Sent to the Devil (Lorenzo Da Ponte Mystery) by Laura Lebow

Sent to the Devil is book two in the traditional mystery series set in Vienna, Austria, in the late 1700s, featuring amateur detective Lorenzo da Ponte, the Venetian poet and opera librettist who worked most famously with Mozart on several of his most famous operas. The book is set two years after the previous book, Figaro Murders, the first book in the series. 

The Mozart-Da Ponte opera Don Giovanni, the Italianized story of Spanish Don Juan, is the work that keeps Da Ponte busy in Sent to the Devil, along with his other work as the official Poet of the Court Theatre in Vienna.  We get a good feeling for what that work entails under the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and working with artists like Mozart.

Mozart and I were busy adapting our work to the more sophisticated tastes of the imperial capital.

Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838)

The books in the Lorenzo da Ponte Mystery Series to date are:

1. Figaro Murders (reviewed on this site)
2. Sent to the Devil

Sent to the Devil, like its predecessor, puts the reader on the streets of Vienna in that era, in this case in the year 1788.  We move through squares, churches, offices, alleyways and avenues with Da Ponte as he investigates gruesome serial killings that are vaguely reminiscent of the horror-crime movie Seven.  Da Ponte is called in to help, due to his link to one of the victims, and because he was very helpful resolving the case detailed in the first book, Figaro Murders.

The author has done her research on Da Ponte and the period, place, people and operas, and used that research well in her book.  Da Ponte published his diaries late in life, so we know much about him and his character.  From what I can see, the author stays true to life for the man's character.

He was clever, but not particularly daring, a combination of traits that probably helped him lead the long and safe life he lived in a period of history that was not without its dangers.  This story takes place during a time of war with the Ottoman Empire, and the clampdown on some freedoms in Vienna creates problems for Da Ponte.

Da Ponte comes across as a caring man, loyal to his friends and patrons.  He also has an eye for pretty young ladies, which plays a part in this story, bringing Da Ponte's humanity to the fore.  The fact that he grieves for the loss of one dear friend in the book, and celebrates the arrival of another dear friend, Casanova, a real life Don Giovanni, for a visit, helps us to see Da Ponte as a real human being.

Casanova is described as a mature letch who shows flashes of his reputed charm with women throughout the book.  The author has clearly read the autobiography written by Casanova late in life, and she uses some of that material to flesh out her fictional Casanova.  To be honest, read through modern eyes, Casanova's book shows his very modern attitude toward women, marriage and sexual freedom.  Those freedoms are important to the story.  

Freedom is a theme throughout Sent to the Devil, which is only right, since it was a battle cry for many revolutions and revolutionaries throughout the world at that time.  The struggle was between church control over society, imperial control over society, and control by democratically chosen officials in a republic.

The Enlightenment movement pushed for a modern, rational form of government, with freedom of thought, speech, association, and personal responsibility to make personal choices.  Da Ponte's quiet embrace of those ideas hint at his future life in the United States.

Casanova acts as a sounding board for Da Ponte in Sent to the Devil, as the Court Poet attempts to figure out why people are dying, and to stop the killer before he kills again.  The mystery is more complex in this second book in the series, but there are many more killings, and they are rather gruesome.  There are also adult scenes and some sexual situations.

The author writes with lovely grammar and punctuation in quality English helped by quality editing.  Much of the narration is in the first-person from Da Ponte's point-of-view, but there are also sections in third-person limited narrative style when Da Ponte is not in the scene.

There is an interesting Postscript that explains some of the history that the author used or abused in the writing of Sent to the Devil.  All in all, this series is quality reading for lovers of traditional mysteries set in the past.  It will be of especial interest to opera lovers.  If you've read some of Da Ponte's books, or Casanova's autobiography, you should find Sent to the Devil even more entertaining.

From the book's description:

In 1788 Vienna, Court Poet Lorenzo Da Ponte is putting some finishing touches on the libretto for the premiere of his new opera with Mozart, Don Giovanni. A huge success when it debuted in Prague, the Emperor has decreed that it shall be performed in Vienna. But Joseph II is off prosecuting a less-than-popular war against the Turks, and the city itself is in a bit of turmoil. There are voices protesting the war, others who see Turks around every corner.

Da Ponte, however, just wants to do his work and enjoy life. Alas, these simple desires aren't to be easily fulfilled. First, he's been getting a series of mysterious coded notes from unknown hands, notes that make no sense to him. Then his old friend Alois, a retired priest and academic, is viciously murdered and strange symbols carved into his forehead. Summoned to the police bureau, Da Ponte learns that Alois's murder was not the first. Determined to help find his friend's killer, Da Ponte agrees to help with the secret investigation.

Caught in a crossfire of intrigue both in the world of opera and politics, Da Ponte must find the answer to a riddle and expose a killer before he becomes the next victim.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

 

Please visit the author's website.

If you are interested in knowing more about the real Lorenzo da Ponte, here are two interesting links:

 Wikipedia Page for Lorenzo Da Ponte

An article about Lorenzo da Ponte at The New Yorker magazine, which talks mostly about how Da Ponte introduced opera to The United States.

Direct link to the article at The New Yorker website 

Casanova's autobiography-memoirs is in the public domain, and is for adults only, about as racy as Boccaccio's stories.  Here are links to download pages for FREE e-book versions of the book, from Project Gutenberg, the Internet's oldest free public domain e-book site: 

Venetian Years: Memoirs Volume 1 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

To Paris and Prison: Memoirs Volume 2 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

The Eternal Quest: Memoirs Volume 3 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

Adventures in the South: Memoirs Volume 4 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

In London and Moscow: Memoirs Volume 5 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

Spanish Passions: Memoirs Volume 6 of 6 - FREE e-book download page

The Figaro Murders by Laura Lebow

The Figaro Murders is a traditional cozy murder mystery novel set in the past, Vienna in 1786, featuring fictionalized versions of historical people:  Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart, Saleri, Emperor Joseph II...  The author tries to stay as close to the truth about theses people and the events they were involved in at that time.  In the Author's Notes section of the book, we learn:

Many of the scenes in the book are based on actual occurrences.

In the case of Lorenzo Da Ponte, the Italian-Venetian protagonist of this book, of which this is the first in a new series, there are his many writings to mine for facts, personality traits, trivia, etc.  The author makes good use of these things to bring her main character to life. 

The Italian poet is rich with quirks, an interesting past (seen in remembrances by the character), and a fascinating present.  And like any decent Italian, he misses his Italian food, resorting to frequenting a secret Italian trattoria run by a Neapolitan.

...who ran a small trattoria in the shop's back room, open only to special customers.  There he served delicacies from all over Italy...

Like all good amateur detective novels, the protagonist is drawn into an investigation.  The first investigation is for a friend, but that is quickly overtaken by a more serious investigation Da Ponte must conduct by order of the authorities.

The book begins the story in 1786 in Vienna, and we spend the whole time in and around Vienna until 1787 with Da Ponte.  Da Ponte had been living in Vienna for five years when we join him.  Vienna at the time of The Figaro Murders is the busy, hectic capital of an Empire. 

The author works hard to bring a strong sense of place to the story, naming streets and squares, and routes through the city, and describing the architecture lining the streets, with the book taking on the tone of a travel guide at times.  The author admits:

All of the streets I have Da Ponte travel still exist today, and I have placed both librettist and composer in the homes it is known they lived in while writing Figaro.

Because Da Ponte was a poet and librettist for operas, we are immersed in the opera community, given a ring-side-seat as Mozart and others create and stage an opera.  The opera featured in the book is Mozart and Da Ponte's Marriage of Figaro. 

For opera fans, especially Mozart fans, there is much in the book to enjoy:  characters, trivia, history...  Mozart is presented as a likeable character, if a bit emotional and unconventional. But Da Ponte already feels neglected as the librettist to such a well-known composers.

"...if an opera is a smash, the libretto is considered, as best, as a frame surrounding a beautiful painting.  The composer receives all the credit.  The words are unimportant.  But if the opera is not well received, why, then the words become paramount--in fact, so very important that they can cause the failure of the work all by themselves!"

The author even provides a Bibliography for readers who are interested in reading more about Lorenzo Da Ponte, Figaro, Opera, and Mozart.  The next book in the series will feature the opera Don Giovanni.

But it is Da Ponte who is the star of the novel.  We get to know this neurotic, complex man very well in the course of the story.  He has a lisp, is good-hearted, loyal, sensitive, practical.  He also needs Figaro to be a success, he believes, so he can keep his job as official state poet.  The author states in the Notes section:

All of Da Ponte's character traits, habits, past experiences, and passions described in the book are factual.

Often the thoughts we read Da Ponte expressing, through the first person narration, seem to come straight from the real Da Ponte's autobiographies.  For example, this quote about his time in Vienna:

I was tired of all the intrigues.  I wanted to go home to Venice...

The book is well-written, well-edited and nicely presented.  I received it as a review-copy.  For readers who love historical novels, there is much about the time and place to enjoy and edify.  There is great appeal for lovers of opera, too.  And for lovers of mysteries, there is a well-plotted murder-mystery for the amateur detective to unravel. 

There is some violence that happens before the reader about 1/4 of a way in, and a bit later, too, manly perpetrated against the amateur detective, which I found distasteful reading, and out of place in a traditional cozy mystery, in which the violence normally takes place off-scene. 

But on the whole, I thought the book was very entertaining, and I wouldn't mind reading the next in the series, which features Mozart's and Da Ponte's work on the opera Don Giovanni.

From the book's description:

In 1786 Vienna, Lorenzo Da Ponte is the court librettist for the Italian Theatre during the height of the enlightened reign of Emperor Joseph II. This exalted position doesn’t mean he’s particularly well paid, or even out of reach of the endless intrigues of the opera world. In fact, far from it.

One morning, Da Ponte stops off at his barber, only to find the man being taken away to debtor’s prison. Da Ponte impetuously agrees to carry a message to his barber’s fiancée and try to help her set him free, even though he’s facing pressures of his own. He’s got one week to finish the libretto for The Marriage of Figaro for Mozart before the opera is premiered for the Emperor himself.

Da Ponte visits the house where the barber’s fiancée works—the home of a nobleman, high in the Vienna’s diplomatic circles—and then returns to his own apartments, only to be dragged from his rooms in the middle of the night. It seems the young protégé of the diplomat was killed right about the time Da Ponte was visiting, and he happens to be their main suspect. Now he’s given a choice—go undercover into the household and uncover the murderer, or be hanged for the crime himself.

Brilliantly recreating the cultural world of late 18th century Vienna, the epicenter of the Enlightenment, Lebow brings to life some of the most famous figures of music, theatre, and politics.

Here is a direct link to the book at Amazon.com:

Please visit the author's website.

If you are interested in knowing more about the real Lorenzo Da Ponte, here are two interesting links:

 Wikipedia Page for Lorenzo Da Ponte

An article about Lorenzo Da Ponte at The New Yorker magazine, which talks mostly about how Da Ponte introduced opera to The United States.

Direct link to the article at The New Yorker website

Petrarch's love poetry to Laura plays a small part in the book.  I have the book of poems for free at my Italian culture website:  Candida Martinelli's Italophile Site.

Direct link to the Petrarch page