Joanna C.Lee

小瓊：首先祝大家新年快樂！一提到新年，我就想到團圓飯上的一道道佳肴。這又讓我想起多年前看過的一場電影。當時我整個中午都很忙，沒來得及吃午飯，所以下午看電影的時候胃就不停地咕咕叫，非常痛苦。

小薇：那是什么電影呢？

小瓊：你知道李安1994年執(zhí)導的《飲食男女》嗎？那是一部略帶悲情的喜劇片，講的是一位大廚父親，對他來說烹飪就是生活的意義和目標。可每到重要的家庭聚餐時，三個女兒總會有一個人做出令一家驚訝的事。影片精心攝制了這些美味菜肴的每一個制作步驟，看得我口水直流，肚子直叫。甚至連蒸、炒、煮、炸等烹飪手法的聲效都捕捉得恰到好處。從此我跟自己說好：再也不餓著肚子看美食片了。而最近，費城歌劇院的一部網(wǎng)上歌劇又讓我回憶起那段經(jīng)歷。

小薇：我看到官網(wǎng)的信息，費城歌劇院之前在線播放了《祝你好胃口》，一部20分鐘長的歌劇。

小瓊：李·霍以比（1926～2011）譜寫了這部歌劇——或者說，把一個原本的電視烹飪節(jié)目《法國大廚》改編成了歌劇?！斗▏髲N》由朱莉婭·查爾德（1912～2004）主持，是當年非常受歡迎的電視節(jié)目，被譽為“將法式烹飪帶到了美國人的家中”?；粢员鹊拇顧n馬克·舒爾加瑟把其中兩集的臺本改編成了喜歌劇，1989年的時候在肯尼迪中心首演?！蹲Ｄ愫梦缚凇肥且徊开毥菓颍梢幻幸麸椦葜炖驄I·查爾德，給觀眾展示如何制作巧克力蛋糕。劇中展現(xiàn)了蛋糕制作的每一個步驟，從融化巧克力、篩玉米淀粉，一直到打蛋清、烤蛋糕。

小薇：《祝你好胃口》這部短歌劇具有強大的可塑性，不僅在大大小小的舞臺上演出過，甚至還進過餐廳，由室內(nèi)樂團或是僅僅靠鋼琴來伴奏。

小瓊：杰米·巴頓在這次的網(wǎng)絡版中飾演朱莉婭·查爾德，演得真的很有意思。里面有一段她甚至把一滴融化的巧克力涂到了鼻子上！幸而這次看之前我吃過了一塊蛋糕，不然肚子又要不高興了。

Joan： First of all， Happy New Year！ Whenever I think of New Year， I think of the fine array of foods at family dinners. And that reminds me of a film I saw years ago. I was in such a rush one afternoon that I ran to the cinema having missed lunch， so my stomach kept growling and growling during the screening. It was quite painful.

Valery： Which film was that？

Joan： Have you heard of Ang Lees Eat Drink Man Woman from 1994？ It is a bittersweet comedy about a father who is a master-chef， his cooking giving meaning and purpose to his life. At every major family meal， something dramatic happens to one of his three daughters. Amazing scenes detail every step in making these elaborate dishes， and my mouth was watering while my stomach kept growling. Even the sounds of steaming， frying and boiling were so wellcaptured. Since then， Ive made a promise to myself： always have a full stomach before I watch another film about food. Most recently， Opera Philadelphia presented an online production that brought back these memories.

Valery： I read on the opera companys website that they just put on Bon Appetit！， a 20-minute opera.

Joan： Lee Hoiby （1926–2011） composed this opera—or really， adapted what was originally a TV cooking show， The French Chef， hosted by Julia Child （1912–2004）. The French Chef， which was widely credited for introducing French cooking to American households， was very popular during its time. Transcripts from two episodes were adapted by Hoibys partner Mark Shulgasser into a comic libretto and premiered at the Kennedy Center in 1989. Bon Appetit！ is a onewoman show， with a mezzo soprano playing Julia Child showing the audience how to make a chocolate cake. It includes all of the little steps： from melting the chocolate， sifting cornstarch， to whisking egg white and baking the cake.

Valery： Bon Appetit！ was such a malleable short opera that its been produced on stages large and small and even in restaurants， accompanied by chamber ensemble or just on the piano.

Joan： Jamie Barton played Julia Child in the Opera Philadelphia stream， and I can assure you it was delightfully fun. At one point， she even had a speck of melted chocolate on her nose！ And this time， I had a piece of cake before the show. My stomach was happy！