One God, One Farinelli! Well, two Farinellis, actually...
Iestyn Davies as Farinelli, Globe Theatre, Brenner Photos. One of my most popular posts on this blog has been a short piece on the castrato Farinelli and the music therapy he undertook for Philippe V of Spain. So what could be more exciting than a play entitled Farinelli and the King? Taking place in a reconstructed 17th-century theatre? Featuring arias that Farinelli himself sung? Starring countertenor Iestyn Davies as the singing voice of Farinelli? Human spontaneous combustion!! This is what I experienced last night at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (the new indoor addition to Shakespeare's Globe in London). The play was written by Claire van Kampen, and also stars her husband, Mark "Wolf Hall" Rylance as King Philippe, Melody Grove as his Queen, and Sam Crane as the acted part of Farinelli. (More on those two Farinellis later!) So, where to begin? Let's start with the magical space of the theatre itself. I was dying to see t...