Vienna Nocturne

by Vivien Shotwell

In late-eighteenth-century London, young Anna Storace takes her first singing lessons with a mysterious castrato in exile. Having learned everything he can teach her, Anna then journeys to Naples and Venice to struggle and triumph in Italy's greatest opera houses. Only sixteen, she finds herself in an intoxicating world of theaters, nobility, and vice, overwhelmed by her newfound freedom and fame. Within a few years, Anna is invited to Vienna by the emperor himself. There, in a teasing game of theft and play, Anna first meets Mozart, a young virtuoso pianist and striving, prodigiously talented composer. They are matched in intellect and talent, and an immediate and undeniable charge forms between the two, despite both being married to others. As her star rises in Vienna and her personal life deteriorates, Anna experiences an ultimate crisis. During this trying time, her only light is Mozart: his energy, his determination in her, and his art. She, in turn, becomes his hope and inspiration, and his joy, as he writes for her some of his most exquisite and enduring arias -- music that will live on as his masterworks.

• ISBN10: 0345536398
• ISBN13: 9780345536396
• Publish Date: 25 February 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Ballantine Books
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Lianne]

I was approved of an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/01/21/review-vienna-nocturne/

I found Vienna Nocturne to be a rather quick read: for a historical novel, events move pretty quickly, rather whirlwind. I’m not sure how accurate it is in relation to Anna’s actual rise in the music world but the narrative kept my interest. The reader watches as Anna as she grows up, matures and develops both in her talent and as an adult, weaving through relationships.

The story itself and the characters involved are interesting enough; the reader follows Anna’s rise in success and fame under Joseph II’s empire, performing in Vienna and eventually meeting Mozart. Her relationship with Mozart was also interesting–didn’t quite drew me in the way I thought it would but the author conveyed how they grew close through music.

Vienna Nocturne was an interesting read. Locations and cultures could have been fleshed out further to give a sense of period in the story but I learned a lot about music and opera both within this particular period and in general and had me researching a bit more on Anna’s life and career as a singer.