The Venice Adriana

by Ethan Morden and Ethan Mordden

Book Overview

Greek-American opera singer Adriana Grafanas is the most famous opera singer of her time and her scandals, temperament, and cancellations were the stuff of international headlines. Now, in her early... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312182023
• ISBN13: 9780312182021
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 294 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Great Fun and Some Serious Insights

This is a novel about coming to terms with your own passions or not, as true of Mark Trigger, the opera-loving, writer-protagonist who has come to Venice in 1961 to coax and ghost an autobiography from fabled soprano Adriana Grafanas, of il Professore and Vieri, his hustler-turned-protegé, of film director Ercolani(read Passolini) as of Grafanas herself. Sainthood seems achieved the truer and more respectful one is to one's passions; defeat comes from betraying them. In great part, the novel is a riff on Callas. Rich in characterization, it is replete with stories and anecdotes, matters not whether true, one has read or heard about Callas e.g. the query: "what bouillon cubes were used to make that broth", which in fact was several pounds of prime beef, spiced and boiled down, in real Callas-life by Marlena Dietrich, in the book by Grafanas' maid. The book is replete with the like, illuminating Adriana's character as it recalls our own knowledge and imaginings about Callas. There is great pleasure in this, as it creates a delicious, vicarious intimacy between reader and Callas, through the fictions of Mark Trigger and Adriana Grafanas, which could otherwise not be gleaned even from the most astute biography. Obviously, I do not come to this tale cold. I have not imagined what it would be like to read this book not having been at one time or another immersed in opera, in Callas' art, in collecting performances, indeed in wrestling with passions, music, religion, collecting and the like. Maybe this is not a novel for someone who could not appreciate tracking Callas' progress as Leonora in Trovatore from Mexico City to the Karajan recording, to feel in one's heart that Naples, under Serafin, with Lauri-Volpi, was the Leonora to hold, truer than any other. Such are the many chambers in which this novel resonates. More so as it is written from a 1998 perspective as Mark Trigger's story, not Adriana's. And bearing in mind that Mark keeps reminding us throughout about the primacy of the art over the artist, revered though she may be. Coming to terms with his passions, he struggles with increasing self-assurance and intensity to preserve his integrity against an increasingly ferocious foe. This resoundingly is, and, in a quietly unequivocal and triumphant way, concludes as, a book about Mark Trigger, not Maria Callas. The story is structured loosely around the plot of Adriana Lecouvreur, Mark Trigger's then favourite opera (inexplicably), to the point that La Fleur tranquilizers, recommended to Grafana by her love-nemesis the Princess, become analogous to la Princesse's gift of violets to Lecouvreur in the opera. The search for a tape of an early Grafana performance of Adriana at La Fenice gives title to the novel, provides some humor as a sub-plot and should bring a smile of recognition to all those who remember what all that madness could be like. I don't think such deliriousness exists any more. Only at the end, with the introduction of a do

Brava Adriana

THE VENICE ADRIANA, is a real literary page-turner. Set in 1962 Venice the book focuses on a young gay writer (Mark Trigger) sent to ghost write the autobiography of fiery opera diva Adriana Grafanas (a character closely modeled upon Maria Callas). Over the course of a year the book traces Mark's awakening sexual identity as well as his tumultuous relationship with Adriana. Over time he discovers the woman behind the legend, a woman obsessed with acceptance while facing the erosion of her talent, a woman whose life has become her greatest performance and whose truth is ultimately an operatic tragedy of mythical proportions. As an ardent fan Mark is promptly swept up in Adriana's life and dramas, a world populated by a cast of profoundly fabulous and colorful characters - a sexy leading man, a jet setting princess, a gay Italian film director, gossips, critics, "omosensualis" galore, and many more. Even Venice itself is brought vividly to life, given characterization through precise description and a brilliant use of language that made me want to drop everything and learn Italian. In addition to being a sexy lot of fun the book also explores the tangled skein of issues involving the artist -- the state of celebrity, self-invention and transformation, gay identity, determination verses destiny, redemption and acceptance, the elements of genius, the enduring nature of art by all too human creators, and much more. Operatic to say the least! This is a fascinating stew to consider with no easy answers, which seems to be the ultimate truth of great art and the ultimate deception of all who attempt to define it.

Don't be scared by the opera theme! This is Mordden's finest

Ethan Mordden's novel The Venice Adriana is a masterful, compulsively readable bright spot in an already exemplary writing career. Long-time Mordden readers can expect the wit and insight that have made him famous, as well as the most intriguing, sultry setting his characters have ever explored. New readers will marvel at Mark Trigger and his adventures in Venice with the aging Adriana Grafanas and her cohorts. Though much of the plot centers around opera and most of the action takes place within opera circles, no knowledge of opera is neccessary to enjoy this book. All you need is an appreciation of great writing, an eye for poetry, and a sense of humor. You won't be disappointed in this book.

Compulsively funny and insightful

In his imagined memoirs of the ghost-writer of a fading opera diva inspired by the legends of Maria Callas, Ethan Mordden has gone a step beyond his prior gay buddies novels. While some of the delightful breezy humor from the former books is present, this book is ready to take on more serious issues, such as homophobia in the performing arts. I found it compulsively funny and insightful, and would recommend it highly, especially to the legion of Callas admirers! And tell us, Ethan, is there really a Venice Adriana tape, or must we remain consoled by the two arias from Cilea's opera that Callas recorded in 1954 in an aria collection conducted by Serafin?