Dear Diary,

Well, the night has finally come. I can’t believe it’s here. My debut as a violinist with the orchestra of the most prestigious opera company in the world: the Metropolitan Opera!

Of course, in spite of my excitement, fear, trepidation, nervousness, and every other emotion you could name, I still spent the day in my usual routine. Breakfast, brush teeth, exercise…

Exercise, you ask? Don’t you want to be well rested for tonight? Well, you’d think I would, but I just had all this nervous energy to expend. So, I did my usual one hour of light weights and yoga stretches. After all, I have to stay strong for a 5-hour opera like Verdi’s Don Carlo, which is all about stamina. Then I practiced the most difficult scale I could think of: A-flat major, 4 octaves, every bowing imaginable, slow, then fast. Then a Paganini Caprice. (Ugh, I still hate practicing Paganini.) Then the Beethoven Concerto, all 3 movements. I ended with Massenet’s Meditation from his opera Thaïs. That was in honor of my dad. How I wish he could have been here to see me play in the orchestra! He would have been so proud.

But Abel will be proud, too. I still have to pinch myself when I think that one of the world’s most famous opera conductors is my mentor! I am going to do everything in my power to fulfill his expectations of me. Perfection is the goal at the Met. I can do this, right?

I just checked myself in the mirror to make sure I look the part: black silk shirt and pants wrinkle-free, every hair in place. No jewelry. I don’t want anything to distract from my looking like a total professional.

Most important, though, will be my playing. Thank goodness Sid will be right there next to me, grudgingly agreeing to turn my stubborn violin pegs for me as usual. He’ll grumble about it, but I’ll just give him my best “forever friends” smile and he’ll forgive me.

I can see myself striding across Lincoln Plaza toward the Met, watching the limos disgorge all the celebrities in attendance. I’ve decided that tonight I’m going in through the revolving glass doors at the front of the opera house and make my way to the stage door from there. Why shouldn’t I enter with all the glitterati? It’s my opening night.

Then, the masterpiece: my beloved Don Carlo, one of my “top five” favorite operas. Admittedly, the rifle shot in Act 3 always makes me jump. It’s so loud, and it’s right in the middle of one of the most tense, dramatic scenes in the opera. Matt, who in spite of my embarrassment at his leaving little love notes for me on the sign-in sheet is still my favorite stagehand, told me that the decibel level of stage rifles can’t be controlled. You just never know how loud it’s going to be. But it still doesn’t detract from the exquisite music.

It’s going to be glorious. Absolutely glorious.

What could possibly go wrong?

Always, Julia


Aria for Murder, A Julia Kogan Mystery Book #1
Genre: Traditional
Release: October 2022
Purchase Link

OPERA CAN KILL YOU

Excitement mounts as the moment arrives for brilliant young violinist Julia Kogan’s debut in the orchestra of the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera. But the high-stakes milieu of this musical mecca is rocked to its core when, during an onstage murder scene, Julia’s mentor, a famous conductor, is assassinated on the podium.

Thrust into the investigation when her closest colleague in the orchestra is named chief suspect, Julia teams up with opera-loving NYPD detective Larry Somers to solve the murder. In the process, they are shocked to discover the venerable opera house, with its dark corners and hidden back stairways, is rife with a web of secrets, intrigue, and lethal rivalries. And all bets are off when Julia suddenly finds herself the real killer’s prime target.


Meet the author
A former violinist with the Metropolitan Opera, Erica Miner is an award-winning writer, screenwriter, arts journalist, and lecturer based in the Pacific Northwest. Aria for Murder, the first in her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series, was published by Level Best Books on Oct. 28, 2022. James Ziskin calls this first installment “A compelling mystery, replete with devious characters, glorious music, and plenty of behind-the-scenes dirty laundry.” A member of national and local Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers and the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association, Miner has lectured on opera and writing for venues on both coasts and internationally. More details can be found on Erica’s website at ericaminer.com.

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