cadenza for Caruso

by Barbara Paul

Murder, maestro, please! Enrico Caruso plays his greatest role of all time: detective! The year is 1910, and excitement is running high at the Metropolitan Opera as the long-heralded world premiere of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) quickly approaches. The famous soprano Emmy Destinn will sing the lead and the world's greatest tenor, Enrico Caruso, expects yet another triumph, particularly with Toscanini conducting and David Belasco helping with the staging. But wait... a small-time impresario is found stabbed to death, how can this be?

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?