by Christina Waters | Nov 2, 2009 | Art, Home |
It must have been tough living in the shadow of Richard Wagner, but that’s just what powered the career of Richard Strauss, who like his contemporary Gustav Mahler, spent many a sleepless night wondering just how to channel Wagner’s mojo.
Just after the turn of the century Strauss unveiled his voluptuous version of Oscar Wilde’s naughty Salomé, and promptly had his opera banned in most world capitals the minute it hit the stage. As Wilde/Strauss have it, there was much more to Salomé’s desire than simply a baptismal tantrum. She was fatally obsessed with having the Baptist, in God’s way. And as enacted by pliant German soprano Nadja Michael, Salomé was a sensuous handful.
The San Francisco Opera’s current production of Salomé uses set design as well as dramatic motivation to heighten the sexual tension among John the Baptist (sung by a bare-chested Greer Grimsley), the lusting Herod (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 1, 2009 | Home |
The best pork chop in living memory was had by me last week at Ristorante Avanti. The pastured pork from Marin Sun Farms was tender and wildly delicious. The plump chop was embraced by a pool of creamy polenta, green beans with toasted almonds and several roasted crab apples — the sweet, tangy taste of autumnn. . . . Meanwhile, you would be doing yourself a favor to join the Seabright neighbors, dining at La Posta on Tuesday evenings. Not only is there a deal-of-the-century option – pasta plus wine, or pizza plus wine, for $15!, but you can slip into the magic realism world of authentic mandolin music, listening to mandolin master Paul Rangell (shown above).
Rangell’s collection of Sicilian, New Mexican, eastern European, etc. folk music is almost supernaturally encyclopedic. And he’s a gifted artist as well. Accompanied on guitar by his wife, Emily Abbink, Rangell’s insistent mandolin (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 1, 2009 | Food, Home, Wine |
As if the stupendous selection of fine wines wasn’t enough, now Soif is continuing its prix fixe menu through the entire month of November. To raise awareness about breast cancer — and to help the work of WomenCARE, in Santa Cruz, Soif has created a smart menu of dishes made without added sugars, butter, flour, rice, potatoes or saturated fats of any kind.
Starting with an appetizer of mixed greens with roasted persimmons and (more…)
