Tenor of Love

by Mary Di Michele

A NOVEL OF PASSION AND BETRAYAL, ART AND AMBITION BASED ON THE LIFE OF ONE OF THE GREATEST OPERA SINGERS OF ALL TIME One summer day in 1897, a young singer, Enrico Caruso, arrives at the home of the Giachetti family. He has come to Livorno to sing on the summer stage with Ada Giachetti, a famous and beautiful soprano. Ada's mother offers him a spare room, and before Ada herself has a chance to meet the unknown tenor, her younger sister, Rina, arrives home from the market and falls fatefully in love. With the help of singing lessons from Ada, Caruso wins the leading role in Puccini's new opera La Bohème. Although Caruso loves Rina, it is Ada he adores, and they soon become lovers. Heartbroken, Rina becomes an opera singer too, hoping to take her sister's place. For decades, the two sisters are locked in a struggle to be the star on Caruso's stage and in his bed, while Caruso's voice grows more and more unimaginably beautiful. But as his relations with the two sisters break down in scandal and tragedy, the now world-famous Caruso builds a new life for himself as the star of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. There, far from the drama and passion of Caruso's Tuscan life, a shy young American woman will win his heart and, taking the greatest leap of faith of all, supplant Ada and Rina as his one true love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Music

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Tea Jovanović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lepa priča o Enriku Karuzu... Upoznala sam autorku tokom sajma u Torontu davne 2005. jer sam želela da je dovedem na sajam u Beograd... Popile smo kafu, popričale i zaključila sam da nema svrhe dovoditi je u Beograd jer je toliko stidljiva i povučena osoba da bi novinarima bilo teško da iz nje izvuku neku reč a i čitaoci... Pa smo odustali od te ideje...
Kanađani generalno imaju divnu književnost i autore... Nešto između ozbiljne lepe književnosti i visokokvalitetne komercijale koja to baš i nije...

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A few beautiful lines, and certainly a story with potential, but the author's attempts to compose high art using salacious plot details ultimately come across as flat.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite.

[Stacy · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it weren't for the fact that I have an EXTREMELY hard time putting a book down halfway through and walking away, I'd have never finished this one. It is relatively short yet it took me a good 8 weeks to read it. Why? Because I was just not enthused about picking it up and reading it. I'd go to a magazine, the paper, or the internet before choosing to continue slogging through this little novel.

I wanted to like it, I truly did. The concept is excellent. But I hated Caruso and his self-important fame - a turn of the century male version of Mariah Carey. Total diva. What I hated even more was that Ada and Rina threw away their entire lives competing for him. Are you kidding me? Move on ladies, this guy is using both of you! The only character I found remotely likeable was Dorothy and we don't hear from her until nearly the end of the book. The courtship between her and Caruso is oddly both irritatingly drawn out and surprisingly rushed. I struggled to "feel the love" between the two of them, as well as with the whole rags to riches concept.

I know some people thought this book was beautiful, and I can see how that could be the case. For me, it was drawn out, loaded with fussy details and not engaging.

[Britni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a crown book store with a bunch of others, this one didn't strike me as moving as I was hoping for so I set it aside for my last read of the bunch. It wasn't a long book full of sugar coating. It got right to the center of the story but without such climax you would expect. The novel is based on true individuals of the opera world as they struggle to succeed the main love interest being Enrico Crusoe the famed opera tenor. I loved the setting of the novel as well. It is in a way a fictional biography of the people but of course the facts are not as it really happened or so we know. I usually like a happy ending and in this I know the ending in a way was happy but all along I kept thinking what was Rina's "Rico" doing with her? It hardly seemed fair and made me in a way have a chip on my shoulder for Enrico and sympathy for Rina. It was a good read and worth a night with coffee to stay up and read if your willing. I enjoyed the poetic opera analogy and feel I gained more knowledge than I ever imagined having of Opera.

[Shauna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first half of this book proves that excessive talent does not keep people from being stupid. Caruso and the two soprano sisters (Ada and Rina) were idiots--talented divas, yes, but selfish and thoughtless, letting their actions extend their hurt and damage beyond their own lives. I had no sympathy for their "love" or how those desires played out. The second half of the book provided some breath of relief in the figure of Dorothy, but even she couldn't salvage the mess Caruso had made with his life, despite his enormous popularity.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was perhaps one of the most beautiful love stories I've read from an author of this century. A Victorian feel to the entire book, I found myself enthralled throughout. I'd love to pick it up again and just re-read it in a day, as it was a lovely book. Di Michele did a wonderful job of weaving emotions with secrecy, and finding the inner human even amongst super stars. Brilliant book.

[Ashlie McDiarmid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this is a book that was written beautifully, but with no character that I could connect with on any level. All of them were emotionally abusive. Some were the completely selfish and damaged artists, and others were the martyrs. I would love to read this author's poetry because the beautiful word play is the only thing that kept me till the end.

[Sylvie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 maybe not for the witting per se, but the story. Really enjoyed it.

[BookDigger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating novel. Rather interesting plot line and wonderful characterization. Again, it's one of those novels that my words wouldn't do it justice.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The singer Enrico Caruso, although an incredible opera singer, lead a passionate and deceptive life.

[Cally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the most beautifully-written book I've ever read.

[Laura Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two Italian sisters who loved the same man.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fictional account based on two of the three great loves in Caruso's life. The stories give a fascinating look into one of opera's legends.

[Christin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book once you get into it. I didn't know which sister to root for and in the end they both lost.