Bon appétit!
Comedy, Opera
Duration: 22 min
Language: Finnish
Suitability: -
Group: Saara Pääkkönen & Armaan Madar
Country: Finland
Performers: Saara Pääkkönen, Armaan Madar
Team: Ville Saukkonen (director), Saara Pääkkönen (translation), Markku Pihlaja (photos)
Description: A TV chef prepares a French chocolate cake in front of the cameras. She measures the ingredients into the bowl in a rather… rough-and-ready manner, but the end result is nonetheless a hearty chocolate delight, le gateau au chocolat l’éminence brune.
While baking, the chef gives advice on things like the proper way to melt chocolate and whisk eggs. She even challenges the stand mixer to a contest: which will get the stiff egg whites ready first, the machine or the woman?
Lee Hoiby’s (1926–2011) music is full of humor and keeps pace with the lively — at times even sensual — baking event. The styles change rapidly, ranging from musical theatre through bebop and church music to opera.
Music: Lee Hoiby (1926–2011)
Libretto: compiled by Mark Shulgasser from the words of TV chef Julia Child