — the result is genuinely unnerving in the best way. But the more uncomfortable story belongs to Riccardo Broschi, Carlo's brother and composer, who spent decades as the architect behind the spectacle while the applause went elsewhere. The film is really about that arrangement: what it costs to be the person who makes the miracle possible rather than the miracle itself. It landed an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Stream Farinelli (1994) online on iFILM.