The Venice Adriana
By: Ethan Mordden.
Edition: First edition
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: February, 1998
Place of publication: New York, USA
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 304
Copyright date: 1998
Subjects: Americans -- Italy -- Fiction.; Singers -- Fiction.; Gay men -- Fiction.; Opera -- Fiction.; Venice (Italy) -- Fiction.
Description: The Greek-American Adriana Grafanas is the greatest opera singer of her age and the most famous woman in the world. Her scandals, violent temperament, and self-indulgent cancellations are the stuff of headlines.

Now, in 1961, her voice is in shreds and her combative personality is exhausted. Sent to Venice to "pull together" the autobiography that Adriana agreed to write, the young American Mark Trigger is drawn into the world of opera and Adriana - the reckless press, the hangers-on, the sexy actor she passionately loves, the world-famous director courting her for a movie, and the gorgeous princess scheming to steal her lover.

While trying to write her book, Mark instead discovers his own passions - men and Adriana's music. What continues to elude him, however, are a rare - possibly mythical - bootleg tape of her Venice performance in Cilea's opera Adriana Lecouvreur - the legendary "Venice Adriana" - and some clear insight into the woman herself.

Cleverly drawing on the plot and characters of Cilea's opera itself, Ethan Mordden summons up all the steamy glamour of European cafe society. And in Adriana, he brings fully to life a unique character - one who, like the city of Venice itself, is arrogant, sublime, and hated by the world and yet is finally beloved and worshipped as uniquely beautiful, a treasure of Western civilization.
Table of contents: label: Chapter 1
title: Italian Boys are Ruthless Flirts
pagenum: 1; label: Chapter 2
title: Later that Night
pagenum: 14; label: Chapter 3
title: The Dead City
pagenum: 33; label: Chapter 4
title: The Critic
pagenum: 48; label: Chapter 5
title: The Roots that Clutch
pagenum: 59; label: Chapter 6
title: A Duel
pagenum: 77; label: Chapter 7
title: The E.M.I. Man
pagenum: 85; label: Chapter 8
title: Schmeiing Around
pagenum: 94; label: Chapter 9
title: Italian Boys do More than Flirt
pagenum: 104; label: Chapter 10
title: All the World Hated Her
pagenum: 110; label: Chapter 11
title: Women Have an Idea -- Men Have Only an Image
pagenum: 119; label: Chapter 12
title: The Chain of Life
pagenum: 132; label: Chapter 13
title: The Collector
pagenum: 150; label: Chapter 14
title: You Have to be Worthy
pagenum: 167; label: Chapter 15
title: The Judgement of Parris
pagenum: 176; label: Chapter 16
title: Nel Mezzo del Cammin di Nostra Vita
pagenum: 192; label: Chapter 17
title: The Teacher
pagenum: 205; label: Chapter 18
title: The Brother
pagenum: 212; label: Chapter 19
title: He is Waiting to Forgive Me
pagenum: 224; label: Chapter 20
title: The Place of Miracles
pagenum: 235; label: Chapter 21
title: Original Sin
pagenum: 265; label: Chapter 22
title: The Venice Adriana
pagenum: 279