Gabriella's Voice
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REVIEW BY GREGORY HARRIS
In his remarkable new novel, author Michael Vaughn has composed a literary opera that combines love, tragedy and music into a memorable tale of talent and artistry. Vaughn's unconventional story revolves around Bill Harness, a man in his 50s who wanders into a performance by an obscure Seattle opera company and meets an enigmatic soprano. The young woman possesses an incredible voice—a rare instrument, but one that Bill recognizes, as it was a gift his mother and grandmother had as well. Gabriella, inexperienced but aware of her talent, hones her voice by performing with the small company and with an aged maestro who was once a student of the great composer Puccini . The moment Bill hears Gabriella, he falls in love—not with the singer, whom he nearly fails to recognize when she is not dressed in her elaborate costume and wig—but with her voice. His determination to win Gabriella's friendship is motivated by a need to hear that voice grow, to hear the echoes of his mother's dreams and to purge a guilt his family carries. Gabriella is confident in herself, her gift and in her ambition of adding her name to history's list of great sopranos. Although initially wary of Bill, she is drawn to him due to his knowledge of and love for opera. Yet he holds back from her at first, concealing the fact that he has moved closer to the hall where she performs so he can feel her music in the air. As their friendship deepens, he reveals to Gabriella the tragedies in his family. Vaughn performs the virtuoso task of invoking sounds from the silence of words on paper. During Gabriella's performances, the arias whirl from the pages. In an impromptu concert on the didgieridoo, an Australian aboriginal instrument, the eccentric rhythms of an anecdote told by the maestro resound as if they were a recitative from an opera. Vaughn's musical prose is a treat for the ear as well as the mind. Just as in opera, this story never veers far from romance, and the unconventional nature of Bill and Gabriella's relationship lets the reader share the satisfying experience of a developing friendship between a man and a woman. The two share a love for music that expresses itself in the nurturing of Gabriella's tiny opera company and in the glorious crescendo of a perfect performance of Tosca. Bill's passion for Gabriella's exquisite instrument leads him to confront the tragedies of his own life and rediscover the music within himself. The reader is sure to share a similar passion for Gabriella's Voice. Gregory Harris is a writer and editor in Indianapolis.
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