Orfeo’s Last Act

SHORT-LISTED FOR THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS’ PAUL TORDAY PRIZE, 2024

A well-researched and entertaining read Sir Roger Norrington

Complex and absorbing…a veritable triumph of historical fiction  Jewish Renaissance 

This multi-layered and highly readable narrative is an outstanding piece of work   Jerusalem Post

Set against the backdrop of seventeenth-century northern Italy in the Golden Age, Michelene Wandor’s Orfeo’s Last Act brings the magic of Mantua, Florence and Venice to vivid life.

When the Duke objects to the violent ending of Monteverdi’s opera, Orfeo, the composer writes a new Act V, with the help of Jewish musician, Salamone Rossi. The original finale is lost. 

In twenty-first-century East Anglia, academic and amateur musician, Emilia, discovers a mysterious musical manuscript. Turning detective, she finds passion and danger, uncovers forgery and academic skullduggery as harmony and discord vie in a story which thrills and shocks.