The Cloud Machinery - Whyte, Christopher

The theatre at St Hyginus’s, in Venice’s smallest parish, is about to reopen. It is 1761 and the Carnival is already well under way, so charismatic impresario Ansaldo Limentani has his work cut out to mount an opera season in the limited time available. However, the events of the night the theatre closed, seven years ago, when its owner was found brutally murdered, refuse to be forgotten.

Two sinister visitors from northern lands hover on the edge of the company, intent on tracking down a Neapolitan princess who has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Domenico, the young musician hired as a conductor, discovers that the building has unsuspected inhabitants and, because of them, an evil is unleashed which threatens to disrupt the opening night…