by Christina Waters | Dec 3, 2010 | Home |
Leggy and statuesque, blonde Finnish soprano Karita Mattila shredded the scenery and chewed up the remains during the final performance of Leos Janácek’s The Makropulos Case, last week at the San Francisco Opera.
Her confidently reckless stage presence and vocal command of the unusual role brought the audience to its feet during the final curtain.
Yes, this IS why people make the considerable commitment to feast on live opera. Surprising moments of musical chemistry, brilliant touches of lighting and costuming, and a powerhouse denouement worthy of the word “operatic.” (more…)
by Christina Waters | Dec 2, 2010 | Home |
Kumamoto oysters, icy cold and briny, along with smooth jazz. A nice way to start the week. Soif Wine Bar.
by Christina Waters | Dec 1, 2010 | Home |
At Gayle’s Bakery, it is arguably Christmas all year long. But still, the sight of these fresh green petit fours did put me in an instant holiday mood.
by Christina Waters | Nov 18, 2010 | Home |
Some people taste-test tortilla chips, we sample sparkling wines.
My self-imposed assignment was to find out just whether a really cheap sparkling wine could be a decent tipple, as opposed to something you’d pour for out-of-towners at your second wedding, or at a fraternity house New Year’s Eve party. And to help us through this grueling pre-holiday exercise, our mega-hostess friend Angie provided a few designer nibbles (cheese, dates, quince paste, artisanal salami) to go with a recent trio of low-priced sparkling wine. We added a plate of smoked salmon rosti from Gayle’s, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2010 | Home |
Will Ferrell is the voice of big-headed Megamind, the pale blue skinny super-villain who still dreams of conquering Metro City. But things aren’t quite that easy, because Metro Man — Brad Pitt’s voice in a sleek, muscle-bound package — is the darling of the populace, and also the main squeeze of TV newscaster Roxanne Ritchie (Tiny Fey). If this sounds a bit like the Superman formula, it is. In fact, one of the film’s clever intertextual references is to Jor-L (Superman’s “real” father, as played on-screen by the lisping Marlon Brando).
This animated blockbuster from DreamWorks is clever, adroit and at times disarmingly witty for a big, fat, hyper-visual 3-D feature.
Animation at its most supple, (more…)
by Christina Waters | Nov 17, 2010 | Home |
From winemaker Ken Wornick comes this very confident red wine – Exponent – created of an intriguing blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese and merlot. At $19 a bottle (@ VinoCruz) and 13.8% alcohol, it has the stuff to take on holiday ham, roast beef, raviolis and pozole (though not, I suspect, all at one sitting).
Big and beefy, even savory along the mid-section, this 2008 vintage is one of the most interesting wines to come down the local Santa Cruz Mountains pike in a long time.
Give it a shot – or give it to someone on your holiday list.
