1717: Singing Superstars

1717, Naples. In a modest room, a young boy undergoes a dangerous operation that will determine his future. If he survives, his voice will never break. Carlo Broschi will become Farinelli – one of the greatest and most celebrated singers in history.

This programme explores the rise of opera’s first international superstars. From the extraordinary appeal of the castrati to the fierce rivalries of diva sopranos, it traces how star performers – rather than composers – drive the spread of opera across Europe. As theatres expand and audiences grow, music enters a new age of celebrity, spectacle and commercial ambition.

Gillian Moore is joined by a roster of distinguished historians for this major new BBC Radio 3 series, charting a course through 1000 years of classical music history. For Episodes 9 to 16, Gillian welcomes Suzannah Lipscomb to help her explore the fascinating stories and rich sound worlds of the Late Renaissance and Baroque.

Producer: Chris Taylor
Academic Consultant: Professor Laura Tunbridge, University of Oxford
Story Consultant: Kate Leys
Series Editor for BBC Audio: Emma Harding
Key Changes theme tune composed by Joseph Howard and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Kerem Hasan.

MUSIC DETAILS

Riccardo Broschi: Artaserse – Son qual nave ch’agitata
Ewa Małas-Godlewska (soprano)
Derek Lee Ragin (countertenor)
Les Talens Lyriques
Christophe Rousset (conductor)

Gregorio Allegri: Miserere mei, Deus

Alessandro Scarlatti: Il Cambise – “Mi cinga la fama”
Talenti Vulcanici
Carlo Vistoli (countertenor)

Mark-Anthony Turnage: Anna Nicole – “Partay!”
Eva-Maria Westbroek (soprano)
Gerald Finley (baritone)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Antonio Pappano (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Serse – “Ombra mai fu”
Andreas Scholl (countertenor)
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

John Gay (arr. Pepusch): The Beggar’s Opera – “Cease Your Funning” / “Why How Now, Madam Flirt?”
The Broadside Band
Jeremy Barlow (conductor)

George Frideric Handel: Alessandro – “Placa l’alma”
Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Mary Bevan (soprano)
London Early Opera
Bridget Cunningham (conductor)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte – Overture
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
René Jacobs (conductor)