TheAgeofFarinelli

CarloBroschi (1705 – 1782), stagename Farinelli, was an Italiancastrato who many musicologistsrankasperhapsthegreatestoperasinger in the 420-year operahistory. Hehadasingingrangeinexcess of three octaves; he couldsustain a single note for over aminute and sing 250 notes on asinglebreath. Hemadehisoperadebut inRomeatage17 followedbyaspectacularinternational

In 1737,while visiting the Spanish court, theQueen, Elisabetta Farnese, came to believe thatFarinelli’svoicemightbeabletocuretheseveredepressionofherhusband,KingPhillipV,thegrandsonofFrenchKingLouisXIV.Forthenext10yearsFarinellisangthesamefourariastotheking before bedtime. He never sang again in public. This episode is the subject of the playFarinelli and the King that played in London’sWest Side in 2015 and was nominated for sixLawrenceOlivierAwards,andin2018onBroadwayandnominatedforfiveTonyAwards.

OperaStudies2019,TheAgeofFarinelli,takesplaceattheheightoftheBaroqueOperaera (1600 – 1750). Baroque operas were written for singers, and the lead roles weredominatedbycastrati. Audiencesattendedperformancesasmuchtobeentertainedbycastratisingingvirtuosity,likethegreatFarinelli,astheonstagedrama.Baroque operas(many now being rediscovered in archives) are making a comeback on opera stagesworldwide.The2019OperaStudiesprogramseriespresentsarepresentativefew.

career, during which heamassed a cons iderab lefortune– (forexample,his feefor three seasons in London,1734-37, was 4,500 pounds,plus he received additionalmonetarygiftsfrommanythatequaled5,000pounds).In1737he sang one performance forFrenchKingLouisXVwhopaidhim 500 louis d’or. Theseaddedtogether=$1.74millionintoday’sdollars.

Farinelli

January31 February7 February21February28March7AgeofFarinelli GiuseppeScarlattiAntonioVivaldiJohannHasseHandelVideoLectureDoveèamoreègelosiaOrlandoFuriosoArtaserseRodelinda

(AllwithEnglishsubtitles;seereversesidefordetails)

PresenterWayneKleinstiverVeroBeachOpera

TheOperaStudieseducationseriesisauniquelong-standingjointventureof

VeroBeachOperawithVeroBeachMuseumofArt

PRESENTEDintheVBMALeonhardtAuditoriumfrom12:30PMto4:30PMonthedatesshownTUITIONFORTHESERIES–VBMA&VBOmembers:$55.00Non-members:$75.00TOREGISTER:www.vboperastudies.comor(772)231-0707ext.136

LearnmoreabouttheVeroBeachOperaatverobeachopera.organdVeroBeachMuseumofArtatvbmuseum.org

AgeofFarinelli

Scarlatti

Vivaldi

Hasse

Handel

January31–BaroqueOperaEraandtheAgeofFarinelliThreepartprogram:1.Videolecture:BaroqueoperaerahistoryandtheAgeoftheFarinelli. 2. VideoofsuperstarmezzosopranoCecliaBartolirecitalfromthemagnificentBaroquePalaceofCasertainSouthernItaly,of castrati arias, accompanied by Baroque period ensemble. 3. Videolecture: Is thereanyoperatic influenceconnectedwith theVeroBeachMuseumofArt’sexhibitionVictorianRadicals:FromthePre-RaphaelitestotheArts&CraftsMovement?February7-Doveèamoreègelosia(Wherethereislove,thereisjealousy)byGiuseppeScarlatti,premieredatthetheatreintheČeskýKrumlovCastleTheaterinČeskýKrumlov(Bohemia)on24July1768.Thisperform-anceisanexactreplicaofthe1768premierinthisrestoredBaroquetheater(UNESCOHeritageSite),toincludecostumes,stagesetsandstagemachinery,alllightedbycandles.Theoperawillbeprecededbyanexcel-lentpresentationaboutthetheaterrestorationandthediscoveryofthisopera,alongwithinterestingexplanationsofBaroqueperiodopera.February21– OrlandoFuriosoby Antonio Vivaldi, premiered at the Teatro San Angelo, Venice, inNovember 1727. This is an exquisite live 1989 San Francisco Operaperformance featuring mezzo-sopranoMarilyn Horne in the title role.Theoperawill beprecededbyadocumentaryofVivaldi’s life. Vivaldimentionsinaletterwriting94operas,ofwhichscoresfor50havebeenrecovered;OrlandoFuriosoisthemostfrequentlyperformedtoday.February28– ArtasersebyJohannHasse,premieredonFebruary11,1730 inVenice.ThegreatFarinelliappearedinthisHasseversioninoneofthetitleroles.Thisisaliveperformanceduringthe39thVallee’ItriaFestivalinMartinaFranca,Italy,2012.ThestagingupdatestothetimeandsetsofmodernPersia.Twoof the arias from this opera are twoof four that Farinelli sang toPhillipVofSpaineverynightfor10years.SuperstarcountertenorFrancoFagioli,who appeared in theVinci version of this libretto (2016OperaStudiesKingsandEmperors)singsthetitleroleinthisHasseversion.March7– RodelindaConsideredoneofHandel’s greatestoperaticachievements,RodelindawasfirstperformedattheKing’sTheaterintheHaymarket,London,on13February1725.ThisisaliveMetOpera2011performance,featuringsopranoRenéeFleming in the title roleoppositeGermancountertenorAndreas Scholl. This is an absolutely exquisite performance. A shortdocumentaryonHandel’slifewillprecedetheplayingoftheopera.