Vivaldi's Virgins

In 18th century Venice, Anna Maria dal Violin has lived her entire life in the orphanage where Antonio Vivaldi is maestro and composer. Like most of the other girls, all elite musicians, she was abandoned at the Ospidale de la Pieta as an infant. Maria exhibits great talent – even genius – on the violin and is personally tutored by the maestro himself. Still, she cannot rest until she finds out the truth of her parentage, and her continued efforts in this regard keep her from being promoted to the highest ranks within the cloister. Told by Maria in flashback, the story takes the reader from the Jewish Ghetto to the fabulous palaces of the nobility, from a picnic on a remote island to a masked ball in the company of a king.

This show more sounds like a really interesting book. I love historical fiction. I studied music for many years and wanted to immerse myself in the world of the composer. But the book failed to deliver. The story is slow to take off and I kept waiting for something to happen. At one point I realized I was more than half-way through and still the plot was barely moving forward. Once Anna Maria figured out a few key players, however, the story captured my attention, and I devoured the last quarter of the book. Too bad I had to wade through so much sludge before I got to the interesting part. show less

Not being one for historical novels, this one was actually pretty good. I met the author recently (a friend of a friend), and she's a charming woman--so perhaps that helped. The main characters were real, and apparently much of the details were also real. The girl wrote letters to a "non-existant" mother, which seemed a bit much.

Vivaldi’s Virgins –Barbara Quick
3/5 stars….. maybe 4 stars
This is historical fiction about the eloborate Venetian society of the 1700’s. The story is told by Anna Maria da Violin who is an inmate of the Ospedale della Pieta . The Ospedale is a combination of foundling home, music academy and cloister. It is an extremely structured community with rigid rules and its own class structure based in some part upon musical talent. The narrative of the story jumps back and forth between the letters written by Anna as a teenager and her adult self looking back over the events that formed her life. Vivaldi is known to have taught and composed for the musicians of the Ospedale. Anna is an actual historical figure who was known for her show more great ability as a musician. Vivaldi wrote many compositions for her. The book jacket compared this story to The Girl with the Pearl Earring. I was reminded of Memoirs of a Geisha. It is a fascinating look at how a woman was able to achieve greatness in her chosen field despite the multiple restrictions paced upon her. I would have liked more detailed descriptions of the workings of Venetian Society since I am not familiar with the period and its history. show less

I love Vivaldi's music "the Four seasons" but I know nothing of the life of the man. The main character of the book Anna Maria dal Violin is a real person - a gifted musician of the time and this is her story. With this book I do not want to give away too much of the story for those who may be enticed to read it. But a little ---- Anna Maria was abandoned as an infant and became one of the elite musicians living in the foundling home where Vivaldi "the red priest" was maestro and composer. Anna has no idea who her mother is and the book is held together with letters that she writes to her mother (sister Laura suggested she did this) hoping that she will receive them and that one day she will find out who she is. The great thing about show more reading is that it can take you into a completely different world and evoke the atmosphere of the time and place and I enjoyed the book for this very reason. show less

En la Venecia del siglo xviii, el Ospedale della Pietà es un hospital-convento que acoge a las numerosas niñas huérfanas abandonadas por sus madres. Las niñas residentes reciben una exquisita educación musical de la mano del maestro Antonio Vivaldi. La formidable complicidad establecida por el autor de Las Cuatro Estaciones con estas vírgenes da como resultado unas voces angelicales que encandilan a toda Venecia. Una de ellas es la de Anna Maria dal Violin. Desde muy joven, le ha escrito cartas a esa madre desconocida a la que tanto anhela conocer algún día.

Better story than The Four Seasons - 'feels' more historically accurate, intriguing without romantising too much. The story of Anna Maria dal Violin's life at the Pieta, home for abondonned girls who contribute to the up0keepof the institution by honing extraordinary musical skills. Vivaldi composes for them and they remain cloistered which adds mystery and allure.

@ Venice — foundling home — where "Red Priest" Vivaldi trains musicians in Coro (choir) Jewish ghetto — spectacle of music

Abandoned as an infant, fourteen-year-old Anna Maria Dal Violin is one of the elite musicians living in the foundling home where the "Red Priest," Antonio Vivaldi, is maestro and composer. Fiercely determined to find out where she came from, Anna Maria embarks on a journey of self-discovery that carries her into a wondrous and haunting world of music and spectacle, bringing eighteenth-century Venice magically to life.