Every once in a while there comes along a book that makes you feel good about the world, recognize once again the beauty that exists in music. In my case it is Tempesta’s Dream: A Story of Love, Friendship and Opera by Vincent B. “Chip” LoCoco, and I don’t even like opera. I guess it’s my loving arts and music in general and having finished Bel Canto,  another story about opera.  Bel Canto is not so heartworming, nor would I argue as significant as Tempesta’s Dream.

The difference between Tempesta’s Dream and Bel Canto was that I felt like I was in Angelo’s, in La Scala,
and other settings. Maybe it was the audio–I listened to it on Audible. The narrator had the Italian accent down to perfection. Bravo! Listening to Tempesta’s Dream was similiar to watching the Godfather on high-definition. You could literally smell the garlic and spices, hear the romance of the Italian language in the conversations, and feel the passion in Giovanni’s voice.

Set in Milan, Italy, Tempesta’s Dream is about Giovanni Tempesta achieving his dream of becoming an opera singer and falling in love and marrying his soul mate. By all accounts, Giovanni should not be an opera singer. He is 25, from a poor family, and has not been schooled in opera. His voice is okay for the restaurant, Angelos where he sings but it lacks definition, enhancement that classical training provides. It is his story of how he overcame all obstacles and on the way learned to believe in himself, and others, including his sweetheart (no matter the hatred her father has for him) and his teacher, who understands what it means to give up on a dream.