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Life at the Spanish court is transformed by the arrival of a singing celebrity. Presented by Kate Molleson.

Domenico Scarlatti was well placed to build himself a glittering career in the music business. He was prestigiously talented and born into a family with powerful connections in the music business. His home city of Naples was a major centre for the fashionable new art form of opera. But there were challenges, too. Competition was fierce and musicians often found their fates helplessly tied to the fickle fortunes of their aristocratic patrons. On top of all that, Domenico faced another, distinctly personal, test to his career aspirations; he was working in the shadow of a much more celebrated Scarlatti – his own father! It would take several decades, and more than a few changes of direction, before Domenico finally found his right path, becoming one of the baroque period’s most significant composers. Today, he’s rightly revered for the extraordinary catalogue of over 550 keyboard sonatas he left to posterity. This week, Kate Molleson traces Scarlatti's story and looks at what else there is to discover in his legacy alongside his celebrated keyboard works.

In today’s programme, the most famous opera singer of the age pays a visit to the Spanish court where Scarlatti works. When the King persuades him to stay, Scarlatti wonders if Farinelli will prove an ally or a rival.

Pur nel sonno almen tal’ora: (extracts)
Cyrille Gerstenhaber, soprano
Xviii-21 Musique Des Lumières, directed by Jean-Christophe Frisck

Avison: Concerto grosso after Scarlatti, No. 5 in Dm (extracts)
Tiento Nuovo, directed by Ignacio Prego

Salve Regina in A
Josè Maria Lo Monaco, mezzo-soprano
Divino Sospiro, directed by Massimo Mazzeo

Sonata in Cm, K11
Ivo Pogorelich (piano)

Sonata in G, K547
Trevor Pinnock, harpsichord

Produced by Chris Taylor