This book was a pleasure to read. It was a gift to me from my parents-in-law and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hadn't seen much opera at that stage, but since it was only obliquely about opera that was okay. The book is about a bunch of opera lovers held hostage ... that really doesn't do the plot justice. It's a beautifully written book that has stuck with me, though I'm yet to reread it. I think I'm worried that it'll be less magical now that I've seen some of the operas it mentions. 
 It's one of those books that I cannot recommend highly enough.