The Castrato Who Sang for Kings

In 1705, a boy named Carlo Broschi was born in Andria, Italy. To preserve his remarkable singing voice, he underwent castration as a child, a procedure often disguised by fabricating accidents like a fall from a horse. This created a 'castrato': a singer with the vocal range of a woman but the physical power and lung capacity of a grown man. In an era when women were often barred from the stage, the castrato voice was highly prized. Training under the master teacher Nicola Porpora in Naples, Carlo followed a punishing daily regimen of vocal exercises and composition. He soon adopted the stage name Farinelli, in honor of his early patrons, the Farina brothers, and prepared to take the world of Baroque opera by storm.