I read this book when I was on a concert tour back in the 80s. What I find compelling is how the main characters come to understand the nature of their musical abilities and the role those abilities play in their personal lives. The book is beautifully written and very descriptive of the lives of musicians in the 18th century.

Synopsis

In a sweeping saga of music and vengeance, the acclaimed author of The Vampire Chronicles draws readers into eighteenth-century Italy, bringing to life the decadence beneath the shimmering surface of Venice, the wild frivolity of Naples, and the magnetic terror of its shadow, Vesuvius. This is the story of the castrati, the exquisite and otherworldly sopranos whose graceful bodies and glorious voices win the adulation of royal courts and grand opera houses throughout Europe. These men are revered as idols—and, at the same time, scorned for all they are not.