Page "Farinelli" Paragraph 16

Apparently intending to make only a brief visit to the Continent, Farinelli called at Paris on his way to Madrid, singing on 9 July at Versailles to King Louis XV, who gave him his portrait set in diamonds, and 500 louis d ' or.

On 15 July he left for Spain, arriving about a month later.

Elisabetta Farnese, the Queen, had come to believe that Farinelli's voice might be able to cure the severe depression of her husband, King Philip V ( some contemporary physicians, such as the Queen's doctor Giuseppe Cervi, believed in the efficacy of music therapy ).

On 25 August 1737, Farinelli was named chamber musician to the king, and, or servant to the royal family.

He never sang again in public.