Voices of Summer - Hardcover

The offstage dramas involving the members of a minor Austrian operetta company prove infinitely more engaging than classic librettos in Pearson's ( Czardas ) harmoniously orchestrated novel. Soprano Therese Aschmann seeks to resume a career interrupted by scandal 18 years ago. Now overweight and insecure, she still possesses a golden voice, lyrical and powerful enough to enchant the company's charming, aging director, Franz Busacher. Nevertheless, Busacher fears that Therese is too vulnerable to be paired with Karl Gesner, an arrogant, bullying tenor infamous for malicious onstage tricks. Will Gesner resuscitate the old scandal to destroy Therese? Secondary characters fuel memorable story lines: a young dancer's romance, a brilliant set designer's hiding-out in the provinces. Bruised egos, cracked vocal cords and shrinking budgets serve as counterpoint to well-paced character sketches that reach back to WW II. As satisfying as a slice of Sacher torte.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Romance and opera go hand in hand on and off the stage in this light and enjoyable tale set in present-day Hochhauser, a picturesque Austrian town. Here, opera singers are celebrated in the same manner that Americans idolize Hollywood stars. To an Austrian, both are cut from the same cloth, and an opera star's personal life is as closely watched as a performance onstage. Pearson focuses on this phenomenon in her wistful yarn that encircles Karl Gesner, a talented but temperamental opera star who clashes and meshes with Therese Aschmann, his female lead onstage and off. Their story contains the heartaches so necessary for bittersweet romantic overtones and keeps the reader interested. Pearson's fifth novel follows up such previous successes as Csardas and The Marigold Field. Entertaining for readers of the genre.
- Marlene Lee, Reedsport Branch Lib . , Ore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.