Opera Santa Barbara to Present Screening & Panel for ‘Farinelli’
By David SalazarOpera Santa Barbara will present a free screening of the film “Farinelli” on Feb. 17, 2026.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and is part of the company’s “Opera at the Movies” series. The event serves as a prelude to the company’s upcoming production of Händel’s “Caesar and Cleopatra,” which runs from Feb. 27 and March 1, 2026, at the Lobero Theatre.
The evening features the 1994 biographical drama “Farinelli,” directed by Gérard Corbiau, which explores the world of Händel and Baroque opera through the life of the 18th-century Italian singer Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli. The film stars Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, Elsa Zylberstein, and Jeroen Krabbé, and received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.
Following the screening, a panel discussion examines the operatic and historical context of the film. The panel includes Derek Katz, Associate Professor of Music History at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Stefanie Tcharos, Associate Professor of Musicology at UCSB and author of Opera’s Orbit; and mezzo-soprano Christina Pezzarossi Ramsey. Simon Williams, OSB Board member and Professor Emeritus in the UCSB Department of Theatre and Dance, will moderates the discussion.
A complimentary pre-film reception with refreshments takes place prior to the screening.
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