CAPE TOWN OPERA PRESENTS BON APPÉTIT AT THE VINEYARD HOTEL FROM 31 MARCH 2022
From 31 March to 3 April 2022, CAPE TOWN OPERA in collaboration with The Vineyard Hotel in Newlands will host four unique performances entitled BON APPÉTIT! The stunning music and cuisine event will take place at The Restaurant and will delight gourmands and opera lovers alike.
About the show
Award-winning Chefs Mike Bassett and Evan Coosner have curated a sumptuous five-course dinner where dishes will pair with iconic opera songs with a food focus. Think Bernstein’s Four Recipes for Voice and Piano, Bach’s unique secular Coffee Cantata and a musical monologue by American composer Lee Hoiby. BON APPÉTIT! will be under the musical direction of José Dias.
“When we decided to present a selection of food-themed operatic works,” said Chef Mike, “I looked to the chosen pieces for menu inspiration. In Bernstein’s La Bonne Cuisine, you have recipes for Plum Pudding, Oxtail and a fast-cooked rabbit stew, among others. Then you’ve got Bach’s Coffee Cantata, Bizet’s Omelette Quartet, Weill’s Ice Cream Sextet and Hoiby’s Bon Appétit!” Astute followers of the libretto will see themes from each piece threading through the menu courses: oxtail croquettes with a plum puree, a coffee martini, rabbit roulade served with omelette rolls, pistachio ice cream with a milk pudding and finally, a chocolate cake pop. “It’s an evening for adventurous diners who love opera and we are so looking forward to it!” he concluded.
Cape Town Opera
The cast of six, performing right in front of the ‘show kitchen’ that will be used as the stage area, includes soprano Janelle Visagie, who was awarded a prestigious Fleur du Cap Theatre Award in 2015 for her role as the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music at Artscape and a Fleur du Cap as Elle in La Voix Humaine in 2019. She joins Ané Pretorius (Soprano), Jodie Khan (Soprano), Siphesihle Mdena (Tenor), Van Wyk Venter (Baritone) and Garth Delport (Bass). Janelle will perform Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appétit!
All tables will face the performance area. Seating is limited due to Covid restrictions, and advance booking is advised, especially since all Vineyard Hotel dinner – theatre events are highly sought after.
How to book
BON APPÉTIT! runs from Thursday 31 March to Sunday 3 April 2022 at 19h00. Tickets cost R950 per person through Quicket. Guests wishing to stay over can take advantage of The Vineyard’s accommodation offer of 10% off the room rate when booking directly and using the promo code “Direct”.
For more info, call Masixole Makwetu at Cape Town Opera on 021 001 9880
See also: La Petit Chef comes to Cape Town
Fatima is the editor of Food&Home. Trained in English Literature and recipe development, she can be found eating her way through Cape Town armed with a cookbook in her bag and her camera at the ready.