COOKING WITH OPERA 2024
Cooking with Opera is back on the menu!
The artistry of opera and the culinary artistry of Subiaco’s most beloved restaurants and bars once again collide in West Australian Opera’s 2024 iteration of Cooking with Opera.
For centuries opera, its singers, composers, and opera houses have inspired some of the world’s greatest chefs to create decadent dishes in their honour, demonstrating how much the beloved art form has impacted our cultural landscape beyond the stage.
From the Peach Melba celebrating legendary Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, to the famous opera cake created by Auguste Escoffier in honour of Paris’ Palais Garnier, and the classic pasta dish Pasta alla Norma named after Bellini’s diva; opera’s impact has truly engulfed the culinary scene for centuries and is now set to crescendo throughout the streets of Subiaco with Cooking with Opera.
From 23 March - 6 April, West Australian Opera proudly presents you the music, flavours, and aromas of opera with a showstopping series of activations and limited-edition menu offerings worth singing about!
Visit some of your favourite Subiaco venues to discover a series of opera-inspired food and drinks!
ACCENT CAFÉ
Peach Melba Pancakes: $22.50
BAR AMELIE
Amelie's Dame Nellie Melba Champagne Cocktail: $25
Paired with six Natural Oysters: $20
Amelie's The Rossini Classic Cocktail: $20
Paired with Pork and Fennel Chorizo Meatballs, Tomato Sugo: $15
CHERUBINO CITY CELLAR
The Gaston Opera Cocktail: $22
LUMS WINE BAR
Puccini Cocktail: $16
Cooking with Opera: Pasta Workshop at Accent Café with the Multicultural Language Centre
6.30pm, Friday 5 April
Become a maestro in the kitchen with See Subiaco and West Australian Opera’s Cooking with Opera pasta workshop at Accent Café with the Multicultural Language Centre.
Opera has influenced the Italian way of life well beyond the theatre; with piazzas, streets, festivals and also many dishes named after famous opera composers, singers, and arias. In this hands-on workshop, Multicultural Language Centre’s Liliana Aguirre and cook and author Daniele Foti-Cuzzola will guide you through the step-by-step process on how to make two authentic operatic pasta dishes - Pasta alla Norma and Spaghetti alla Turridù which were named after two iconic opera characters, Norma from Bellini’s opera of the same name and Turridù from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
Prior to cooking, you will receive a special Cooking with Opera Rossini cocktail on arrival and graze on light Italian refreshments before getting to work on our pasta dishes and then enjoying them together in a long table dinner in Accent Café’s stunning alfresco area followed by a showstopping operatic treat for dessert.
Date: 6.30pm, Friday 5 April
Venue: Accent Cafe, 292 Hay St, Subiaco
Tickets: $150
Each ticket includes a gift bag and printed recipes for you to take home so you can recreate these dishes at home.
Opera at Subi Night Market
7 pm, Saturday 6 April
Marketplaces have been a popular backdrop for many famous opera scenes, and it seems fitting for West Australian Opera and See Subiaco’s Cooking with Opera series to have its grand finale at Subi Night Market, a setting where music and food collide.
Experience the power of the human voice in an extraordinary operatic performance from soprano Naomi Johns, one of West Australian Opera's leading stars, ahead of her role in upcoming production Rusalka.
Date: 7 pm, Saturday 6 April
Venue: Subi Night Market, Market Square, Subiaco
An operatic soirée at La Bastide
PAST EVENT
Join a celebration of French cuisine and French opera at La Bastide Bar & Bistro.
Opera and French cuisine go hand in hand as for centuries some of France’s most renowned chefs were inspired to create and name dishes in honour of some of opera’s greatest singers, composers and works.
In 2024 we continue this long-standing tradition with the celebrated team from La Bastide curating a decadent three-course menu that celebrates some of opera’s biggest names including composers Giuseppe Verdi and Gioacchino Rossini and Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba.
Between each sumptuous course, acclaimed Australian-American soprano Rachelle Durkin, who has previously performed at The Met in New York and most recently starred in West Australian Opera’s acclaimed production of La bohéme will perform a series of her favourite French arias while accompanied by West Australian Opera’s Artistic Director Chris van Tuinen.
Date: 1 – 3.30 pm, Sunday 24 March
Venue: La Bastide, 225 Onslow Rd, Shenton Park
Tickets: $245 per person
READ THE MENU
Each ticket includes champagne on arrival, an amuse bouche, and a three-course lunch paired with matching wines.
Meet the Makers: A Celebration Of Italian Wine, Food, and Opera at Cherubino City Cellar
Past Event
Cherubino City Cellar is delighted to be collaborating with West Australian Opera and See Subiaco on Meet the Makers: A Celebration of Italian wine, food, and opera. Join us for this intimate celebration where the artistry of winemaking, cooking and opera collides for a truly unique and intimate evening.
Inspired by the regions of Tuscany and Piedmont, Cherubino City Cellar have curated a decadent canape menu paying tribute to the flavours and aromas of the regions. Guests will be treated to an operatic cocktail on arrival followed by an exclusive preview of Larry Cherubino’s latest Italian winemaking project, Linea Retta made in collaboration with Giorgio Rivetti followed by a special Puccini performance and a preview of West Australian Opera’s 2024 opera, Dido and Aeneas.
Date: 7 pm, Wednesday 27 March
Venue: Cherubino City Cellar, 169-171 Rokeby Rd, Subiaco
Tickets: $200 per person.
Each ticket includes an operatic cocktail on arrival, canapé menu, Linea Retta wines & West Australian Opera performance.
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