Vivaldi’s Wigmaker

 

“Is Vivaldi’s wigmaker a historical novel? Without a doubt I would say no. The writer is not interested about history and it is not history that is the protagonist of this book. The writer uses the outline to describe shapes and figures of today…With the exception of the costumes and the decoration of everyday life, Hypatia the basic face of the book and all other personages surrounding her and crossing their paths with hers are faces of our times.”

‘Diavazw’ the leading Literary Book Review magazine of Greece November 2011. Reviewed by Alexis Ziras president of the Greek Writers Association.

Livanis publishing house 2011 (Greek) English (translated into Greek)
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Paralleled and seemingly detached journey, between the Red Priest as they called Antonio Vivaldi and Hypatia with the obscure background of a Venice full of mystery and intrigues.

Vivaldi’s Wigmaker tells the story of Hypatia (Capelli), a reclusive young girl living in Mantua, Italy in the 1700’s learning the art of wig making from her father Anselmo.  This tranquil life is upended when Anselmo dies and Hypatia honors his last request: leave Mantua for Venice, find his old friend Chrysostomo Vrahimi, and continue learning her craft.  Under Vrahimi’s guidance the student quickly outpaces the master, becoming a sensation among the elite in Venetian society. As Hypatia weaves her way through this world of composers, divas and royalty, she learns the shocking answer to a secret that’s been kept from her, while planting the seeds to another that will be solved centuries later.

Vivaldi’s Wigmaker, Efterpie Araouzou’s beautifully crafted novel, about the power of creativity, ambition, love and compassion has been adapted into a screenplay written by James Edenbaum.  Please direct all inquiries to Night Kitchen Press c/o gpizzarello@nightkitchenliterary.com.

The screen adaptation is a Magical-Realist drama, about a fifteen-year-old girl who, in the winter of 1725, leaves her small village in Matua for Venice at the behest of her dying father, knowing the name of only one person on the island: Chrysostomo Vrahimi. The curious young girl, who grew up chronicling in her diary what she learned from her father, is now determined to honor his dying plea—she will find Chrysostomo Vrahimi, further hone her craft, and conquer Venice with her wigs. Soon she becomes part of Antonio Vivaldi’s inner circle, his most trusted collaborator, and ultimately becomes the unlikely preserver of the Maestro’s legacy. Little does she know that her life’s ambition has set her on a collision course with the startling truth about her master, Chrysostomo Vrahimi’s hidden past and her role in it.