Shadow Song

Francesca is an art student living in Rome, her father a police inspector and her brother, Roberto, an army officer. On the night that Mussolini is arrested, she joins the celebrations and is captivated by a young tenor, who is singing in the street.

In September 1943, an armistice is announced between Italy and the Allies but, within hours, German forces attack the city. In the turmoil, Francesca encounters the singer, Giorgio, and he invites her to Rome’s opera house. Weeks later, she is offered work there, unaware of the danger she faces.

Carlo became an army doctor after he left Rome and was wounded in Sicily. Allied intelligence sends him home to join the resistance.

Carlo divides his time between the Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome and his father’s practice, whose patients include a tenor at the opera house. On a medical visit, he is shocked to meet his old love, who was arrested and imprisoned after he left Rome.

Carlo becomes part of a resistance group at the hospital and transmits intelligence from an agent named Chiro. Carlo is intrigued by Chiro, certain that his information comes from the German High Command.

Giorgio is a student singer who runs errands for the opera house. He occasionally has walk-on parts and dreams of singing a major role. He was a soldier in the Italian army but was seriously injured and given a medical discharge.

Michele is Carlo’s father, a prosperous doctor. He is well-connected, personable and speaks good German. He works hard but his life is comfortable, although he misses his second wife, Carlo’s stepmother, who is absent from Rome.

Alessandra is the opera house’s beautiful wardrobe mistress. She is also the daughter of a socialist politician who was murdered by Mussolini’s men in the 1920s. She concentrates on her work and few know her well.

Luca and Isabella are brother and sister, and Francesca’s friends and neighbours. Luca is a medical student, close to qualifying as a doctor. Isabella is a trainee nurse and interested in Carlo. Luca, Isabella and Carlo work together.

Alberto is a tenor with a fine lyric voice, from northern Italy. He has starred in Milan, Venice and Verona but has spent the last few years in Rome. Wealthy and charming, he is an admirer of Alessandra and was once an amateur racing driver.

Giuseppe and Natalia are Francesca’s parents. Giuseppe commands an area police office within Rome. Natalia, when she was younger, worked for a couturier, and she is enthusiastic about Francesca’s work at the opera house.

Roberto, Francesca’s brother, was an army officer who fled Rome after the Germans took the city. He is with the partisans but sometimes travels into Rome, always careful to avoid capture. His ambition is to become a journalist.

Mercurio, Gabbi and Arturo are part of the resistance. Mercurio is the youngest, delivering messages and more. Gabbi is the organiser, who disappears as silently as he arrives. Arturo, the oldest, is a bartender of many talents.

Celeste, Rosa and Signor Vittorio work at the opera house. Celeste and Rosa are sopranos in the chorus, with ambitions to go further. Signor Vittorio is an elderly pianist, who accompanies Giorgio and helps with his singing.