Bon App
Published Saturday, December 21, 2019
“A party without cake is just a meeting.”
That quote has been attributed to the legendary Julia Child. But even if she didn’t say it, it certainly exemplifies her spirit.
How appropriate, then, that the Toledo Opera is hosting a party of its own in her honor on Jan. 13, complete with chocolate cake: Bon Appétit!, a one-woman performance starring mezzo-soprano Lindsey Anderson as everyone’s favorite French chef.
“We’re doing it as kind of an outreach,” said Suzanne Rorick, executive director of the Toledo Opera — an introduction and an invitation to those who are unfamiliar with the art form.
“Opera tells stories,” she continued. And this is a story that people who’ve watched The French Chef can relate to.
Bon Appétit! — named for Mrs. Child’s signature closing phrase on her original public television program which aired from 1963 to 1973 — is a short, comedic piece by American composer Lee Hoiby with lyrics adapted by Mark Shulgasser. It will be staged in the ballroom at the Secor Building, 144 N. Superior St., with Toledo Opera artistic director Kevin Bylsma as the accompanist.
The opera is based upon an episode in which a deliciously decadent Gâteau au Chocolat L’Éminence Brune was prepared. And so, Ms. Anderson will be bustling about a kitchen set and beating together a cake batter as she sings (in English) as Mrs. Child.
Jean Stapleton, famous for her performance as Edith Bunker on All in the Family, “was the first Julia Child in this,” Ms. Rorick said.
In December, 1986, Ms. Stapleton wrote to the star chef, lauding “the great pleasure, joy, and information you exude in your telecasts” which demonstrate “that cooking is a simple art which everyone can undertake and succeed in with glorious results.”
Just as Mrs. Child had made French cuisine approachable, Ms. Stapleton and her friend Mr. Hoiby wanted to offer a live theater experience that would showcase the chef and make opera accessible, too.
Mrs. Child wrote back that she considered it “an intriguing idea,” adding that she “would certainly be honored and delighted to be part of [the] program.”
She proposed bouillabaisse or Chicken Marengo as possible recipes to simulate while singing. “Certainly something with lots of drama to it” would be preferred, she suggested.
After some further correspondence, they settled on the luscious chocolate cake. And Bon Appétit premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 1989.
“Many times, over the years,” Ms. Rorick said, “I’ve thought we needed to do this.”
But the necessary ingredients just weren’t coming together ... until this past April, that is, when the Toledo Opera produced The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Ms. Anderson, who played a supporting role in that work, received an extraordinarily glowing review from Wayne F. Anthony for The Blade. He wrote that “[her] work is simply a tour de force of both musicianship and acting. ... Her voice is massive, replete with color, even across all registers, and she is clearly always in control of her musical line.”
And this immensely talented woman just happened to mention, in conversation that spring, that “she sings Julia Child,” Ms. Rorick recalled with joy.
Needless to say, Ms. Anderson was invited to return to Toledo for this sweet, savory role.
Fans of the French chef can choose to attend the opera at 8 p.m., complete with champagne beforehand, dessert afterwards, and an opportunity to view the River House Arts Gallery’s 10th anniversary celebration exhibit Cake. This package costs $40 per person.
For a full evening’s VIP experience, at $150, patrons will experience all of this and also be greeted earlier, at 6 p.m., with champagne and hors d’oeuvres.
They will then enjoy a multi-course Julia Child-inspired dinner before the performance, prepared by one of Toledo’s own great chefs, Erika Rapp, at her restaurant, Registry Bistro. (The restaurant staff also will prepare the actual chocolate cakes to be served after the show.)
“I love Julia Child,” Ms. Rapp said with great affection.
“I was sorting through recipes to find representative dishes,” she said. “It was difficult to choose.”
So Ms. Rapp pored through Mrs. Child’s cookbooks, watched some of her old television shows, perused articles, and ultimately devised a menu worthy of the woman being honored at the event, with her own personal touches.
Dishes will include duck confit, small quiches Florentine, Gruyère cheese soufflés, and a beet-arugula salad with sherry-orange vinaigrette.
That last one of Mrs. Child’s, Ms. Rapp said, “It’s modern, still. Those dishes that she’s known for are still relevant today.”
There will be a Chilean sea bass stew, Ms. Rapp continued, and a quintessentially French boeuf Bourguignon.
“It’s really rustic — perfect for January,” she said.
“I’m excited — it’s going to be a really special night,” Ms. Rapp said. “It’s always fun when I get to be inspired by art.”
As for the one-night only performance of Bon Appétit!, “It’s comical. It’s satire. And it’s a little over the top,” Ms. Rorick enthused.
“That’s kind of a fun thing!”