A Cadenza for Caruso

Mystery and egos collide during the premiere of La Fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera in 1910. The cast of characters are all real people of the time: Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar, Pasquale Amato, Emmy Destinn, Arturo Toscanini, impresario Gatti-Cassaza, and Giacomo Puccini himself. Like most cozies, the plot takes a backseat to the characters, but Paul's affectionate handling of the divos & divas is too fun to quibble over.

This book is a great diversion! There are times that I don't care to have a learning experience, I just want to escape and be entertained. For that purpose, this is a delightful story. It is fiction based on real people from a very real era; the golden age of opera! Even if you don't care for opera or have any knowledge of the personalities in this story, you will still find this an engaging piece. After all; everybody loves a good mystery!

This book is the first in a series of stories set in and about the Metropolitan Opera of the early 20th Century. Although the murder mystery itself is fictitious, as are therefore the parts played in it by actual, famous personalities, the real people portrayed here emerge very vividly. Caruso, Toscanini, Destinn and Puccini all seem true to life as entertainingly and carefully drawn by Ms Paul. It is a pity that these attractive stories seem to be available now only as second hand books. As one reviewer has suggested reissues probably would be welcomed by many potential readers. The three stories of Ms Paul of the team of Met detectives, led by Caruso, indeed seem likely to provide a basis for a most entertaining television mini series, or perhaps even for feature films.

Only one review of this marvelous little book? Perhaps because it is out of print. If you are not overly familiar with the "Golden Age of Opera," as I wasn't when I first read the book, you will find the discovery of whodonnit challenging, but much delight is found just in the reading. The characters, from what I have since learned, appear to be very well drawn, and the writing is of the quality you would expect from Barbara Paul. Her second foray into this genre, "A Chorus of Detectives," follows Caruso with some additional characters as they solve another mystery. Just great fun. (And, if you are familiar with the opera world of the early 20th century, you may enjoy the story even more!) Try to track down a copy of either book.

The book deals with Enrico Caruso, yes the most famous opera tenor, looking for a murderer. Ok, it is not really the Caruso you think of, when you hear him singing or you read his biographies. May be it has even nothing to do with the real Caruso beside that he loved to play pranks. But it is hilarious and the story funny. Caruso actually looking for a murderer and finding him more by chance than by combination. It is not as thrilling as a 007 and also not as sophisicated as Sherlock Holmes - it's just a funny crime story set in the opera world. Enjoy....