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chez la cuisine de M. Coco

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Special Sandwich Roti, roasted leg of chicken, peas and almond rice, coleslaw, zadziki. Tomato stuffed with onions, bacon and cheese.

Special Sandwich

Roti, roasted leg of chicken, peas and almond rice, coleslaw, zadziki. Tomato stuffed with onions, bacon and cheese.

Filed under chicken volaille

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Polenta aux moules, crevettes pochées, cabillaud vapeur, sauce crémeuse aux poissons Shellfish polenta, poached shrimps, steamed cod, creamy fish sauce


Polenta aux moules, crevettes pochées, cabillaud vapeur, sauce crémeuse aux poissons

Shellfish polenta, poached shrimps, steamed cod, creamy fish sauce

Filed under cabillaud cod Gluck

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Moules marinières My favourite string quartet is the Debussy one. All four movements integrate so well, and each has their own progression. There are many tonal shifts typical of Debussy, but there is more structure here, it’s thoughtful; this reads more like a sonnet rather than free verse. Also there are some unusual line that I would describe as “pensive”, this is introspective music. I don’t have a good grasp of impressionist music, but when I hear this piece, it evokes the cold Pacific ocean, forlorn, grey, rocky, with seagulls singing. Or, it’s these strange, ascending and descending lines, that feel like riding an exotic wave, certainly in this third movement. I hope to visit La Vendée one day and prepare some moules marinières so close to its origin, in some Loire castle, with a bottle of Savennières and Debussy’s quartet playing. In my dreams…

Moules marinières

My favourite string quartet is the Debussy one. All four movements integrate so well, and each has their own progression. There are many tonal shifts typical of Debussy, but there is more structure here, it’s thoughtful; this reads more like a sonnet rather than free verse. Also there are some unusual line that I would describe as “pensive”, this is introspective music. I don’t have a good grasp of impressionist music, but when I hear this piece, it evokes the cold Pacific ocean, forlorn, grey, rocky, with seagulls singing. Or, it’s these strange, ascending and descending lines, that feel like riding an exotic wave, certainly in this third movement.

I hope to visit La Vendée one day and prepare some moules marinières so close to its origin, in some Loire castle, with a bottle of Savennières and Debussy’s quartet playing. In my dreams…

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Soupe de volaille, coq au vin, tarte aux pommes, grand vin merveilleux, grand cru certainement.

Chicken soup, chicken in wine, apple tart, wonderful wine with such honeyed notes to put icewines to shame.

Three performances of Aida at the Vancouver Opera so far, twice on the floor and once on the dress circle. We have six opera singers for Aida. Mlada Khudoley as Aida, Arnold Rawls as Radames, Daveda Karanas as Amneris, Quinn Kelsey as Amonasro, Morris Robinson as Ramfis, Ilya Bannik as the Pharaoh.

Khudoley fits Verdi very well in my opinion, a dynamic voice with colouring that can be metallic or warm, there was beautiful display of fil di voce and she was blowing away her colleagues and chorus at the end of Act II. From row five, yes, but from the rest of the place, it all blends in, Mlada, just don’t sing so hard, it’s wiser. Speaking of wisdom, she will be doing Abigaille, she’s insane. I still vividly remember her 2009 Salome, there were symptoms of shrinking voice by the end. Karanas’ voice sounds a lot like F. Cossotto (that is a huge compliment), although those B flats weren’t very confident. Rawls is one of the best tenors I’ve heard live, the high Cs were effortless, brilliant and oh so heroic, and unlike Karanas, he did indulge me with long sustained notes that took my breath away. Morisson’s instrument is impressive. From the fifth row the voice sounded a bit étouffé, with the tongue perhaps too close to the palate. From the dress circle, his and Karanas’ voice resonated the most however. Kelsey is also a very impressive baritone. Diction and timbre are so clean, which made the phrasing that much better. All were amazing singers… it is what we expect of opera singers, and especially Verdi singers, who must display both lyrical and dramatic qualities.

The dancers were nice.

If surtitles aren’t important, I think the floor seats closest to the stage are the best. There is the occasional senior that can’t hold it, and on opening night I did see and smell some lovely vomit on the carpet… I did expect to see younger people on the balcony, but not, still all very old people.

In all three performances, Act III began with a symphony of coughing. In all three performances, O patria mia was ruined, in all three. All three… the Vancouver audience is really amazing.

This is my last season with this opera company. The next season does not deserve patronage: La boheme, the Magic Flute (in English, native themed, I could go on and on about this one), the Pirates of Penzance (tickets certainly not worth $160, or G&S operettes do not deserve a $160 treatment), and Tea.

Filed under Arnold Rawls Daveda Karanas Mlada Khudoley Morris Robinson Quinn Kelsey Vancouver Opera chicken coq au vin pie sauce tarte volaille 2008 Pinot Gris Alsace Grand Cru