by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2011 | Art |
The soaring quartets, orchestra and choral passages of Beethoven’s mighty Mass in C Major join Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, in an evening of definitive musical bravura— with maestra Nicole Paiement at the helm—for two concerts, Friday November 18 and Sunday November 20.
Concerts begin at 7:30pm at the UCSC Music Recital Hall—an acoustical gem worthy of soloists—tenor Brian Staufenbiel, soprano Patrice Maginnis, baritone Daniel Cilli and mezzo soprano Elana Cowen.
Don’t miss this chance to be enfolded in the sort of life-altering harmonies, fugues and canons that made life, before the Beatles, sweet indeed. UCSC Ticket Office – 831.459-2159; or online.
This is the deal of the week. The month!
by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2011 | Home, Travel |
The excuse was the outstanding de Kooning retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, a sleek exhibition setting that lives up to its classically modern name. But the first thing we did was head up to the 5th floor Terrace cafe for a delightfully civilized early lunch. Armed with an appropriate regional wine – a Merlot from Pellegrini Vineyards, North Fork, NY 2006 – we dove into beautiful plates of seasonal flavors.
For my sweetie, slices of organic chicken with marinated squashes and hearts of romaine lavished with mustardy vinaigrette. For me this warm eggy tart of roasted cauliflower and Bayley Hazen blue cheese, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 4, 2011 | Art, Home |
Proving how easily a 250-year-old opera can provide musical epiphany, George Frideric Handel came to San Francisco last week with his delectable pastiche of arias, recitatives, and impossible vocalese —the opera Xerxes.
It was probably one of Benjamin Franklin’s favorite operas, this Italian tale of mistaken genders, identities and lovers, written by a German composer and widely performed in London. What San Francisco Opera audiences feasted on at last Saturday’s matinee performance was the aural luminescence of seven of the world’s finest Baroque singers vying with each other for complete dominance of the gorgeous music, the witty set design and some of the longest, most complex passages ever written for the human voice.
It was a banquet of trills, glissandoes and accelerated arpeggios. (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 3, 2011 | Home, Wine |
My friend Mateo scarfed down two orders of the Cajun fried oysters while I took my time over this deeply comforting appetizer of sautéed fresh porcinis on toast dusted with parmesan reggiano and topped with a fried egg.
It was all the better with a glass of Birichino Malvasia Bianca, a creation of Soif wine buyer and resident oeno-maestro John Locke, who tells me that his young Birichino wine label will be including two pinot noirs—one from Central Coast grapes and another small batch from Santa Cruz Mountain fruit, along with a malvasia, vin gris and grenache—in its 2011 vintage.
More to drink. More to like.
by Christina Waters | Nov 3, 2011 | Home, Wine |
Write this down: Palacios “Petalos” Mencia.
Now go to Soif.
Say out loud the words you wrote down.
Wait for a glass of scarlet wine to arrive.
Swirl, sniff and drink.
Be amazed.
