TREASURED VOICES RETURNS TO WWFM

After an absence of two years, Treasured Voices will return to WWFM tomorrow afternoon, January 24th, directly after the broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera. It's a monthly feature, and that's simply because it's quite a lot of work, and I don't believe that I could manage one each week. Tomorrow's subject is Italian baritone Ettore Bastianini, who passed away when he was only 44 years old. And what a voice. A nice feature at WWFM is that if you miss the broadcast, you can go to the website, http://www.wwfm.org/

and listen to a webcast. The subject of February's Treasured Voices is American mezzo-soprano Frederica Von Stade. The date is February 28th.
You can check the upcoming schedule by going to
http://www.treasuredvoices.org

A MAGNIFICENT MEAL

One of our favorite restaurants is the Frenchtown Inn, in Frenchtown, New Jersey. We were there a few nights ago, and as usual, we were delighted with their exquisite food. There is a beautiful photograph on their website, which is

http://www.frenchtowninn.com

The photo is of my favorite salad, and I hope this does it justice. It is a salad of delicious lettuces dressed in a flavorful vinaigette with warmed goat cheese, roasted garlic, luscious bacon pieces, and two apple beignettes. It is an inspired creation. The rest of the meal was equally as thrilling.

FROM MYSTERIOUS PODS TO EXOTIC FLOWERS

This time of year, we celebrate our anniversary a lot, and the other day, my husband brought home some fascinating flowers. They were called Three Pod Lillies, and they resembled something from outer space. They had very long stems and and each stem had three eerie looking hefty greenish pods. Each day they changed, and the pods grew fatter. After about a week, they started to open, and soon, there they were--gorgeous, voluminous lillies. What a treat. Thanks, Ken.

A MIND-BOGGLING DINNER

I was trying to shake myself out of my rut today. Usually, on Saturday nights I eat a very early dinner (cereal, as a rule) and go to bed by 7:30 PM in order to awaken very early for my opera show Sunday morning. I was not in the mood for that senario and went to the mall with my husband.While he took a walk I thought I would try a simple dinner at one of the fast food outlets. This turned out to be a disastrous error. I ordered a chicken sandwich, which was so salty, I should have returned it to the counter. I didn't and just sat there and ate it because I was hungry. Actually the place was fairly peaceful-----until, about a third of the way through my salty repast, three teenagers sat down in front of me. One of them, a very young woman, was carrying a crying baby. If I had had any brains, I would have thrown away the nasty sandwich and skedaddled out of there. But I decided to see what would happen next. What I witnessed was beyond my wildest nightmares. The young woman put the baby down on the chair next to hers and proceeded to change the baby's diaper....right there in the restaurant ! There was no way that I could miss this because I was facing them. After the baby was changed, she picked the baby up and left the dirty diaper on the seat. And then she began her meal without excusing herself to wash her hands.

What has happened to people's sense of decorum,consideration, and sanitation?? Don't people have common sense anymore? Should we all accept this behavior?

A Sangria Story

What has happened to Sangria? When did restaurants begin to dilute it with citrus flavored soda? I was appalled last night when I was served Sangria that tasted like soda pop. The standard recipe for Sangria includes good red wine, slices and juice of lemons and oranges, some Triple Sec, some brandy, and cut up apple. I discussed this with the waitress, who brought it to the attention of the bartender. He said that his recipe included Sprite! We had a pleasant chat with the manager, who admitted that their recipe was changed in August. So much for Sangria in that restaurant. Corporate has done it again.....

Goodbye to Broadway Voices

Last Monday, September 8th, my last Broadway Voices aired for the season. I enjoyed doing the program so much and hope to have the opportunity to prepare more shows next Summer. My collection of original cast recordings of Broadway shows continues to grow, and I will look forward to sharing them with listeners. Now it's time to concentrate once again on opera.

VERY SAD NEWS

I learned today, from Bill Ronayne, President of the Mario Lanza Society, that Mario Lanza's son, Damon Lanza, has passed away. He died on Saturday, August 16th at the age of 55. It's been a very sad day here.