Friday, February 11, 2011

Ghost Hill at Sabai

I stopped by Sabai today for a sip after a long drive back from Portland where we saw an "odd" version of Tourandot (more on that later). Tim had a drink for me that he said would relax me, put me in a better mood, and make the rest of my day one of "no worries". "Sabai Sabai" is made with ginger infused simple syrup, fresh ginger shavings, rum, and alime twist. He was right! Not overly sweet and with just a hint of lime over the ginger's warmth, it hit te sot.
Now, about the opera: Winderlea Wine Co. sponsored the Portland Opera's Tourandot and I thank them endlessly for supporting the arts here in Oregon. They have always been generous with their donation to our :"One Bottle" project. That said: WHO MAKES A TENOR SIT DOWN TO SING NESS EN DORMA???
For those not familiar with the story, here is a brief synopsis from The Met.
Here is a review by  James McQuillen for the Oregonian:

Some of the visual touches are brilliant: In Act II, the color-coded ministers Ping, Pang and Pong work at identical red desks under a banner proclaiming "Gli enigmi sono tre, la morte è una" -- "the riddles are three, death is one," referring to the princess' deadly test; at the beginning of the next scene, the banner is torn down to reveal the chorus in a glowing green gallery. Others are less effective, such as the prince's garb, which suggests nothing in particular except "black leather tent." More

It was staged in ( this is pure conjecture on my part) Milan in the late 1930's by someone who watched too many bad Italian dramas. The usual flourish of bright costumes were replaced by the black and white shirts and pants of office workers, the main character had been replaced with her grandmother, and , well I will leave it here and you can go see it for yourself.
We are subscribers so we enjoy most of what they do. This, save for small bits, was the exception.
Back to Sabai. Tim is serving Ghost Hill '08 Pinot Noir , a wine that will stand up to ANY spicy foods you care to bring on. I was surprised at how well it matched with Thai foods but we will be trying a glass this Sunday!

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