I suppose the best way to describe the effectiveness and wickedly funny humor of Death on the High C's is simply to refer to the book as "Robert Barnard happens to Rigoletto." Barnard had a keen eye for the ludicrous, and Death on the High C's, which was one of his first books, published in 1977, is also one of his funniest. It was the subject of an audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast back in 2012. Here's what I had to say about it at the time, slightly edited to update some of the information:
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“As soon as he got the call from the theatre Superintendent Nichols knew this was going to be one hell of a case.”
Well you could say that again. Nichols was about to be saddled with investigating the murder of an opera singer – a singer who had managed to make plenty of enemies both in her artistic life and her personal life. All the same, Nichols was pretty sure that there had to be more to the case than it seemed…and he was right about that, too. It’s all part of author Robert Barnard’s romp through the world of opera in Death on the High C's. Just in case it’s still not evident from the context, that title is a pun, referring not to the ocean, the “High Seas,” but to those high notes – high C's – for which sopranos are both famous and proud, and, occasionally, notorious.
Death on the High C's is a marvelously funny – and quite ingenious – exploration of the jealousies and passions that flare in a fairly small English opera company, based in the city of Manchester. The company has its own roster of singers – some quite good, others perhaps less talented – and its own list of small-time artistic company problems, a lack of funds being quite prominent among them.
The Northern Opera Company, as it is called, is rehearsing a new production of that old operatic standby, Verdi’s Rigoletto. For you non-opera types, it’s one of those fast-paced melodramas, concerning an evil and lecherous count, his court jester, Rigoletto, Rigoletto’s daughter (who, of course, is seduced by the count), a paid assassin and the assassin’s sister. That may sound unprepossessing until you hear the music, which is some of the most glorious ever written; one of opera’s best-loved arias, “La Donna è Mobile,” ("Woman is Fickle"), is sung by the lecherous Count (who has been kept busy seducing just about every woman on-stage in this opera).
At any rate, into this company comes a new singer, the contralto hired to play the assassin’s sister. It’s a small but critical role. But the contralto, Gwendolyn Ffrench – she spells “Ffrench” with two ‘F’s – is one of the most appalling characters you’ll ever meet. She manages to offend just about everyone in the company, sleeps with just about any breathing male including the producer and director, tosses out remarkably offensive remarks to an interracial couple – in short, a truly charming person. It’s little wonder that someone appears to be trying to kill her…and that one of those attempts actually succeeds.
Enter Superintendent Nichols – and that quote I mentioned earlier about it being one hell of a case. The Superintendent – nobody’s fool – knows his opera (and picks up some fairly significant clues as a result of that knowledge). But he is stymied in his investigation by what appears to be a lack of sufficient motive for murder. After all, if opera singers got bumped off simply for being offensive, that would seem to be a fairly over-sensitive response and solution to the problem.
And, sure enough, there will be a second murder – equally inexplicable – of another person connected to the opera company.
While all this is going on, there’s a great deal of fun to be had in the travails – and successes – of the Northern Opera Company and its other singers and staff members. When the New York Times reviewed Death on the High C's, the reviewer noted what he called Robert Barnard’s “quietly malicious sense of humor.” I think that’s fair. He puts it to good use as Superintendent Nichols pursues his investigation in a variety of directions – including some surprising twists at the end that some readers may feel push the bounds of fair play, though not, I think, fatally so.
Through it all, Barnard’s obvious enjoyment of opera is quite evident in the events and the descriptions in the book. As I said, I’m very fond of Rigoletto, and the way in which that opera is performed provides some interesting opportunities for character development – yes, and some humor too.
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At the time this review was written, in 2012, Barnard was still writing his books, and I noted in the original review that this one was "a delightful way to spend an evening or two curled up with a good book, preferably with Rigoletto playing in the background." Sadly, the author passed away in 2013, but what I said at the time remains as true today as it was when Barnard was still living. Death on the High C's is still available as an e-book, though there are plenty of second-hand printed copies around as well. It's worth asking your independent mystery book dealer to get one for you.
You can listen to the original audio version of this review by clicking here.
Next: The Chinese Parrot, by Earl Derr Biggers.
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