`Farinelli' Star Took Cues From Jackson

To prepare to play an 18th century operatic singer in theOscar-nominated "Farinelli," Stefano Dionisi watched tapes of OprahWinfrey interviewing Michael Jackson.

He says his impressions helped inform his portrait of thewildly popular castrato singer of 18th century Europe.

One thing Dionisi couldn't bring to the role, though, was asinging voice. "No, I don't sing at all, except maybe in theshower." Even if he did sing, it wouldn't be with the ethereal,high-pitched voice of someone who has been castrated.

Director Gerard Corbiau chose to use an electronicallymanipulated voice (created by two operatic singers) for Farinelli,and Dionisi lip-synched the songs.

"Still, I worked on that for more than two months," he says. "Iwoke up every morning at 9 a.m. and worked on singing, breath andposition. In the evening I listened to the playback. It was veryhard.

"That was just technique. What I found more difficult was thenatural voice of Farinelli. How would he talk to people? It wasvery important to see that my voice was the right voice. It was veryhigh."

As for the other effects of castration, Dionisi says heimagined his character as "someone who had been wounded.

"He was fragile. The only time he's happy is when he sings.Then he's in ecstasy."

Speaking by phone during a publicity swing through New York,Dionisi acknowledges that "Farinelli" has brought him moreinternational attention than any of the other dozen films he's beenin since starting his career in 1989. But he doesn't necessarilyassume it'll lead to many roles outside Europe.

"I may work outside Italy. In fact, I have already made anotherfilm in France," he says. "But working in the United States is moredifficult. Everything is done differently here."