January 15
The Anniversary of the Premier of Vanessa
 
  Samuel Barber's opera Vanessa opened at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1958 to great reviews. The praise lavished on the first full-length American opera performed at the Met since 1934 was unexpected since American music critics had a history of subtle prejudice against anything that wasn't European. Vanessa went on to earn a Pulitzer Prize, become a major success in Salzburg, and has had numerous major revivals, including one in November 2007 at the New York City Opera.

Highlights from the score include the the mezzo aria Must the Winter Come So Soon? and the achingly beautiful last-act quintet, To Leave, to Break.

Carol Vaness as Vanessa and Margaret Lattmore
as Erika at the San Diego Opera 


Vanessa has a powerful libretto authored by Gian Carlo Menotti, whose stormy love affair with Barber culminated in this remarkable work. There was considerable tension during the production of the text and score. After Menotti had written the first scene up to the appearance of the mysterious Anatol (the lover of both Vanessa and Erica) in the first act and Barber had set it to music, the composer had to wait a year and a half for Menotti to be free of his own operatic projects in order to complete the text.

Concerning Menotti's libretto, Harriet Johnson of the New York Post wrote, "This is possibly his finest libretto, a more mature piece of writing than those he has provided for his own operas. May the two foster artistically, together and singly, in the future. Their gifts, in our time, are rare indeed." Barber never regained the stature he enjoyed during the height of his success with Vanessa. When he died of cancer in 1981 at the age of 70, his longtime companion, Menotti, was at his bedside.

The opera, although in English, opens in French with Vanessa and her niece Erica planning an elaborate dinner.

 Erica                  "Potage crème aux perles"

Major Domo        "Potage crème aux perles"

Erica                  "Ecrevissa a la bordelaise"  

Vanessa             "Find something better than that."

Erica                  "Alores...langoustines grilles sauce aux   
                           huitres' 

Major Domo        "Langoustines grilles sauce aux huitres"

Erica                  "Faisan braise au porto"
                                                                                                                                 
Vanessa                 "Sick of   pheasant...Canard." 

Erica                  "Palombes roties nature?"

Vanessa             "Better"
                                                
Erica                  "Gateau d'amandes au miel."                               

Major Domo        "Gateau d'amandes au miel." 

Erica                   "One bottle of Montrachet, two bottles of Romanée-Conti .That's all."   

The dinner set the mood for the seduction of Vanessa's niece, Erica, in the first act; an illegitimate pregnancy in the second act; and an attempted suicide and miscarriage in the third act -- a meal to remember.

Here are the recipes for the first act's seduction meal:  
 

Potage Crème aux Perles
(Cream of Pearl Onion Soup)
 

Ingredients
 
2 cups pearl onions, peeled
4 TB butter
4 cups Béchamel sauce*
 		 1/4 cup white glace de viande*
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

 
Instructions

1.       Gently heat onions in butter in a skillet over medium heat for about 5 - 7 minutes, until they soften. Do not let them brown.

2.       Add butter, onions, Béchamel sauce, and glace de viande in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* see Appendix A
 

Langoustines Gilles Sauce aux Huitres
 (Langoustines with Oyster Sauce)
 

Ingredients
 
2 lb langoustines or jumbo shrimp
3 cups court bouillon*
3/4 cups shallots
1 cup butter
2 dozen oysters
4 TB butter
 		 6 TB flour
1/2 cup clam juice (optional)
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 head Boston lettuce, braised for 5 minutes
   in 1/4 cup butter
 
Instructions
 
  1. Shell and clean 1angoustines or shrimp. Poach in boiling court bouillon for 8 minutes.
    Remove with a slotted spoon.
  2. Melt 1 cup butter in a large skillet. Cook shallots over medium heat for 5 - 6 minutes,
    until soft and translucent. Add langoustines or shrimp and cook for 5 minutes.
  3. Shuck oysters, or use canned oysters in their juices. Poach oysters in court bouillon for
    10 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Mince oysters.
  4. Make a roux in a skillet with 4 TB of butter and 6 TB flour. Slowly add 1 cup of oyster
    liquid (if not enough oyster liquid, add clam juice) to make a white sauce. Cook sauce
    over medium-low heat for 3 - 4 minutes until sauce begins to bubble. Add salt and pepper
    to taste. Add minced oysters and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
  5. Place braised lettuce on a large au gratin dish. Place 1angoustines or shrimp over lettuce. Pour on oyster sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and glaze under the broiler. Serve hot.


* see Appendix A.
 

Palombes Roties Nature
(Roast Squab)
 

Ingredients
 
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in chunks
1 cup chopped chives
2 TB grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper 		3 TB cognac
6 squab
1/2 cup melted butter, mixed with 1/2 cup cognac
watercress garnish

 
Instructions
 
  1. Place butter, chives, zest and cognac in food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process
    for 4 - 5 pulse beats. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
  2. Spread butter mixture on inside and outside of the squabs.
  3. Truss squabs and place on rack in middle of oven.
  4. Roast for 1/2 hour, basting every 10 minutes with butter cognac sauce.
    Test for doneness by piercing thigh with a knife. If the juice is pink, roast
    another 5 minutes. If juice is yellow, remove and transfer to a warm platter.
  5. Garnish with watercress.
     

Gateau d'amandes au Miel
 (Honey and Almond Cake)
 
Ingredients
 
1 cup honey
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh-brewed espresso coffee
4 eggs, separated
juice and grated zest from 1 large navel orange 


 		 3/4 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 cup ground almonds
butter for greasing cake pan
3/4 cups slivered almonds


 
Instructions
  1. Preheat over to 325º F.
  2. Beat honey, sugar, coffee, egg yolks, orange juice and zest in a large bowl until well blended.
  3. Sift the cake flour and nutmeg together in a small bowl.
  4. Fold in grated almonds.
  5. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff.
  6. Fold beaten whites into batter.
  7. Pour batter into a buttered 10" round cake pan, top with slivered almonds and bake for 45 minutes.
  8. Serve cooled to room temperature.