Overture of Hope reconstructs the little-known story of two British sisters whose passion for opera led them to mount a clandestine rescue mission in the late 1930s. Combining archival research and narrative reporting, the book tracks how cultural devotion became a motive for brave action as Nazi persecution escalated.

Working with insiders in the European opera world — including Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss — the sisters and their network arranged safe passage for more than two dozen Jewish singers and staff from Germany and Austria to England. The account interweaves the mechanics of rescue with portraits of performers and the threatened artistic scene on the eve of war.

Written by investigative journalist Isabel Vincent, the book will appeal to readers of World War II rescue histories, music and cultural history, and biographies of resilient figures. It emphasizes strategy, moral risk, and the preservation of an artistic community.

• Focus: wartime rescues, opera, cultural preservation
• Highlights: original research and eyewitness detail
• Audience: readers of WWII history and music biographies

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