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THE FIGARO MURDERS By: Laura Lebow
Minotaur Books
April 2015
On Sale: March 31, 2015
Featuring: Lorenzo Da Ponte
ISBN: 125005351X EAN: 9781250053510 Kindle: B00IWUI40I Hardcover / e-Book
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Mystery Historical
In 1786 Vienna, Lorenzo Da Ponte is the court librettist for the Italian Theatre during the height of the enlightened reign of Emperor Joseph II. This exalted position doesnβt mean heβs particularly well paid, or even out of reach of the endless intrigues of the opera world. In fact, far from it. One morning, Da Ponte stops off at his barber, only to find the man being taken away to debtorβs prison. Da Ponte impetuously agrees to carry a message to his barberβs fiancΓ©e and try to help her set him free, even though heβs facing pressures of his own. Heβs got one week to finish the libretto for The Marriage of Figaro for Mozart before the opera is premiered for the Emperor himself. Da Ponte visits the house where the barberβs fiancΓ©e worksβthe home of a nobleman, high in the Viennaβs diplomatic circlesβand then returns to his own apartments, only to be dragged from his rooms in the middle of the night. It seems the young protΓ©gΓ© of the diplomat was killed right about the time Da Ponte was visiting, and he happens to be their main suspect. Now heβs given a choiceβgo undercover into the household and uncover the murderer, or be hanged for the crime himself. Brilliantly recreating the cultural world of late 18th century Vienna, the epicenter of the Enlightenment, Lebow brings to life some of the most famous figures of music, theatre, and politics.
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