Farinelli is a 1994 internationally co-produced biographical drama film directed by Gérard Corbiau and starring Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein, and Jeroen Krabbé.

[2] The prologue begins with Carlo Broschi, the famous castrato Farinelli, reminiscing about his childhood as a singer in the church choir.

Carlo is traumatized and refuses to sing a composition by his older brother Riccardo for his voice teacher, Nicola Porpora.

The film proper opens in Madrid, Spain, at the palace of King Philip V. Riccardo Broschi (Enrico Lo Verso) demands to see his brother Carlo (Stefano Dionisi), now known by his nickname, Farinelli.

Eighteen years earlier, Carlo and Riccardo watched an itinerant trumpet player humiliate a young castrato.

He impresses the Comtesse Mauer (Marianne Basler), a beautiful and rich young woman more interested in books than opera.

In London, Carlo and Riccardo meet Margareth Hunter (Caroline Cellier) and her crippled son Benedict (Renaud du Peloux de Saint Romain).

Carlo begins to realize that Riccardo's highly ornamented compositions lack true artistry; he covets Handel's operas and tries to impress him.

We learn that Carlo and Alexandra fled from Riccardo to the royal court of Spain, and has not sung in public since his triumph at the Opera of the Nobility three years earlier.

As Riccardo listens to Carlo sing, he is overwhelmed by guilt and the broken relationship, and attempts suicide by slashing his wrist.

[2] Among the historically documented elements of the film are the rivalry between Handel and Porpora, the account of Farinelli competing with a trumpeter for holding a note and his skill as a harpsichordist.

[2] Although loosely based on known events, the film takes dramatic license with many specific details on music and the facts of Farinelli's life.