Placed in medieval Germany, in magical place called Venusberg, residence of Venus...
The opening scene in the Venusberg is bohemian with an erotic charge but also somewhat repulsive.This Tannhäuser is staged more contemporary, quite imaginative, dramatic, with excellent eye-catching sets; including "cupid" walking on the ceiling; a reference to the internal division and chaos. The minstrel (a medieval European bard) Tannhäuser praises the goddess of beauty and enjoys living a bourgeois life; but... he began thinking for the simple pleasures and pains of earthly life and his beloved Elizabet...
Emi, accessing the difference between western style opera and Nogaku - a classical Japanese musical drama :-)
Tannhäuser has a brilliant cast. The title role of Tannhäuser (Stig Fogh Andersen), quite challenging for a tenor, was executed very good. Same goes for Elisabeth (Tina Kiberg) and Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tom Erik Lie). Venus (Hermine May) needs a voice with beauty and lyricism... The Tannhäuser is performed very rare and this particular performance is a fine example a modern interpretation of Wagner opera performance. The finale of the Tannhäuser is considered as most popular of the Wagner's early works. It has a clear trace of Italian operatic style, so if one haven't experienced Wagner before, this is probably the easiest start.Copenhagen, Operaen, Store ScenePeriod: 20 December - 1 Februar
I try to go beyond my abilities to make the world a better place and a few exceptional contributors and their stories are an inspiration to me, so please guys and girls; we are looking forward for more!
This is a contribution from Christina, welcome ;-)
On what must have been the coldest day yet this winter, I decided to pay hommage to the Nordic spirit and enjoy smørrebrød for lunch at Aamanns (Østerbro, CPH).Mind you, this was neither the everyday liver paste and pickled beetroot squashed into your lunchbox. Nor the grotesque pile of smelly shrimps on bone dry and sour bread that tourists usually stumble across.No, this was smørrebrød in a contemporary and truly Nordic sense: simple but with decent ingredients and presented in a minimalistic, elegant way.Unfortunately I didn't think of bringing my mobile :-( (sorry guys!).I still believe I should share the experience, though. So hopefully, you will still find this post inspiring.Professional restraintThe menu immediately reveals that you're in for 'simple and restrained'; Aamann is a pro and knows his stuff. He has no need to boast about it by presenting more than he can cope with.I chose 'Aamanns lunch', which is the chef's selection of fish (herring), meat, patés, veg and cheese.First..The herring was served first. Two kinds, pickled and fried. Strutting their stuff on a small, wooden board, looking gorgeous and delicate and very comfortable on small slices of perfectly moist and smokey rye bread. A single layer of snow white shallot was lying on the edge of the board, longing to be picked up by the herring. A cheeky detail that I loved.Second..Next, a platter of three small dishes- Salad of cod in a light, yet still smooth/ creamy dressing (yogurt?)- Home made paté (postej) with hazelnuts and pork, decorated with watercress- Fried goose with dried cranberriesThird..A soft, danish cheese (Christian something...) full of taste, garnished with a relish made from pears and mustard seedsAll of the dishes were accompanied by plenty of rye bread as well as delicious bread made from a mix of rye and spelt (hmmm don't know the English word for this, and cannot be bothered to look it up right now)DrinkI chose a light beer to go with the food, which suited the food nicely.For those of you who are into snaps, Aamanns has quite a few homemade ones to try out.ImpressionsThe goose was a little too dry for my taste, but no fault of the kitchen. Everything had been prepared perfectly and true to the traditions of smørrebrød, but with a modern touch.Towards the end of the meal, I found myself lingering, not really wanting to finish and be forced to leave. Somehow Aamann succeeds in giving you the rich, full taste of Danish winter cuisine without leaving you constipated for days and swearing to give up meat and fat forever :-DA perfect Danish winter lunch.Check out the full menu (and a cool image gallery) on Aamanns homepage.PsstRemember to book a table in advance! The place was packed.Kugger
I guess you're bored with suggestions for Christmas wines for every occasion and every budget... So, I've waited for January to come ;-)
2006 Chateau Kamnik, Ten Barrels, Cabernet, Macedonia
Deep ruby, ripe black fruits, game, mocha... very complex. Full boded, perfectly balanced, with ripe and silky tannins. Gorgeous long finish... Drinks very well now but will develop even more complexity, so keep. (93 pts)
2004 Umathum, Blaufränkisch, Austria
Smooth with some chocolate. Odd in taste but elegant and very pure. (89-90 pts)
2005 Antinori Tignanello, Tuscany
Ruby with some serious aromas of spices and tobacco. Excellent balance, well structured but somewhat too jammy on the palate. Big vine with a pleasant and long finish. Probably to young so I'll check it once more in about couple of years. (89 pts)
This is contribution from my friend Rickard Zerpe; enjoy!
The street rep of this joint puts it right up there with with the big guys; like for example Mizutani, and the word is that the captain of the establishment, Nagayama-san is a stern and somewhat eccentric fish otaku so it was not without a dash of fear we entered his modest sushi bar in Shimbashi.
working hours ;-)
Rickard and Marcus
Nagayama-san surprised me with his chatty and happy manners. He proudly fetched a copy of one of his sushi books for us to use through out the lunch to look up the various fishes that made up the 10.000 Yen omakase we ordered.
ready for omakase...
Due to the new years holiday, the supply of fish was a bit limited, something that turned out to be a mixed blessing.
Nagayama-sans opening of the meal was a bit of disappointment. For the life of me I cannot remember what it was and we failed to nail the little bugger on photo too. My memory tells me it was some sort of white, stringy fish that left me far from impressed. Might have been Hirasuzuki, Sea Bass.
Saba (Mackerill). What a comeback! The Saba was nothing less than jaw dropping deliciousness. The only Saba I have tasted that could rival this one was at the aforementioned Mizutani. Due to the limited supply of fish this time of year, Nagayama-san served us Saba twice.
Kohada. Nagayama-san continued the course with another master piece. The Kohada is supposedly very difficult to get right, but Nagayama-san really came through here.
Ika (Squid). One member of our party can usually not stand squid, but he had nothing but praise for this one.
Shibi maguro (Young tuna). Not so fatty as the Oootoro, but very rich in taste.
Ootoro (super fatty tuna). Excellent! Accordingly to Nagayama-san he usually does not serve this one for lunch, but due to the limited fish supply he chose to serve us this 2000 Yen a pop Ootoro. This was the high point of the meal for me.
Ikura (Salmon Roe). Nothing to complain about here. Very good, though a bit pale in comparison to the amazing Oootoro.
Hotate no kaibashira(scallops). Excellent.
Kisu no kobusime (Japanese sillago). The Kisu is a bit blend in taste. To remedy that, kelp is used to inject flavor in the fish. Very good.
Kuruma ebi (Prawn). I cannot remember anything in particular about this one.
Miso soup
Uni (Sea urshin). Very tasty. The uni carried lots of interesting flavors.
Mushi anago (Steamed sea eel). One of my favorites. So rich in taste! A bit messy on the fingers though.
Temaki sushi. I have no special memories of this one except that Nagayama-san urged us to eat it very fast. In fact so fast that we failed to catch it on photo.
Tamago. Good, but not all that memorable.
Onigara yaki (Grilled shrimp). Awful! Onigarayaki is supposed to be crunchy and crispy, but this one was undercooked and hence virtually impossible to chew. After chewing on a tiny piece for a few minutes I gave up. None of us could eat it. A total disaster. Too bad Nagayama-san ended the otherwise excellent course in this way.
With the exception of the disastrous closing of the meal, Dai San Harumi delivered an exceptionally good lunch to a very favorable price. The highlights of the course definitely compares with that of the big guys, but the quality seemed a bit more uneven if, compared to, for example with that of Mizutani.
Dai San Harumi,
1-17-7 Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
