Second Date added for Dinner and a Diva: Carmen (May 15 and 21)

Our next Dinner and a Diva is on Tuesday evening, May 15, with an encore performance on Monday, May 21, featuring highlights from Georges Bizet's popular opera Carmen.  Heather Witt and Amanda Perera, mezzo-sopranos; Melanie Burbules, soprano; Joseph McBrayer, tenor; and, Gus Godbee, baritone will tell the story of a naive soldier who falls for the charms of a fiery gypsy and then loses her to a glamorous toreador. Our singers will be accompanied by Catherine Giel, Capitol City Opera’s music director. 

When Carmen was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, on March 3, 1875, it was not a particularly well received. Critics panned it, in large measure because they were not accustomed to seeing the lives of the common folk, much less the world of gypsies, smugglers, deserters, factory workers, and other ne’er-do-wells given center stage .

The opera's initial run was 36 performances. However, before the run was concluded Bizet, who was 36-years-old and suffered with a heart condition, died suddenly. He died convinced he had written the greatest failure in the history of opera. History would prove him wrong!

Over the years the music of Carmen has been widely acclaimed for the brilliance of the melody, harmony, atmosphere and orchestration, and for the skill with which Bizet crafted the music to capture the emotions and suffering of his characters. It is the source of many memorable and widely recognized songs, notably those known by the popular names “Toréador Song” and “Habanera.”

The dinner includes a sampling of premium hors d’ oeuvres, fresh salad, choice of two gourmet entrees, decadent dessert, hot coffee/tea, and two glasses of fine wine, for only $60 per person (tax included; gratuity separate). The performers from the Capitol City Opera Company sing between each course. The evening begins at 6:15 p.m. with a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres reception; dinner and performance start promptly at 7 p.m. Reservations are required. Please call 404-634-6268.

A big thank you to Karen Steinberg, for sponsoring this Dinner and a Diva!  

Dinner and a Diva: Rigoletto

Join us on Tuesday, April 17th, at 6:15 p.m., for our next Dinner and a Diva event featuring Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto, one of the most-performed operas world-wide, according to Operabase. Considered by many to be the first of Verdi's mid-to-late career operatic masterpieces, Rigoletto is based on Victor Hugo’s play, "Le roi s'amuse."  

Verdi completed his composition only about a month before it premiered on March 11, 1851, in front of a sold out La Fenice opera house, in Venice. In an interesting side note, the opening night performance of Rigoletto was the first of a double bill which also featured Giacomo Panizza's ballet Faust.

So make your plans now to join us to hear Capitol City Opera cast members Bree Nichols, soprano; Heather Witt, mezzo-soprano; Jason Nichols, tenor; Jadrian Tarver, baritone; and Allen Michael, bass; bring you highlights from Verdi's Rigoletto. The company's music director and pianist Catherine Giel will be their accompanist for the evening.

The dinner includes a sampling of premium hors d’ oeuvres, fresh salad, choice of two gourmet entrees, decadent dessert, hot coffee/tea, and two glasses of fine wine, for only $60 per person (tax included; gratuity separate). Reservations are required. Please call 404-634-6268.

And a big thank you to the Opera Ya'll Meetup Group for their sponsorship of this April Dinner and a Diva evening!

Dinner and a Diva: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

Make plans to join us on Tuesday evening, March 20th, or Thursday evening, March 22nd, for our next Dinner and a Diva featuring highlights from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia  (The Barber of Seville). This month's performers from the Capitol City Opera Company are Abby Halon, soprano; Kirby Eicholtz, tenor; Stephen McCool, baritone; and, Brandon Odom, baritone. They will be accompanied by pianist Brock Derringer. 

From trickery and disguises to serenading in the moonlight, this Gioachino Rossini opera is filled with liveliness and comedy at every twist and turn. When this opera was first performed on Feb. 20, 1816, at the Teatro Argentina in Rome, it would have been difficult to predict that 200 years later this musical comedy would continue to be a staple of the operatic repertoire, ranking #6 on the 2014/15 Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.

Rossini’s “Barber” has also been used in episodes of The Simpsons, Little Rascals, in the Nov. 11, 1993 episode of Seinfeld when the show’s familiar slap-bass incidental music is replaced with selections from the overture, and the classic Seinfeld episode when he tries to change barbers and gets caught “cheating” on his first barber with his second. Additionally, the Barber’s overture provided the inspiration for the Bugs Bunny cartoon short The Rabbit of Seville; and for the famous cartoon spokes-animal Bee, of Honey Nut Cheerios fame, when Bee takes his turn as a barber in a cereal commercial. 

The dinner includes a sampling of premium  hors d’ oeuvres, fresh salad, choice of two gourmet entrees, decadent dessert, hot coffee/tea, and two glasses of fine wine, for only $60 per person (tax included; gratuity separate). The performers from the Capitol City Opera Company sing between each course. The evening begins at 6:15 p.m. with a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres reception; dinner and performance start promptly at 7 p.m. Reservations are required by calling 404-634-6268.

We Were on TV!!!

Did you see it??? We were on TV--our restaurant aired on Peachtree TV's Atlanta Eats, hosted by Steak Shapiro, this month. If you missed it, check us out on YouTube. Tell all your friends to check it out too...

 https://youtu.be/a6oMzFa_GMw

Easter Sunday Brunch Served on April 1st (no foolin'!)

Join us for a special Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 1st (no foolin'!). Enjoy a four-course, prix-fixe holiday menu featuring hot soup, fresh salad, gourmet entree, and decadent dessert. The cost is just $39.95 per adult. The menu features items like New England Clam Chowder, Arugula and Pear Salad, Coq au Vin, Roast Leg of Lamb, Lobster Risotto, Filet Mignon Forestiere, Creme Brulee, and our award-winning New Orleans Bread Pudding. Check out the complete menu here. We also offer a three-course children's menu for $9.95 per person that features a fruit cup, choice of chicken tenders with fries, spaghetti with marinara sauce/butter and parmesan, or grilled cheese with fruit, and an ice cream sundae. Seatings are available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and reservations are strongly suggested.

We're an Elite Eats Competitor

Our Beef Wellington has been selected to participate in Atlanta Eats’ 4th Annual March Madness Bracket, Elite Eats 2018 ! A competition that pits 64 of Atlanta’s most mouth-watering dishes head-to-head, with online voters selecting the winner. Elite Eats is divided into four divisions: Gastropub Grub (Bar Food), Eastern Eats (Food from Asia and the Middle East), Date Night (Romantic Dining Destinations), and Pizza Party. Like the NCAA Basketball Tournament, winners of the first Round of 64 will face off in the Round of 32, then on to a Sweet Sixteen round, into an Elite Eight, and onto a Final Four with the winners of each division. The two winners of the Final Four will face off in a "Chompionship" Round, with the winner declared official “Chompion!”. The competition begins March 12 (kicks off at 9a.m.), and you can stay up to date at atlantaeats.com/elite-eats for all of the times and dates surrounding the promotion. Vote for us in every round!!!