EUROPE IMAGES INTERNATIONAL - M5

Synopsis

Farinelli! Caffarelli! Carestini! The names of the greatest castrato singers have become legendary. And yet their singing is shrouded in mystery.
Those who had the privilege of hearing them describe a voice which verged on the uncanny, combining a child's purity and an adult's power. Their unparalleled agility made them real vocal acrobats.
The last castrato died on April 21, 1922 in Rome. Alessandro Moreschi was a soloist at the Sistine Chapel and had been recorded in 1904 by the sound engineers of the Gramophone company. His voice is the only recorded example of these exceptional singers who reigned over the worlds of opera and liturgical singing in the 17th and 18th centuries.
This 52-minute documentary is a fascinating historical and artistic investigation which sets off in search of these vocal magicians who were as adulated in their day as big rock stars today.