This was a fun read, once I got used to the style. Already recommended this one to my singer friends.

4 stars

Four friends and opera singers, Stephanie, John, Jennifer and Henry, graduate together and for a quartette called Dolci Quattro.

This book examines the life and times of the four individuals mentioned above. Their lives intersect in many ways. Their singing is glorious and their personal lives – well not so much.

The book is filled with colorful characters: singers, actors, writers, painters and other artistic types. Set in New York City, it describes the city and its life beautifully.

I have never been to an opera and don’t know very much about it, so I felt a little lost at times. The terminology had me confused her and there. But I still enjoyed the book. I would recommend it more to opera-loving book readers/ fans than to the average person who loves books.

I want to thank Netgalley and BookBaby for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

I was given an ARC copy of The Other La Boheme in exchange for an honest review. First, While I love classical music I've never been a fan of opera, but the description of this book sounded unique and different so I requested it and i'm glad I did.
This novel is structured like an opera score, acts and scenes rather then chapters, which I thought was a nice approach. The story itself centers on four opera singers who have gone to school together and have a named their little group,' Dolci Quattro. Their live is opera and despite the loss of relationships and trying to decide if they should move onto a career that offers a definite future, opera is their life and career choice.
The characters are wonderfully written and the reader can truly care about them. I was introduced to opera and the struggles they face. A well written novel.

Cafe Momus, a cafe in Manhattan, was a gathering place for connoisseurs of opera. Pere Momus hired, as waiters and waitresses, aspiring artists pursuing their dreams. Four graduates of the Manhattan School of Music who frequented the cafe, formed a group called Dolci Quattro. They will present a rarely performed version of La Boheme at the New York Bel Canto Opera.

The Dolci Quattro is comprised of Stephanie, Henry, Jennifer and John. They support each other through thick and thin. Studying and performing a different and lesser known rendition of La Boheme, for a second tier opera company, might give them the necessary exposure to rise to a first tier company. The question is, can one endure the hardship involved in pursuing a career as an opera singer. Often singers had to work multiple jobs in order to pay for a voice teacher, to help develop the voice and a voice coach, to focus on specific performance music. Rehearsals, coaching sessions and one's day job created relationship issues with husbands, wives, and fiancees. Stephanie, Henry, Jennifer and John were always available to help each other through the trials and tribulations of daily life.

An opera voice is a fragile instrument. Emotional disturbances such as a death in the family, breakup with a partner, or an accident would disturb one's concentration and focus. Often it was wise to refrain from talking the day of a performance. The Dolci Quattro truly understood and shared everything, the good and the bad. They had one single minded goal, to perform Leoncavallo's La Boheme.

"The Other La Boheme" by Yorker Keith is a glimpse into the austere life of an opera singer. It takes dogged determination to stay the course. When Henry's brother sends him a job posting for an assistant professorship to teach voice and produce school operas, he has to choose between steady employment as opposed to following his dreams. Thank you Yorker Keith for a very entertaining and knowledgeable foray into the world of opera.

Thank you BookBaby and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Other La Boheme".

An amazing book. I had recently been to see Puccini's La Boheme and now would love to see "the other La Boheme". This is a story basically of the four opera singers but it delves into art, poetry as well as describing in great detail the challenging lives of an opera singer. It is a story about both love, both real and from literature, that at the end bring tears of joy to the reader. In particular the differences in the two opera's add so much to the enjoyment of the book. Anyone who reads this book will certainly understand more of the complexities that producing such an opera involves.
This will suit lovers of poetry, keen opera goers and this who like love stories with a difference.
Highly recommend this book.

The author describes well the ups and downs of young opera singers who are determined to make it to the big stage, despite the deprivations and the havoc that their schedules wreak on their personal lives. the writing is lyrical as is the opera itself.

What an amazingly different book. I know very little about opera, but it's definitely a music genre I'd love to learn more about. For fans of opera, I'm sure they are familiar with Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme. This is all about "the other" version by Ruggero Leoncavallo.

The book follows the lives of four opera singers - all graduates of the Manhattan School of Music - and the struggles they face in attempting to juggle the life of opera, their day jobs and their personal lives - while chasing their dreams of becoming first tier professional opera singers.

Stephanie (mezzo-soprano), Jennifer (soprano), Henry (tenor) and John (baritone), frequent the Cafe Momus in Manhattan, a gathering place for lovers of opera and musical theatre, and together the four form an opera group called "The Dolci Quattro". When they are given the chance to perform La Boheme at the New York Bel Canto Opera, they jump at the chance, knowing that although it is only a second tier opera company, it may finally give them more recognition and the chance to finally perform with a first tier company.

This book gives a real insight into their daily lives; gruelling schedules and rehearsals, voice coaches, auditions, normal day jobs, rivalries, all juggled with attempting to keep their marriages/relationships afloat. Each of the Dolci Quattro understands the struggles they each face - heart ache, heart break, separations, money problems, the pressure off family to give up the dream of becoming an opera singer and instead get a normal 9-5 job, and no time for a normal life.

I loved learning more about the world of opera singers and the austere lifestyle they must adopt if they wish to make it. I am guessing Yorker Keith is, or was, highly involved in the world of opera to have such insights. To immerse the reader more fully into the opera life, each chapter is called a "Scene", and the book is divided into different "Acts".

The Other La Boheme, is a book that will immerse you in the world of opera, and is all about the struggles and sacrifices necessary in order to pursue and maybe even achieve your dreams. You certainly don't have to be a fan of opera to appreciate it, but like me, it may make you want to learn more about opera after you finish reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley and BookBaby for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I have loved opera since being introduced to it by an early boyfriend when I was 17, and have been intrigued by the world of those who choose to make opera singing their career.  So when this book was offered on NetGalley I immediately downloaded it.  And I wasn't disappointed.

Four long-time friends, all opera singers, commit to supporting each other through thick and thin and particularly on their journey to the top.  Stephanie, Henry, Jennifer, and John name themselves The Dolci Quattro.   We meet the four friends as they are performing in Leoncavallo's La Boheme. a lesser known version of La Boheme, for a second-tier opera company.  They hope this will give them the necessary exposure and allow them to rise to a first-tier company.

Often singers have to work multiple jobs in order to pay for a voice teacher, to help develop the voice and a voice coach, to focus on specific performance music.  And Pere Momus, owner of Café Momus in Manhattan, a gathering place for connoisseurs of opera knew this and so he hired aspiring artists pursuing their dreams, as waiters and waitresses.

An opera singer’s voice is his/her only thing on offer but it is a fragile instrument that needs to be cared for.  It is easily affected and disturbed by emotion.  Concentration is lost and ways of coping, particularly on a performance day, have to be found.  The Dolci Quattro understood this and shared everything and when one was disturbed they pulled together to help.

The offer of steady employment to Henry in a job as an assistant professor to teach voice and to produce school operas causes much talk and deliberation before a decision is made.  Will he accept or will he follow his dreams?

We are offered an insight into the life of an opera singer and recognise how hard one must work to stay on track.  Thank you, Yorker Keith, for a very knowledgeable and entertaining glimpse into the life and world of aspiring opera singers.

Henry, Stephanie, John and Jennifer met while writing their Masters’ degrees at The Manhattan School of Music. Their bond was made all the stronger when they were chosen as the principals to sing Puccini’s La Bohème as their last performance at the school. They are known to their friends and associates as Dolci Quattro.

They might well know their music for Puccini’s La Bohème, now, however, they have a huge challenge; to learn and sing Leoncavallo’s La Bohème. It’s very rarely performed. The artistic director of The New York Bel Canto Opera Company has chosen Dolci Quattro to sing the principal roles when the opera is performed the following March. This gives them a few months to prepare for this very special occasion. Christmas finds each of them ensuring that the welfare of their voices takes precedence over any festivities.

Oh! What a lovely book to be a participant in. Yorker Keith has written a beautiful, descriptive and totally engrossing storyline whereby you share the challenges, determination, total commitment and all the pitfalls that each of the four must face before the curtain goes up on their performance.

I’m writing this review while listening to the beautiful lively music from this very special opera. Thanks to this, I can imagine the Dolci Quattro finally achieving their dreams – singing in front of packed houses and all the sacrifices both they and their families have made to reach this milestone, come to fruition.

Bravo Yorker Keith! You’ve created your own opera in these pages of four struggling singers who realise that the only way they are going to reach their goals is through Dedication! Commitment! Staying Focused!

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.