all the great voices of Europe for over half a century; and at his first
appearance in Rome, in 1722, common report had already made him famous.
So wonderful was his execution, even at this early age, that he was
able to vie with a trumpet-player, then the admiration of Rome for his
remarkable powers. Porpora had written an obligato part to a song, in
which his pupil rivaled the instrument in holding and swelling a note of
extraordinary purity and volume. The virtuoso's execution was masterly,
but the young singer so surpassed him as to carry the enthusiasm of the
audience to the wildest pitch by the brilliance of his singing and the
difficult variations which he introduced. Farinelli left the guidance
of Porpora in 1724, and appeared in different European cities with a
success which made him in three years a European celebrity. In 1727,
while singing in Bologna, he met Bernacchi, at that time known as the
"king of singers." The rivals were matched against each other one night
in a grand duo, and Farinelli, freely admitting that the veteran artist
had vanquished him, begged some lessons from him. Bernacchi generously
accorded these, and took great pains with his young rival. Thus was
perfected the talent of Farinelli, who, to use the words of a modern
critic, was as "superior to the great singers of his own period as they
were to those of more recent times."

After brilliant triumphs at Vienna, Rome, Naples, and Parma, where he
surpassed the most formidable rivals and was heaped with riches and
honors, he appeared before the Emperor Charles VI. of Germany, a
momentous occasion in his art-career. "You have hitherto excited only
astonishment and admiration," said the imperial connoisseur, "but
you have never touched the heart. It would be easy for you to create
emotion, if you would but be more simple and natural." The singer
adopted this counsel, and became the most pathetic as he continued to be
the most brilliant of singers.