The Tenor is a sweeping tale of historical fiction in the style of Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto and De Burniere’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. It swiftly moves from PinoVaggi’s youth in pre-war Italy, to his coming of age as a soldier in war-torn Greece, before ending in a shattering surprise finale at Maria Callas’ historic final performance ever on the stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House in 1965. It is based loosely on the stories and anecdotes that the author learned from several of Maria Callas’ personal friends and from nearly a dozen trips to Italy and Greece to research the subject.
If he’s caught, it will mean a firing squad. If he fails, she’ll surely die, and the world will never know the greatest voice of all time. That’s something he simply cannot accept – whatever the risk.
P
ino Vaggi isn’t like the other children in Italy in 1930. While they play soccer, he listens to opera. By the age of ten, he’s a full-fledged child prodigy, an opera singing sensation on the fast track to a superstar international career. At the age of eighteen,on the eve of his debut at Teatro alla Scala, WWII breaks out. The theater is closed. The season is cancelled. Pino is drafted. After a horrific basic training, he is stationed in war-torn Athens, where he hears and ultimately falls in love with another child prodigy, an incredible young Greek soprano, whom he knows is destined for greatness. There’s only one problem: she is the enemy. But, as a terrible famine devastates Athens, (a famine created by the diversion of humanitarian aid meant for the Greeks to the Russian front to feed the German Army) the artist in Pino can’t fathom the thought of the greatest singer the world will ever know perishing. With a firing squad in the balance, he must decide whether or not to risk his own life to protect the girl. In the process, his love for her deepens, until something tragic happens, something with devastating consequences that blows the young lovers apart.
Professional Reviews
L'Idea Magazine
“The narrative is well-paced and full of all the necessary flavors, ripe with twists…bursting with delightful descriptions of regional culinary treats as well as operatic references, satisfying music enthusiasts while explaining every passage for the untrained readers, offering the reader an experience that only few authors are capable of generating.” - L’Idea Magazine.com
Kelsey’s Book Corner Blog
“Mr. Danish’s writing is art in itself. His accuracy for historical details is flawless…. Beautifully written and easily enjoyable by fans of historical drama.”
John Cariani, Tony Award Nominee, playwright, Almost Maine
"The Tenor was a not what I was expecting. Yes, it's about opera. Yes, it's an homage to art and artists. Yes, it's about dreaming fulfilling one's destiny. But-it's about all those things without being fussy or precious. It's decidedly unfussy--because it's about people who work really hard....Peter Danish creates characters you root for. He has woven a tale that keeps you wanting to find out what happens next! I think they call those page-turners!"
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