Tuesday, December 10th, 2019 - 7:00pm. REGISTER NOW. The Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere, 79 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301. Casa Belvedere joins Dante Alighieri Society in their celebration of Italian Cuisine in the World with the presentation of Gioacchino Rossini: An Opera of Flavors. Presented by: Daniela Bisello Antonucci PhD and Snjezana Smodlaka, PhD.

The Italian composer, Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) became not only an international renowned musician but also an undisputable gastronomic virtuoso as NPR journalist Tom Huizenga defined him. Rossini, motivated by his personal interest in food, included banquets, recipes and gastronomic conversations in his works and dedicated musical pieces to savory treats.

He was famous for discussing recipes and philosophizing on food more often than conversing about music. During his life he met several chefs, but he was definitely inspired by Antonin Carême, the acclaimed French chef that Rossini met when he moved to France, as musical director of the Théâtre des Italiens in Paris, in 1824.

This presentation, while discussing some of Rossini’s operas where food has an important role or has become an inspiration for his works, will also portray some recipes à la Rossini.

Because of Italy’s very long tradition of food and wine, musicians, artists and literary people, fascinated by them, often included specialty dishes, toasts and delicious desserts in their works. Several segments from Rossini’s comic opera La Cenerentola, where Don Magnifico dreams of delicious food and delightful qualities of wine, will be shown as examples.

Some history and geography of Italian food will also be addressed in order to enlighten its significant presence in Italy’s lifestyle while considering its connection with French cuisine.

About Daniela Bisello Antonucci:
Daniela Bisello Antonucci holds a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Padova, Italy and a PhD in Italian from Rutgers University. She taught Italian language and literature at Princeton University for many years. Dr. Antonucci has been on NeMLA (North East Modern Language Association) Board of Directors as Italian Language Director from 2008 to 2011 and as President from 2012 to 2015. She presently collaborates with a study abroad organization, based in Florence Italy, offering pedagogical training. Her research interests include literature, fashion, art, music and their interactions. She has written and published articles on 20th- and 21st century Italian novelists and cinema. She published a book on the work of Nino Palumbo and authored the preface to the recent reprint of Il Giornale, by Nino Palumbo. She has a forthcoming college level textbook that offers an interdisciplinary content-based approach to Italian language learning. Also, she reviews books for Italian culture journals.

About Snjezana Smodlaka:
Snjezana Smodlaka obtained her B.A. and M.A in Italian Language and Literature at Zagreb University, Croatia. She was Assistant Professor at the University of Zadar for eleven years. Thirty seven years ago she came to USA with Fulbright Scholarship to continue her research, and obtained M.A. and Ph.D in Italian Literature at the Rutgers University.She worked as Italian and Latin teacher for 24 years at St. Joseph Hill Academy, and as an adjunct professor at Wagner College, CSI and Rutgers University. She has published numerous articles on Italian language and literature and presented more than 40 papers at the international conferences in the US, Croatia, Italy, Austria, Spain, France and Germany. Apart from the topics dealing with Italian language and literature for many years, for the last two decades she has broadened her research and now focuses her interest on the aesthetics and connections between Italian literature, figurative arts and opera. She is particularly interested in bringing back female painters of the Renaissance and Baroque eras that had been forgotten for centuries by art history.

Rossini Cocktail and light fare will be served. Program Donation: MEMBERS: $15 per person. NON-MEMBERS: $20 per person (cash, check or credit cards accepted). Additional Parking is located directly across the street at Notre Dame Academy Elementary School