Naples, the 19th Century. In the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, holy music has power. Under the auspices of the Church, the Sung Mass can bring about actual miracles like healing the sick or raising the dead. But some believe that the musicodramma of grand opera can also work magic by channeling powerful emotions into something sublime. Now the Prince's Men, a secret society, hope to stage their own black opera to empower the Devil himself - and change Creation for the better! Conrad Scalese is a struggling librettist whose latest opera has landed him in trouble with the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Rescued by King Ferdinand II, Conrad finds himself recruited to write and stage a counter opera that will, hopefully, cancel out the apocalyptic threat of the black opera, provided the Prince's Men, and their spies and saboteurs, don't get to him first. And he only has six weeks to do it...
The Black Opera
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About the Author
Mary Gentle is one of the world's most acclaimed writers of fantasy and SF. She has a number of academic degrees, including an MA in War Studies, and has hands-on experience of sword-fighting and armour, amongst many other useful talents. She lives in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
like Buffalo Blue Cheese Kettle Chips for the heavy flavor of bel canto/history on truly crunchy characters
August 2, 2012
By kblincoln
Format:Paperback
Mary Gentle has created an alternate 19th Century Naples afrenzy with the power of Bel Canto opera and the debate between natural philosophy and religion.
We have the King of the Two Sicilies, King Ferdinand facing French and Italian intrigues; the inquisition, Darwin's theories, and of course the magical melodies of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini slowly giving way to Wagner and Verdi.
In the midst of this hot mess we meet Conrad Scalese, atheist librettist celebrating his first (he's not popular being an atheist during the inquisition) Operatic success. But then lightning strikes his opera house causing it to burn down, he wakes up with a migraine headache that gives him visions of fiery eruptions, and the inquisition arrives at his rooms to drag him to the dungeon.
He ends up with King Ferdinand, instead, who charges him with a vital project. A conspiracy in Naples is attempting to put on a "black opera", using the power of musicodramma to tap into the galvanic power of human brains/emotions to raise a powerful entity. The King desperately needs to stage another opera as an antidote to this opera and he wants Scalese to write and produce it.
Scalese, along with his trusted servant Tullio, his transvestite sister, a cast of amazingly varied operatic singers with fiery personalities, and the King's soldiers will brave sabotage and murder to see that the antidote opera is sung.
This is an alternate history with fantastic elements. The emphasis here is on HISTORY. Gentle takes us deep into the heart of the creation and staging of a bel canto opera.
For opera fans, or European history/philosophy buffs, this is a terrific book. The extended dialogues about the nature of god, creation, music, and the soul is definitely an intellectual delight.
If you're looking for action/adventure, there's a bit of that, too, but its completely overshadowed by the slow unfolding of the opera amongst political intrigue.
As I'm an opera fan, you can guess how much I enjoyed going along with Scalese for his opera ride. I did have a little problem following the flow of action sometimes as the characters have the habit of starting to think or say something, get cut off, and then say something else. I had to go back and reread bits of dialogue sometimes to follow thoughts, but it didn't hurt my enjoyment that much.
This Book's Snack Rating: Buffalo Blue Cheese Kettle Chips for the heavy, distinctive flavor of bel canto and philosophy on the backs of truly crunchy/delicious characters
We have the King of the Two Sicilies, King Ferdinand facing French and Italian intrigues; the inquisition, Darwin's theories, and of course the magical melodies of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini slowly giving way to Wagner and Verdi.
In the midst of this hot mess we meet Conrad Scalese, atheist librettist celebrating his first (he's not popular being an atheist during the inquisition) Operatic success. But then lightning strikes his opera house causing it to burn down, he wakes up with a migraine headache that gives him visions of fiery eruptions, and the inquisition arrives at his rooms to drag him to the dungeon.
He ends up with King Ferdinand, instead, who charges him with a vital project. A conspiracy in Naples is attempting to put on a "black opera", using the power of musicodramma to tap into the galvanic power of human brains/emotions to raise a powerful entity. The King desperately needs to stage another opera as an antidote to this opera and he wants Scalese to write and produce it.
Scalese, along with his trusted servant Tullio, his transvestite sister, a cast of amazingly varied operatic singers with fiery personalities, and the King's soldiers will brave sabotage and murder to see that the antidote opera is sung.
This is an alternate history with fantastic elements. The emphasis here is on HISTORY. Gentle takes us deep into the heart of the creation and staging of a bel canto opera.
For opera fans, or European history/philosophy buffs, this is a terrific book. The extended dialogues about the nature of god, creation, music, and the soul is definitely an intellectual delight.
If you're looking for action/adventure, there's a bit of that, too, but its completely overshadowed by the slow unfolding of the opera amongst political intrigue.
As I'm an opera fan, you can guess how much I enjoyed going along with Scalese for his opera ride. I did have a little problem following the flow of action sometimes as the characters have the habit of starting to think or say something, get cut off, and then say something else. I had to go back and reread bits of dialogue sometimes to follow thoughts, but it didn't hurt my enjoyment that much.
This Book's Snack Rating: Buffalo Blue Cheese Kettle Chips for the heavy, distinctive flavor of bel canto and philosophy on the backs of truly crunchy/delicious characters
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A clever idea for an alternative history fantasy. In Gentle's alternative world, musical performance has magical power. This is not an original idea but Gentle gives it a clever twist by making the particularly powerful music a form of 19th century bel canto opera. She logically sets the story in early 19th century Naples, a hot spot for bel canto, but a 19th century Europe in which Napoleon won at Waterloo and some aspects of 19th century science are more advanced. The most clever aspect of the story is that the elaborate plot mirrors the complex melodrama of bel canto. This aspect, however, has costs. Just like many, if not all, bel canto operas, the plot is highly contrived and full of astoundingly unlikely turns and dramatic reversals. Since Gentle is only a competent writer, this is only a partially successful device and this is a rather long and sometimes tedious book. The alternative history is not particularly well developed.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Initially, I was intrigued by the concept. An alternate history with magical operas? Awesome. Unfortunately, some structural problems kept me from enjoying this book as much as I would have liked.
The book opens slowly, with lots of tell don't show. I did not find the religion vs science debate(s) compelling. And as the book continues, the discussion becomes more polemicized & repetitious. I was reminded of Heinlein, and his characters being obvious mouthpieces for the author, giving long speeches that don't convert, but rather are more in the vein of "preaching to the choir".
As the book progressed, there seemed to be a problem with its pacing. The ultimate denouement seems to be artificially delayed again & again. By the time the story ended, I was more than ready for its conclusion.
The book opens slowly, with lots of tell don't show. I did not find the religion vs science debate(s) compelling. And as the book continues, the discussion becomes more polemicized & repetitious. I was reminded of Heinlein, and his characters being obvious mouthpieces for the author, giving long speeches that don't convert, but rather are more in the vein of "preaching to the choir".
As the book progressed, there seemed to be a problem with its pacing. The ultimate denouement seems to be artificially delayed again & again. By the time the story ended, I was more than ready for its conclusion.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The power of opera
I admit I am a huge opera fan, and also have enjoyed Gentle's other works - so had to give this a try. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joanne Kornoelje
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is so much more than an Opera
I picked up a copy of the book because I like both alternative histories and opera. This book is so beyond my original expectations. The amount of research alone is daunting. Read more
Published 5 months ago by pjmf058
5.0 out of 5 stars
only half way through .. so far, I love it.
yep- expectations based on earlier work totally met - but only half way through so consider this a half-review I guess...
Published 9 months ago by tim
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too long
I wanted to read this since it was about Italy and opera and I am mostly Italian and love the latter. Getting into the book was fun. Read more
Published 10 months ago by 70Randy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Opera buffs-this one's for you!
The ever-challenging author, Mary Gentle, has issued forth another slice of incredibly rich and finely textured fantasy. Read more
Published 11 months ago by WordWrangler
5.0 out of 5 stars
fantastic page turner
This was a wonderful read--a real page turner for those who are into opera and the fantastic possibility of the power of music.
Published 11 months ago by slave to Master Jim
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mary Gentle, You Continue to Amaze me
I've been reading everything Mary Gentle has written for Decades. Weare old friends, I know her intimately, her words sear my Soul. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Irene Delacorte
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good fantasy-nal Alternate History but a bit lighter than the...
INTRODUCTION: Mary Gentle has written a couple of the most memorable sffnal novels I've read, namely the two alt-history novels A Sundial in the Grave: 1610 and Ilario, both... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Liviu C. Suciu
