Dark Castle dulce de leche filled chocolate cupcakes

This Dark Castle band cupcake is by Metalcakes (go there for the recipe!), and is a dulce de leche-filled chocolate cupcake, via Invisible Oranges.

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Giveaway: Win A One Haute Cupcake Charm From Sweet Bling

Sweet Bling  is giving away this One Haute Cupcake™ hand-stamped charm.  The sterling silver charm is topped off with a dazzling ruby. This is one of three pieces of jewelry that Sweet Bling sells that benefits TERI (Training, Education & Research Institute), a private, non-profit agency serving the needs of children and adults with autism. And right now you can can get 20% off your Sweet Bling order if you join the Sweet Bling® mailing list. Please DON'T leave a comment for entry. Use this form to enter the contest. U.S. Residents Only.

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Fallen Masks on the Rhine: David McVicar completes his Ring in Strasbourg

Götterdämmerung, Opéra National du Rhin (ONR) in Strasbourg, February 25 2011

The Mask of Erda  in front of the ONR in Strasbourg

Well, well, well... Here is your very example to understand the magic formula held by David McVicar. Instead of trying to throw some ground ideas to stage the Ring, he decided to dethrone Otto Schenk as the best reference for the classically staged Ring des Nibelungen, and he succeeded in doing so. Big Time, I should add!

This show illustrates why McVicar is usually praised across the board, by traditionalists and modernists alike. He gives the traditionalists what they want -- a clear narrative action that closely follows the libretto. On the other end, if you prefer to see more theatrical dynamics on the stage, then you cannot not be impressed after seeing the non-trivial acting in this show, a constant action on the stage, together with a few ideas to distinct this Ring from anything else you've seen before. The action is vibrant, and when the singers cannot sing and run around the stage at the same time, David sends in a few extras to keep the drama in motion, without ever hindering the limpidity of the narrative action.

I remember to have read Intermezzo several times complaining about the revivals of McVicar's shows at the ROH mounted without David supervising. If you see this show you can understand why. This production would be much less interesting if the direction of actors was not so brilliantly constructed. That's his talent and he deserves all the praise for that.

The Strasbourg Ring that started 4 years ago, and it was an instant success. Many people found it fascinating, and the shows were praised by pretty much everyone. The Götterdämmerung is maybe the best of four, as everything seemed to work well. No weak point/link at all!

I should first start with the Orchestra that I found amazingly well conducted by Marko Letonja. He was apparently invited to conduct Die Walküre in this Ring and seduced everyone: the orchestra, the critics and the public. Not surprisingly we learn that starting from the Fall 2012 he will become the musical director of this Orchestra [he will take the position from the current director, Marc Albrecht].  One important reason of why this music made so strong impression on all of us in the auditorium of ONR on the night of the premiere is that it was so marvelously executed, and the theater is of the human size, the balance between the sound of the orchestra and the volume of the singers was impeccable, and Marko Letonja was really pulling the strings during the whole show. He would perfectly swing from the lyrical moments into dramatic climaxes, emphasizing almost all the leitmotives with equal care.  Great GREAT Wagnerian conductor!

Second asset in this production are definitely the singers. Lance Ryan is a phenomenal Siegfried. First of all, his looks help a lot the credibility of his incarnation [of Siegfried]. Vocally he steam-rolls through the show with an astonishing ease in the upper register (which is perhaps what distinguishes him the most from other helden-tenors today), and with an impressive endurance. I would like to see him sing in a larger venue before jumping on the bandwagon, but boy was he impressive at the Strasbourg premiere!

Jeanne Michèle Charbonnet has it all for a fantastically engaging Brünnhilde. She only missed her first high note, but all the rest was done with a fascinating intensity, with a refined sense for gradually guiding her voice through lyric and dramatic moments of the 5 & a half hours long show, and with a highly climactic Immolation scene. Brava!

I very much liked Daniel Sumegi's Hagen, a singer that I've listened to for the first time and who has  that irresistible rich but dark and very powerful voice. I believe he was giving an extra punch to his vocal volume on the premiere -- I don't believe he can sustain this level of intensity for the entire series of shows. His excellent incarnation of the villain character is emphasized by his vocal authority on the scene, and David McVicar's guidance completed his perfect portrayal.

Robert Bork at first seemed less interested in taking part in what seemed like a contest of big voices, but then in Act-Two he switched to power-5 and he did what always amazes each one of us attending one of these long Wagner operas -- that ease and stamina to deal with tough passages in the later parts of the show, to eventually beam through orchestra when you're supposed to run out of gas. Bravo!

The cast completed equally excellent Nancy Weissbach and Hanne Fischer, both bringing by their presence and their voices extra-life  and extra-intensity to the stage action.

Props are also due to Alberich, Norns, Rhienmädchen, and of course the chorus

What about the show? It is difficult to describe it and make it more interesting than what you can already read in the libretto.  A video excerpt of the show that I found on the Internet (see below) is not showing much. You simply have to go and see it yourselves... to feel the whole atmosphere and appreciate what the director and his team managed to do.

McVicar is not making attempts to give his Ring a social or political character.  He instead gives it a personal touch by connecting it with different civilizations, different cultures -- all belonging to one and  the same humanity. All the Gods are depicted by masks, that will burn out in the end of this show. Hagen is in a samurai costume, African masks are hanging on the walls, Gunther and Gutrune are wearing the golden attires, the Gold of Rhine is actually a dancer whom Brünnhilde will give the golden mask that will fit his face and reestablish the harmony in the depth of the Rhine... On the mountaintop where Brünnhilde is alone, there is a stone-sculpture resembling one of the masks. Erda's mask is the largest and the most important one, and that is the mask that is disintegrating during the whole cycle (and probably the one hanging on the theater.)

Waltraute comes on her horse: like in Die Walküre, the head of the horse is made of wire that is carried by an acrobat who is bouncing on metal stilts all over the stage [c.f. 2nd production pic below].

This is to be contrasted with the Robert Lepage production at the Met where the recent classical narrative staging of Das Rheingold was all about huge decors, elaborated costumes,  terabytes of video images, which however spectacularly failed in theatrical/acting department. McVicar proofs here that with moderately expensive decors and requisites, but with an excellent eye for theatrical dynamics through accurate direction of actors, one can produce a riveting narrative Ring. 

Some friends accuse me to be exclusively favoring the "Regie productions". Do what McVicar did here or in his Zauberflöte and you can see I'm not! Kudos to David & his team, to Letonja & his orchestra, and of course to the brilliant cast too! 5 and a half hours that felt like 2.

My CC pics:

Marko Letonja - EL GRANDE!

Nancy Weissbach and Robert Bork

Daniel Sumegi - Hagen (Hanne Fischer in the back)

Brünnhilde - Jeanne-Michèle Cherbonnet

Lance Ryan, happy between the director and the conductor

Lance Ryan again

McVicar team - happy and triumphant!

No dance à la Herheim after the premiere, but David was visibly happy

McVicar team again: Rae Smith, Jo Van Schuppen, Paule Constable, Andrew George, Vicki Hallam, David Greeves

Lance Ryan

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Kahlua drenched cupcakes by JavaCupcake.com

Yesterday was National Kahlua Day.  Oh yes,  I celebrated with cupcakes! I made a moist chocolate cake, drenched it in Kahlua then topped it with a Kahlua buttercream and a dusting of chocolate.  Oh heavens, it's almost too divine to eat.

Kahlua drenched Chocolate cupcakes
Makes approx 21 cupcakes (would make more if you put less batter in the cups)

½ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tbsp espresso powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water

Kahlua – yes, a whole bottle.

1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Line your cupcake pan with liners.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until completely combined or about 2 minutes.
3. Pour yourself a drink. Yes, use the Kahlua you just bought for these cupcakes. Take a big drink.
4. While they are mixing, whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
5. Alternating flour and buttermilk, add the flour in thirds, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the sides and only mix until combined.
6. Fold in the hot water and mix until combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full.
8. Take another drink.
9. Bake for 10 minutes then rotate pan. Bake another 5 minutes.
10. Who are we kidding here. By now, you’ll need to pour another drink to sip on while these are cooking.
11. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then to a wire wrack to finish.
12. While still warm, poke 8-9 holes in the cupcakes with a toothpic.
13. Using a brush, drench the cupcakes with Kahlua. Three times. Yes, you want LOTS of Kahlua in your cupcakes.

JavaCupcake's Kahlua Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2lbs (1 bag) of powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup milk

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer using the WHISK attachment, whip the butter.
2. Do you still have your drink? Take a sip, or gulp.
3. One cup at a time, add the sifted powdered sugar. Scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition and mixing until thoroughly combined.
4. Between each addition of sugar, alternate between adding the Kahlua and milk.
5. Whip on high for 2-3 minutes.
6. Chill for 5-10 minutes before piping onto cupcakes.
7. Dust each cupcake with dark chocolate cocoa powder.
8. Pour one last drink, get a cupcake, and relax!

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"Chocolate Malt" cupcakes from The Culinary Chronicles

Blogger The Culinary Chronicles does it again with these "Chocolate Malt" cupcakes (via Flickr). Visit her blog to get the recipe. She writes:

Thus was my inspiration to give these “Chocolate Malt” cuppies a try. I turned to Martha Stewart’s recipe and was happy to find that my sister had a jar of Horlicks Malt Powder on hand. I did make two minor tweaks to her recipe as I read that folks found that the cake didn’t have enough malt flavor. As a result, I increased the malt powder amount by an additional 1/4 cup and folded in a 1/2 cup of chocolate covered malt balls into the batter. As for the recipe, it was quite easy to follow–pretty much a one bowl situation. And when I pulled the cuppies out of the oven, I was pleased to see beautiful even domes on the tops.

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Mini hummingbird cupcakes and more by Charming Confections

These cupcakes are all by blogger Charming Confections via their Flickr account.

mini hummingbird cupcakes

lemon berry and raspberry swirl cupcakes

hot cocoa cupcakes

pina colada cupcakes

blue and purple hydrangea cupcakes

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Cupcake item I'd forgotten about: Cupcake Tissue Holder

At the Neatoshop, I found this Cupcake Sniffle Tissue Holder, which they're selling for $24.95. Just as I was about to blog this, I saw that I'd already blogged it in 2009 (Perpetual Kid also sells it), but since even I'd forgotten about it, I thought you might be interested.

Cupcake Sniffle Tissue Holder:

Fits most store-bought tissue box

Size: 7" x 8.3" x 9.4" (17.8 cm x 21.1 cm x 23.9 cm)

cupcake clock

cupcake soaps

Cupcake Manicure Kit:

Travel manicure kit

Zipper case shaped like a cupcake with embroidered design

5-piece kit includes nail clippers, cuticle scissors, tweezer, nail file, and cuticle pusher

Compact and perfect for traveling

Size: 3-1/2" x 4" x 1" (9 cm x 10 cm x 2.5 cm)

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Inception-inspired Oscar cupcakes with absinthe

From The Daily News Online:

New York pastry chef Martin Howard was inspired by Inception when he created the "Treat within a Treat" cupcake. Where the film excites fans with a dream within a dream scenario, Martin created a devil's food cupcake that is filled with butter cream. The filling is concealed by a topping of chocolate ganache.

"I added my own twist on the traditional butter cream with a hint of Lucid absinthe to add an extra layer of flavor, and, of course, as a nod to the film's lucid dreams," he says.

AP Photo/Matthew Mead via The Daily News Online

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Dr. Seuss cupcakes by Sugar Swings! Serves Some: Green Eggs and Ham, Lorax Truffula Trees and Thing 1 and Thing 2

These fun Dr. Seuss cupcakes are all by blogger Sugar Swings! Serves Some (via Flickr) - visit the blog to find out exactly what she used to make them.

Green Eggs & Ham cupcakes

Lorax Truffula tree cupcakes

Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes

various Dr. Seuss cupcakes

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Meow meow meow, now with truffles

Both the animal lover and cupcake fan in me loves this "Mew Mew Tower:"




Extra-awesome fabulousness by pinguino.

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