In 1737 the biggest performer on the planet walked away from packed London theaters at 32 and spent the next nine years singing the same four arias every night to a single depressed king. This episode tells the story of Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli, born in Apulia in 1705 and castrated after his father's death in 1717 plunged the family into poverty, with a fall from a horse as the cover story. We follow his training under Nicola Porpora, his debut at 15 alongside librettist Metastasio, whom he called his dear twin for life, and the legendary breath-control duel with a trumpet player.

We examine the 1727 Bologna sing-off he lost to veteran Antonio Bernacchi and how he responded by begging for lessons, the Holy Roman Emperor's advice to trade acrobatics for emotion, and the London mania of 1734 in which a society lady cried one God, one ...