“An intelligent and entertaining
lyrical journey . . ."
-Penn Book Review
Tempesta’s
Dream is the
story of an aspiring opera singer coming of age in Milan; a tender and moving
love story; a testament to the bonds of friendship; and, at its core, a tribute
to the beauty, majesty and miracle of opera.
Giovanni
Tempesta always dreamed of becoming an opera tenor and one day singing
from the stage of the La Scala Opera House in his hometown of Milan,
Italy. But with no real training, his dream has little chance for
fulfillment . . . One day, he meets and immediately falls in love with
Isabella Monterone, a dark-haired beauty, whose father, a very rich and
powerful Milanese Judge, refuses to allow his daughter to date a
penniless musician . . . At the lowest part
of his life, Giovanni comes upon the Casa di Riposo, a rest home for
musicians established by the great opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi . . .
It is at the Casa Verdi that Giovanni meets Alfredo del Monte, a blind,
retired opera singer with a secretive past who gradually becomes his
mentor . . . Could Alfredo be the one person who could assist Giovanni
in finding the break he needs? Or is Giovanni destined to be on the cusp
of reaching his life long dream, only to find failure? . . . Tempesta's
Dream, at its core, is an Italian opera love story. The author tells
the story simply and swiftly with an ending that is both an emotional
and poignant moment of both "amicizia e amore" (friendship and love.)