SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHOR
1. How did you go from being a violinist at the Met Opera to writing opera mysteries?
2. What was your inspiration for writing Staged for Murder, the sequel to Death by Opera?
3. What is so unique about the novel’s setting?
4. Why do you think both mystery lovers and opera lovers will identify with the book?
MY ARTICLES ON-LINE
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the first live post-pandemic opening for the company
Michael Chioldi Believes in the Power of Opera
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Coronavirus Chronicles: Alley Bell pivots from in-person classes to virtual music-making
Making music in the time of COVID has called for inordinate creativity
FAN CLUB/QUOTES/KUDOS
"I loved reading all your 3 "opera-mystery" books! I wait for the 4th one!"
Aurelia Kimmelmann
"I just finished reading your San Fran Opera book. All hail to you and your heroine!
"
Rena Panush, opera singer
"'I am now reading Staged for Murder...my interest was captured from your prologue and has been held fast ever since. You are an exceptional writer! I am already enamored with the way you shape your prose like musical cadences.'"
R.J. Jeffreys, Producer, Author2Author podcast
"I am just into the climax of "Staged For Murder" and am literally biting my nails! O, Dio mio! ...you rascal, you!... I loved the book for many reasons. I loved your embrace of San Francisco and the way you highlighted its many charms. You made it another character in the story. "
Richard Stilwell, opera singer
"I've just finished Staged for a Murder - although I guessed who the killer might be before the characters did (you dropped some clues), I didn't expect that (literal) cliff-hanger denouement! You really know how to ratchet up the tension and I couldn't put it down.
Rachel looks like becoming as much of a Wagnerite as I am! The frequent quotations from Der Ring resonated with me and I liked the mentions of Nina Stemme (who I saw as Brunnhilde at Covent Garden in Toni Pappano's Ring) and Jon Vickers (I have friends who knew him well).
I hope you've got another operatic murder mystery in mind. "
Rodney Newton, English National Opera
"So you wanted to entice me to see the Ring Cycle. But I wouldn't have Rachel to explain it and play it on her music box. What an amazing new character. She might just have more guts than her mother.
Your audience is certainly opera lovers who will eat it up. It also introduces new characters and keeps you guessing until it moves from mystery to thriller.
The insider information is amazing both of the workings of creating an opera and the San Francisco Opera. I've been to San Francisco many times but never went to the opera there.
Need I say you have written a book I enjoyed. A new character I fell in love with and brought an opera house alive. No small task. Thank you!"
Jim Wyrtzen, Olli Lifelong Learning Institute, UC San Diego
"This was great! Except...Too short. Too quickly over 😔Luckily I got your other 2 novels too 👍
Loved the Ring quotes. They fit so well what’s happening in the different chapters! Brava!
"
Sophia Cerovsek
"Joel Hagedorn rated it ***** it was amazing
Since the previous books in this series the author has added a new character, a child, to the character mix. Explaining facts to the child is an excellent vehicle for explaining facts to a reader not familiar with the Ring Opera Cycle. I have seen the Ring cycle four times. I was not bored by the explanations given to the child. In fact the child, Rachael, is one of my favorite characters.
The mystery is well thought out, with enough suspense to keep a murder mystery fan fully engaged. Having lived in San Francisco for twenty years, I also felt the authors presentation of the city to be spot on. The combination of Opera behind the scenes detail, interesting characters who are well developed, and an excellent mystery itself, when all mixed together simply thicken the plot into a very tasty read.
All told I give this book high marks all around."
Joel Hagedorn
"Bravo! It was a fun read!!"
Preston Trombly, radio broadcaster
"I adore your writing. I get so deliciously lost in it."
Sonette Bales
"Amazon, 5.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate, suspenseful, easy to feel part of the story
Appreciated the history and vibrant story telling of the San Francisco Opera and relish the dark side that is so often hidden. As a lover of the San Francisco Opera I found this work to be accurate with a twist of suspense and I could not put this book down. Highly recommend."
Michelle Pennings Massey
"Excellent story, I couldn’t stop reading this book. Highly recommended to everyone in this great community (Facebook Authors & Writers). "
Jennifer Shepard, writer
"Erica Miner, killing it. She has her heart and skill in every music passage that burns in print."
Mardi Ellen, writer & composer
"It's the best mystery book you've written. The ending was great!"
Ruth Borst Punt
"I really enjoyed it. That ending was quite something!"
Charlotte Donady Dinwiddie
"This interview was a page turner :-) I enjoyed it more than any other interview I have ever read. You put a lot into it and it exudes your passion for what you do. Brava."
Christian Neau
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ON-LINE
