BON APPÉTIT! A Sweet Soirée

BON APPÉTIT! A SW E E T S O I R É E

DIGITAL FUNDRAISING EVENT

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021 | 8:00 – 9:00 P.M. 1

for being a part of Opera Philadelphia’s first-ever digital fundraising

event. Thank you for your support this season as we reinvented ourselves from a stage producer to a film producer. And thank you for embracing the Opera Philadelphia Channel as our new opera stage, bringing you

exciting programming created exclusively for your screen. As a supporter of BON APPÉTIT! A Sweet Soirée, you join a remarkable donor family who allow us to do all of this and more.

Tonight’s event, in addition to the performance of Lee Hoiby’s BON

APPÉTIT!, will feature a conversation with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and a look into our Community Initiatives and Educational programming.

As a Sweet Soirée sponsor, we hope your extra benefits make the evening even more delectable. We are so appreciative of your generosity and we wish you... bon appétit!

BON APPÉTIT! A SWEET SOIRÉE FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 2021 A DIGITAL FUNDRAISING EVENT

PERFORMANCE

BON APPÉTIT! A Musical Monologue Music by Lee Hoiby Text by Julia Child, adapted by Mark Shulgasser Mezzo-Soprano Jamie Barton as Julia Child Pianist Jonathan Easter Video and Audio Production by Keep the Music Going Productions Directors, Ryan McKinny and Tonya McKinny An HGO Digital Production in association with Austin Opera Sarah and Ernest Butler Performance Series

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E

BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E

SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS

Beth and Gary Glynn Mr. and Mrs. Dudley D. Johnson Joan Mazzotti and Michael Kelly Judy and Peter Leone S I LV E R S P O N S O R S

Dianne and Don Cooney Mrs. Zoë S. Pappas Jean and Gene Stark BRONZE SPONSORS

Mr. John R. Alchin and Mr. Hal Marryatt

Dr. Stanley Muravchick and Ms. Arlene Olson

Ms. Susan Asplundh

Dr. and Mrs. Joel Porter

Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino

John Pcsolar and Alan Sandman

Katherine and Andrew Christiano

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Tobey and Mark Dichter

Dr. Stephen Somkuti and Mrs. Enikö Mara-Somkuti

Ady L. Djerassi, M.D., and Robert Golub, M.D.

Mr. and Mrs. James B. Straw

Drs. Bruce and Toby Eisenstein

Barbara Augusta Teichert

Independence Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler

Sarah and Brad Marshall

Ms. Linda Wingate and Dr. William Liberi

Mrs. John P. Mulroney

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E B E N E FAC TO R S

PAT R O N S

Anonymous

Anonymous

Sylva Baker

Ms. Christina M. Bauers

Mary Ann Blair

Frances and Michael Baylson

Mrs. Elaine Camarda

Mrs. Lois Boyce

Maureen Craig and Glenn Goldberg

Rick and Flo Celender

Mark and Peggy Curchack

Alice Donavin

Dr. Allitia DiBernardo

Judith Johnston

Carol S. Eicher

Joanne Kornoelje

Eduardo Glandt and George Ritchie

Anne Silvers Lee and Wynn Lee

David and Linda Glickstein

Paul J. Martin

Mark and Helene Hankin Family

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Matarese

Mr. and Mrs. John Karamatsoukas

Mr. William S. Mulherin and Mr. Joseph F. Baker

Mr. Matthew Karstetter and Ms. Ellen Rosenberg

Ruth Openstone

Molly and Peter Kiriacoulacos

Helen E. Pettit

William Lake Leonard, Esq.

Deborah Pines

Liddy and John Lindsay

Edward and Nancy Scharff

Mr. Robert E. Mortensen

Janet Wilson Smith

Emily S. Rollet

Mr. Andrew Szabo

Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer

Mr. Daniel Szyld and Ms. Kathleen Ross

Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor

The Rev. and Mrs. Richard L. Ullman

Ellen Steiner

PRODUCING SPONSOR

Geralyn Trujillo Mr. Evan A. Urbania Kathleen and Nicholas Weir Laura A. Williamson Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind

E V E N T PA RT N E R S

List as of December 21, 2020 5

PROGRAM NOTES

How to Make Julia Child Cooking icon to opera inspiration

By Christina Irmen

• Take one 6’2” woman.

• Send her to France.

• Enroll her in the renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.

• And set her up to write one of the most influential cookbooks in history.

Julia Child was born in Pasadena, California in 1912. Although she would grow to love

cooking, her childhood was marked by a lack of culinary flair. Her mother rarely cooked

and what few recipes she knew and cooked herself, Julia described as “simple,” like roasts.

Julia’s life was charmed—her mother was an heiress, and her father was a real estate investor.

With their wealth, Julia was able to attend private schools and go on to Smith College.

After college and the start of World War II, Julia found herself in China working for the Office of Strategic Services. It was here that she met her husband, Paul Child. After the end of the war, Paul’s job moved them to Paris.

Upon arriving in France, Paul took Julia to La Couronne, the oldest restaurant in the country.

This was Julia’s first introduction to classical French cuisine, and she fell in love. Wanting to learn more, Julia enrolled in the acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu.

In culinary school, Julia was surrounded by men, particularly American men seeking edu-

cation on the G.I. Bill. This mattered little to Julia—her newfound passion was undeterred

despite not belonging. However, there were two other female students that Julia was able to connect with.

Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle approached Julia to collaborate on a cookbook

dedicated to French cuisine. Their target audience was Americans, and Julia provided an

invaluable perspective to American women. Julia accepted and committed herself to writing, editing, and testing recipes for the next decade. The end result was The Art of French Cooking, a groundbreaking cookbook that would earn Julia a spot on the bestseller list for five years and a PBS series.

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E Before The Art of French Cooking, cooking was mundane and taboo, as to cook for oneself

was unsophisticated and for lower classes. Through careful instruction of complex French cuisine, Julia was able to bring a sense of class to cooking at home as well as accessibility.

People wanted to learn more about French fare and from Julia herself. The French Chef would fulfill both desires.

Nothing like The French Chef had ever been done before. Cookbooks themselves had

rarely been made for ordinary people. Filming someone cook for viewers at home was

entirely new territory. Julia meticulously planned each episode, though it often appears as though she is care-free, assuring viewers that there is always a solution to a mistake

or that “no one will see.” Off camera, there were crew members holding cards that Julia

made that read things like “breath” or “wipe brow,” and yet she still always sounded out of breath! Julia wanted the show to be perfect. The truth is, that seemingly carefree woman was nervous that she’d make a mistake or the audience wouldn’t like her.

Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appetit! embraces these aspects of Julia and The French Chef. Sometimes

stage Julia seems a bit anxious as she’s whipping egg whites. What if the egg whites don’t get peaks fast enough? Julia Child was likely asking herself the same questions––she did challenge a machine that was sure to succeed. Julia was also prone to mistakes. In one

episode, she drops her potatoes on the stove. When making the cake in Bon Appetit!, she’s not exactly neat, splattering batter on herself. Imperfection is a part of what makes Julia Child so endearing.

The opera’s Julia Child still provides careful instructions, often bordering on giving viewers

more information than necessary. Julia even pauses to give lengthy descriptions about why she likes certain chocolate, or what the cake’s texture will be like, or to simply take a sip of wine and nibble of chocolate.

Although it may seem exaggerated, this is how Julia really would and did act. The libretto

for Bon Appetit! is taken from two episodes of The French Chef, both of which are devoted to

Julia making a chocolate cake (Le gâteau and a Reine de Saba). The runtime of an episode on PBS is also roughly the same time as the opera, transporting the audience to a place

in between television and live theater. You’re watching Julia as she presented herself while still watching an interpretation of her that embraces her vivaciousness.

It is Julia Child’s joy of cooking set to music. Bon Appétit!

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E

JAMIE BARTON

Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage—lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities. Her lively social media presence on Instagram and Twitter (@jbartonmezzo) serves

as a hub for conversations about body positivity, diet culture, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. She is proud to volunteer with Turn The Spotlight, an organization working to identify, nurture, and empower leaders among women and people of color—and in turn, to illuminate the path to a more equitable future in the arts.

In recognition of her iconic performance at the Last Night of the Proms, Ms. Barton was recently named 2020 Personality of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards. She is also the winner of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, Richard Tucker Award, and both Main and Song Prizes at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Ms. Barton’s 2007 win at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launched a major international career that includes leading roles at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera, and the Met. Praised by Gramophone as having “the sort of instrument you could listen to all day, in any sort of repertoire,” Ms. Barton has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax at Tanglewood, and in recital across the U.S. and U.K., including engagements at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center. Her solo albums include All Who Wander, which received the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award, and the just-released Unexpected Shadows, recorded with composer Jake Heggie.

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E J O N AT H A N E A S T E R Pianist and organist Jonathan Easter is a recent graduate of Emory University, where he studied with Timothy Albrecht and Dr. Eric Nelson and earned a double master’s degree while playing the organ at Roswell Presbyterian Church. He is the accompanist for the Emory University Chorus and Concert Choir, as well as the Atlanta Master Chorale under the direction of Dr. Eric Nelson. He joined the staff of Saint Mark UMC as Director of Fine Arts and Organist in 2016. Recent highlights include co-conducting the featured ensemble for the Atlanta Rolling Stones concert, accompanying Jamie Barton mezzo-soprano for recitals at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, serving as worship service organist for the Southeastern regional convention of the American Choral Directors Association and serving as an accompanist and co-presenter at the American Guild of Organists convention in Charlotte. Jonathan earned his undergraduate degree from Shorter College where he studied with Dr. Peter Dewitt, Helen Ramsaur and sang with the Shorter Chorale under the direction of Dr. Martha Shaw.

R YA N M C K I N N Y With many of the world’s opera and concert venues closed due to the global pandemic, Ryan McKinny adapted the beauty of his art form to the film screen.

At the beginning of quarantine, he founded Keep the Music Going Productions, where he and a group of renowned artists shared videos both live and recorded to raise funds for the fantastic relief organizations that provide financial support to artists during this challenging time. Through his production company, he has since collaborated with The Washington National Opera to release Monuments of Hope starring himself and mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges. He created a short film, Glimmerglass Lieder, where he showcased Schubert Lieder against the stunning backdrop of Otsego County and the Glimmerglass Festival campus. McKinny produced a segment for the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s For the Love of the Lyric virtual concert, featuring star sopranos Renée Fleming and Julia Bullock. In collaboration with Houston Grand Opera, McKinny co-directed and starred in a digital

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E production of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s one-act opera Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera, in association with Austin Opera. He also directed Lee Hoiby’s one-woman opera Bon Appétit! based on an episode of Julia Child’s TV program, The French Chef, starring the renowned mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton. Future engagements include returns to the Metropolitan Opera and the Houston Grand Opera in leading roles.

T O N YA M C K I N N Y Co-Founder of Keep The Music Going Productions, Tonya McKinny made her official Co-Directing Debut with Monuments of Hope produced with the Kennedy Center and Washington National Opera. Earlier this season she also Co-Directed Bon Appétit! produced by Houston Grand Opera featuring Jamie Barton. In her last project, she was Co-Director, Co-Writer and director of photography for the Glimmerglass Lieder produced by the Glimmerglass Festival starring Ryan McKinny. This season she is Co-Producer for a new opera experience with On Site Opera in New York City scheduled for spring of 2021. Past credits include acting in several Off-Off-Broadway productions teaching Master Classes with the University of Hawaii as well as Personal Acting Coach for numerous singers.

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BON APPÉTIT! Music by Lee Hoiby Text by Julia Child, adapted by Mark Shulgasser JULIA CHILD: This is the rich, buttery, brown batter for...

When you’re going to do a cake…

...le gâteau au chocolat l’éminence brune!

…you really have to have a battle plan.

First, start the chocolate.

Today, we’re going to make chocolate cake.

Then preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees.

And it’s a very special, very chocolatey,

And, the rack is in the lower middle.

bittersweet, lovely cake.

Then, get out all your ingredients

And, for it, we have to have melted chocolate.

and all of your equipment…

And melted chocolate you

…so that you can just go

have to do very carefully…

right through the cake.

…or it’s going to turn grainy and hard.

You don’t want to go out and

Now, we want mocha flavoring.

play croquet in the middle, for instance.

So, start out with two teaspoons

And then, the next thing to do

of instant espresso…

is to prepare the cake pan.

…and one quarter cup of hot water.

And that means buttering it.

And then, we’re going to add

Thoroughly.

seven ounces of semisweet chocolate…

And the waxed paper, too.

…and two ounces of bitter chocolate.

And then the flour…

I like the combination.

And then turn the pan…

And, in they go…

…thoroughly…

And, off the heat…

…and knock out the flour on the floor.

And you just swirl it around.

If you have a self-cleaning kitchen like mine.

And then you cover it

And this is so the cake won’t stick.

and go on about your business.

When the cake is done...

Chocolate is much more complicated...

...it would be nice to be able

...than any of us suspect.

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E to get it out of the pan.

…is one stick of the best butter.

Now, this is a two-pan cake...

And I can beat the whole business in...

...and it’s a very delicate cake.

...because it’s nice and soft.

And, like most cakes, it has eggs in it.

I’ve got a little pan for the drippies.

Separated eggs.

Now, just look at this lovely,

And that makes it a sponge cake…

silky, soft, beautiful sheen.

…or what the French call a biscuit.

And that’s just the way

Or biscuit.

melted chocolate should be.

And these are United States

And, if you’re very careful

grade A large eggs…

about the melting of it…

…and you put the yolk into the yolk bowl…

…you’re never going to have any trouble

…and the white into the white bowl…

because you’re never overheating it.

…because if you have any yolk in the white...

And that’s what’s dangerous to do.

And now, the chocolate

...you’ll find that the eggs won’t mount up.

goes into the egg yolks.

Glub.

Now, we have four egg yolks here.

Well!

And I’m going to gradually beat in

And if it’s hot…

two-thirds cup of this instant super-fine sugar…

…pour it in gradually.

…‘til they are thick and lemon-colored

It’s good enough to eat

and they make the ribbon.

just as it is.

See there…

And stir it all around.

...how it gradually begins to turn...

Soft and smooth…

...thick and lemon-colored.

You don’t want the batter to harden up.

Now, let’s take a look.

Now we’re ready to beat our egg whites.

There! The thick, dissolving ribbon.

So, be sure and order an extra set of blades…

Now, the chocolate should… …in all conscience, be melted.

…otherwise, at this point, you’d have to

And it is!

wash and dry the beaters.

What now is going to go

Frankly, I find that you can beat the eggs…

in this chocolate…

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E …just as efficiently with a hand beater

And, if you’re in good physical trim…

as with anything!

…it shouldn’t take more than

So, today, we’re going to have some fun.

a couple of minutes... ...to beat up your egg whites.

We’re going to have a race between

Now, let’s see how the machine is doing.

the unlined copper bowl and the machine.

There are the soft peaks.

See?

I’ve got four egg whites here...

So, now we’ll put in

...and four egg whites here…

a little bit of sugar.

…and we’re going to see who wins.

And turn it up on high.

And I think maybe I’ll win…

And, back to the copper bowl.

…because I’m bigger.

Beat them ‘til they make stiff peaks.

But I don’t know.

They’re almost ready.

You’re going to start rather slowly at first…

Not quite.

…until they foam up.

It’s holding in the whip…

Whites take a bit of time.

We’re almost there.

They’ve started foaming.

Cooking’s just a series of the same old things.

Now, add one quarter teaspoon

Sometimes there’s chocolate...

cream of tartar.

...and sometimes there’s fish in it.

Every good kitchen

But the principles are the same.

should have cream of tartar.

That’s it!

Because, you want them to mount

See the little peaks that

seven times their original volume.

stand up by themselves?

Smooth and silky…

Or, you could turn it upside down…

And set it at a moderate speed.

…and they’ll stay in the bowl.

Now I’m going to start in on

And our machine has probably done

the copper bowl, with a pinch of salt.

exactly the same thing.

You want the biggest whip

Yup. See?

in the smallest bowl.

I don’t know who won.

Round and round and round…

But the egg whites in the copper bowl...

They’ll mount faster at room temperature.

...will keep their lovely velvety texture.

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E But the ones in the glass bowl...

Now, here is your spatula.

...will soon turn granular

And you go down into the mixture…

and lose that lovely sheen.

…and up and over…

So, if you do them in the machine,

…bringing a little chocolate

you must use them right away.

over the egg whites.

Now, ready to assemble

Very important part.

the rest of the batter.

A scooping motion.

And, rather than flour, this cake

Rather fast.

is going to have cornstarch in it.

Up and over.

Because chocolate is heavy...

The whole mixing business shouldn’t take

...and we want a very light, delicate cake.

more than a couple of minutes.

Now, ready, into the cake pans!

Almost like a soufflé.

Half in each.

So, three quarters cup of cornstarch...

Do it eyeball to eyeball,

...and you sift it right into the cup.

or whatever they say.

And then, sift about a

Push it out to the sides

quarter of it into the batter.

so it won’t hump up.

Stir that in.

Barely half full…

Now, particularly with chocolate cakes...

And a little bit left for the cook… …who would like to lick the pan!

...you want to be very sure that your batter is…

And then, bang, bang!

…very liquid.

Knock them on the counter

Or you might have to beat it up again.

just to settle everything.

Then, take a third of your egg whites…

And then right into the oven…

…and stir them right in

…diagonally, for air circulation…

to lighten up the batter.

…for fifteen, sixteen,

And then a little more cornstarch…

eighteen minutes.

Then, put the rest of the egg whites on top.

And I want you to see…

(I hope these are going to be just right.)

Now you’re going to alternate

…how they look when done.

folding egg whites and cornstarch.

This is not quite done.

Not as neat as it could be.

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BO N A P P É T I T ! A SW E E T S O I R É E I’m going to put it back again.

And, in she goes.

Let’s look at this one.

We’re just having a cake party today…

The French chocolate cake

…and I’m going to serve you some.

is always fairly moist.

Let’s see how this looks.

It shakes a little in the pan.

See that lovely soft texture?

Take a toothpick or something, and…

Almost like a soufflé.

It should almost be set at the sides.

And it’s nicer than a soufflé…

That’s not quite set.

…because it doesn’t fall.

So these need another

And you can serve it with whipped cream...

two or three minutes.

...if you want to go the whole way.

Watch them very carefully at this point.

And it’s nice with coffee.

They’ll puff up,

So this is really a wonderfully, chocolatey…

then they’ll sink down.

They’re probably done.

Now, this is a very delicate cake…

…and amazingly light, soufflé-like cake…

…so you’ll unmold them

…that doesn’t fall.

right on the cake stand.

Le gâteau au chocolat l’éminence brune.

You may want to chill

Really one of the best

them a bit before unmolding…

chocolate cakes I know.

…and then we’ll have

And that’s all for today.

a chocolate and butter icing.

Bon appétit!

And this is exactly the same chocolate mixture that we had before.

Now, we’ve got the top layer…

We hope…

BON APPÉTIT! Music by Lee Hoiby Text by Julia Child, adapted by Mark Shulgasser Copyright © 1997 by G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved.

Reprinted by Permission.

Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited by Federal law and subject to criminal prosecution

Better too much than too little.

Nicely and easily…

And it goes around…

Carefully…

This could really be quite a mess.

Smooth off that top.

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