0:00:31 > 0:00:34I've believed for some time now that there's a creative link
0:00:34 > 0:00:37between the joys of the table and Italian opera,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40certainly in the case of Rossini.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43He was well known to be a gourmand, who loved rich food and wine
0:00:43 > 0:00:46with the same passion that he adored music.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49And then there's Puccini, whose love of the good life,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and especially the food from his native Tuscany,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54is legendary and well-documented.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59Lastly, there's Verdi, who wrote to his agent in exasperation, saying,
0:00:59 > 0:01:00"Send me a cook.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04"Not someone who can cook three peasant dishes, but a real cook.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07"I'll pay, no matter what it costs."
0:01:07 > 0:01:09TANNOY: 'Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12'we kindly ask you to switch off your mobile telephones.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14'Thank you.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:23It is one of life's truisms that Italians love food.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26More than that, everything revolves around it.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29They talk about food like we witter on about the weather.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33The subject of last night's dinner is only topped
0:01:33 > 0:01:36by what to have for lunch.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39And the very nature of Italian food changes region by region.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And their passion for the joys of the table is all-consuming,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49so that it spills over into other areas of life and art.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54So, this is my exploration into two of Italy's great loves,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57food and opera.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01The engine of the Italian passion for both food and opera is the city.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04You don't find Italian food encapsulated
0:02:04 > 0:02:08in a far-off farmhouse in the countryside, you go to the market.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11The market, where people are bargaining, coming and going,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14dealing, performing, shouting.
0:02:14 > 0:02:15HE SHOUTS IN ITALIAN
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Screaming, the frenetic pace of urban life.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22That's where you find, I think, the heart of Italian food.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25In the city, the urban market.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36I've always said the sights and sounds of Italian markets
0:02:36 > 0:02:37are the very stuff of opera,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39and it's certainly the case in La Boheme.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52In early 19th century Italy, even the poorest towns,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55before they built a school, they would build an opera house.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Because an opera house was the place to go and put yourself on display.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01You'd get the Count, the aristocrat,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05in his box at the centre of the horseshoe-shaped auditorium.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09And then sort of radiating out from him, the people,
0:03:09 > 0:03:14going down the social scale, until you get the riff-raff at the bottom.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18This was the place where the whole community came together to spy,
0:03:18 > 0:03:22to flirt, to engage in little acts of snobbery and jealousy.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24So, it was a kind of market for people.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28It's the city turf that food and opera have in common.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34This is Pesaro on the Adriatic, the birthplace of Rossini,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37and a popular holiday resort for Italians.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39'This is where my quest to discover the link
0:03:39 > 0:03:43'between the enjoyment of food and opera begins.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46'But, of course, the director thought he'd voice what many of you,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48'the viewers, must be thinking.'
0:03:48 > 0:03:52What do you exactly mean by food and opera?
0:03:52 > 0:03:55I don't exactly know what I mean.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59But I just think there is a connection between food and opera.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Not opera, Italian opera,
0:04:01 > 0:04:06and not just Italian opera, but Italian opera of the 19th century.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08There's a sort of conviviality about it,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10which you don't get in other opera.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Imagine a Wagner opera, the idea of people enjoying,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19sitting down, and being happy about anything, really!
0:04:19 > 0:04:22Or something like Benjamin Britten.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24It's just not there.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27But in Italian opera of the 19th century,
0:04:27 > 0:04:31people like Puccini, Verdi, Bellini, Rossini,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35there is a celebration of food and drink. I know it.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44This is going to be a joyous journey.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Here, opera is considered to be almost a religion.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51But some people at home thought I was on a fool's errand.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56When I told my English friends that I'm making a TV programme
0:04:56 > 0:05:00about the connection between food, Italian food, and opera,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03they don't understand. But I imagine you do understand, do you?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05- Of course.- Yes!
0:05:05 > 0:05:11Italy, opera and food are connected, there's a very strong link.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16The connection is between the fact that we love everything
0:05:16 > 0:05:21that can give to our lives joy, and you can enjoy it.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23The music and the food.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- Hi.- Hello, Charles.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28When did I last see you?
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I think we last saw each other at the end of the last century.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35'I paid a visit to Charles Hazlewood on his farm in Somerset.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40'He's a celebrated conductor, and naturally passionate about music.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43'If I'm going to ask anyone about my theory of food and opera,
0:05:43 > 0:05:44'then it's going to be him.'
0:05:44 > 0:05:48I just wanted to ask you about Italian opera,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and the connection between food and opera.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54My God, it sounds like a big essay title!
0:05:54 > 0:05:57There's got to be a strong synergy between the two,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59these two twin sensual pleasures.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02The three composers, the giants of 19th century Italian opera,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Rossini, Verdi and Puccini,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07we know that these guys were all extreme
0:06:07 > 0:06:09in their love of gastronomic pleasure.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12The stories are legion of Rossini, who absolutely loved his food.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Judging by the shape of the man,
0:06:14 > 0:06:16he couldn't be deprived of it for long.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18He'd have gone a bit weird, I think.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21He was very practical, so he'd be writing an opera very often,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24in a very short space of time, like under a fortnight.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27The key piece of the opera he'd leave till last, the overture,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29which would include all the themes
0:06:29 > 0:06:31which were contained in the opera as a whole.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34So, he'd come closer and closer to opening night,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36and apparently even on the day in some cases
0:06:36 > 0:06:38he still hadn't written the blasted overture,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40couldn't quite be bothered to do it.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43Very often they'd have to lock him in a room in a tower,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45with one miserable plate of cold pasta.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47That's all he was allowed until he'd written it.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Well, that says it all.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52The thought, "I just have to finish this,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54"and then I can have some fabulous food,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56"some fabulous pasta with sauce."
0:06:56 > 0:06:59It would be everything to him.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03You're absolutely right. There's a great rule of threes with Rossini.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05You also find it in Verdi in particular,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09where you get a little theme, like the one in the Barber Of Seville...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11There it is once. He gives it to you again.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14It's like he's tasting it, he's exploring its possibility.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17And on the third time, we get emancipation.
0:07:19 > 0:07:20The tune takes off.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25- That to me is absolutely like mastication, isn't it?- It is!
0:07:28 > 0:07:32'Rossini famously said, and it's really endeared him to me,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34'that he cried three times in his life.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36'Once when his mother died,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39'once when he heard Paganini playing the violin,
0:07:39 > 0:07:41'and once picnicking on a lake,
0:07:41 > 0:07:47'when a warm truffled turkey slipped from his grasp into the water.'
0:07:47 > 0:07:50So, this is Rossini's birthplace, here in Pesaro.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Apparently, when he died, he left lots of money to Pesaro.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57But, during his lifetime, they weren't over-keen on him.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Typical, isn't it?
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Of course, after he died, everything here is "Rossini".
0:08:04 > 0:08:09'Born in 1792, he was famous for the galloping pace of his music,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12'from the Barber Of Seville to William Tell.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15'It was the music that made the hairs on the back of the neck rise.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17'They call it, "the Rossini rocket."
0:08:26 > 0:08:31'Now, in Pesaro, the most popular dish to bear his name is a pizza,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33'the pizza a la Rossini.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36'God knows what he'd have thought of it.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38'like any respectable pizza, it starts out all right,
0:08:38 > 0:08:42'with tomato paste and loads of mozzarella on a thin base.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44'And then something happens.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'Some say it's a travesty,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49'others might think it a stroke of genius.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51'Well, we know Rossini was fond of eggs.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53'But hard-boiled eggs on a pizza?
0:08:53 > 0:08:56And, if that's not enough, it's artistically finished with,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58'yes, you've guessed it, mayonnaise,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01'in what is known in the pizza business
0:09:01 > 0:09:04'as a mayonnaise treble clef. What else?'
0:09:06 > 0:09:11That is fantastic! Many musicians have had dishes named after them,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13but nobody has had as many dishes,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18and as many elevated dishes, famous dishes, as Rossini.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21I'm thinking in particular of Tournedos Rossini.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23I think of that, personally,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26because when I was an 18-year-old chef at a hotel,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28the Great Western hotel in Paddington,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32it was my job to prepare the Tournedos Rossini.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33So, I know what goes into it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34You've got fried bread,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38then you've got a really thick fillet steak on top of that.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Then you've got foie gras on top of that,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45then a Marsala sauce all around, laced with sliced truffles.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49I mean, that's the sort of food Rossini's food is.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51We're going to put black truffle in.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55'Alberto Melligrano adds lots of truffles to this,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58'for this is a dish not for those of a light appetite,
0:09:58 > 0:09:59'or a light wallet.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06'This was inspired by the famous chef Careme, a friend of Rossini's.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10'It's supposed to be cooked in front of the customer,
0:10:10 > 0:10:11'but the waiter was too shy,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15'so Rossini told the poor chap to turn his back,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'hence the name, "tourner le dos", "turn your back."
0:10:20 > 0:10:21'In Castellina in Chianti,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25'I've come to see an expert on the life of Rossini,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28'Professor Felasi from the University of Siena.'
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Professor, as a Professor of social anthropology,
0:10:31 > 0:10:36I'm intrigued about the importance that you put on food
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and Italian opera.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Is it that important, an academic study, almost?
0:10:42 > 0:10:49Of course. Food is so important in any civilisation.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Its social significance, its symbolic meaning is very important.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56And then, in Italy, it's especially important.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01And great musicians were usually great gastronomers.
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Particularly Rossini?
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Of course. He's the most important case.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12Each musician or performer, or composer,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15has had one dish dedicated to him.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19But it's only Rossini that has a whole menu.
0:11:19 > 0:11:26Going from antipasti, hors d'oeuvre, to pizza Rossini,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28which would amuse him to no end,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32which is being served in Pesaro and in California, for instance,
0:11:32 > 0:11:36and somewhere else. It's a horrid dish.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37I know, I've tried it!
0:11:37 > 0:11:39But it's a sign of the times.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41So, we have to be indulgent.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47But there is a sense that food is joyous, it's humorous.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52One always feels almost comic when one's eating.
0:11:52 > 0:11:53Of course.
0:11:53 > 0:12:00He said that loving, cooking, eating, singing,
0:12:00 > 0:12:07digesting the arias of that great comic opera
0:12:07 > 0:12:09which is life.
0:12:12 > 0:12:14This is one of Rossini's early operas,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17a comic farce called The Silken Ladder.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19He wrote it when he was in his teens.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22It's about fidelity, jealousy and love.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24This production features a kitchen,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27something the maestro I'm sure would approve of.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35I spoke to the baritone Carlo Lepore,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38about the influence that food has on opera.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Is there a connection between the two, or am I being fanciful?
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Do you think we're right? Have we got some right in this connection?
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Yes, you're right. You're right.
0:12:50 > 0:12:57This is really true, because Rossini was a lover of good food.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01And food for him was like good singing,
0:13:01 > 0:13:06good woman, good life.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08And good wine!
0:13:08 > 0:13:09A good symphony,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13it's not something that you can't feel in your heart, really.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20He was like a chef when he did the compositions.
0:13:20 > 0:13:27You have to keep inside the right ingredients, good ingredients.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30You can't make a good dish without this.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36But when Rossini composed his operas,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41he always felt the flavour of the notes.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43I love the sauce, but...
0:13:46 > 0:13:49HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:13:49 > 0:13:51If you think of the aria of Don Magnifico,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54the dream of Don Magnifico is to be...
0:13:54 > 0:13:56HE LISTS FOODS IN ITALIAN
0:14:06 > 0:14:10APPLAUSE
0:14:22 > 0:14:26You might be wondering why you're watching pictures of Napoleon.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Well, it's because of the wine he introduced here,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31when he proclaimed himself King of Italy.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35His beloved Pinot Noir, which he took on his campaigns,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38and most of it came from Burgundy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41He loved it so much he planted vineyards near Pesaro,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and it's a wine I'm certain that Rossini,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48being the man he was, would have sampled.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50Now, most of the Pinot Noir has gone,
0:14:50 > 0:14:55but this one vineyard remains, and belongs to the Mancini family.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Luigi, this is wonderful.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02I've never heard of Pinot Noir from Italy, anyway,
0:15:02 > 0:15:08but tell me, surely your family must have some connection with opera,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12as you're so inevitably linked in these parts to Rossini?
0:15:12 > 0:15:15What I can tell you is that my great-grandfather
0:15:15 > 0:15:19was President of the Conservatorio Rossini.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23He had a passion for music, and a lot of passion for French culture.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27So, why would the local farmers be getting rid of the Pinot Noir,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29then, because it was French, or what?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Nobody wants such a small bunch in the vineyards.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35They wanted big, generous Italian bunches?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37They wanted a lot of wine, obviously!
0:15:39 > 0:15:42What we think about wine today,
0:15:42 > 0:15:47is very different to what they actually needed at that time.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Nowadays, wine is, you could say,
0:15:50 > 0:15:55a luxurious product, that, actually, nobody needs. At that time,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59wine was the cheapest source of calories, with pasta and bread.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Wine was something that people needed to survive,
0:16:02 > 0:16:05especially people working hard in agriculture.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09I really didn't know that.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13So, it's a bit like in England, everybody drank beer.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14It's almost the same thing.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17Do you think Rossini would have tasted this Pinot Noir?
0:16:17 > 0:16:21It could be. I don't know if there is anything written about that.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24But he was living in the period
0:16:24 > 0:16:27when Pinot Noir was still cultivated in this area.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31John Dickie wrote a brilliant book called Delizia,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33about the history of Italian food.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35He teaches at the University of London.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38The mass of the people in Rossini's day
0:16:38 > 0:16:40would have eaten extraordinarily badly.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Warfare, famine, disease, everything made their lives,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48their food lives, if you like, very, very fragile.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Very, very vulnerable. They were subject to big changes,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53big historical changes going on.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56The traditional soups and cheap bread and gruel
0:16:56 > 0:16:57that the peasants would eat
0:16:57 > 0:17:00were being replaced by new world foods like polenta,
0:17:00 > 0:17:02made of maize of course.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Polenta, for the peasants of Rossini's day,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08peasants in Italy, northern Italy in particular,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10was what potatoes were for the Irish peasant.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12They were a cheap way of filling stomachs,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14but they weren't very nourishing.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27We have this nostalgic vision of Italian food
0:17:27 > 0:17:31as being a food of the peasantry, the Club 18-130,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35these old peasants playing football in the vineyard with bloodshot eyes,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37living to 150 years old.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38I'm afraid it's rubbish.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42It's a nostalgic vision invented in our time,
0:17:42 > 0:17:47after the Second World War, when we'd left the peasant life behind.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50The peasants of Rossini's day
0:17:50 > 0:17:53would have thought it was a joke in very poor taste
0:17:53 > 0:17:56to think they were the epitome of good eating in Italy.
0:17:59 > 0:18:00'This is the town of Talamello,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04'and when Rossini talked about the comic opera which is life,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06'he could have been talking about this place,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09'and the story of its famous cheese, formaggio di fossa.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13'500 years ago, Spanish troops were billeted here,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16'and they ate the locals out of house and home.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18'But the women of the town decided
0:18:18 > 0:18:20'the soldiers weren't going to get
0:18:20 > 0:18:22'their hands on their precious ewes' milk cheese,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26'and so they hid it in pits. When the troops left,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29'they found it tasted even better than when they put it in.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34'Bruno Velone, like everyone here, is passionate about the cheese.'
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Bruno, this reminds me of a sort of Rossini opera,
0:18:37 > 0:18:42the idea of the soldiers coming, eating too much,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46hiding the cheeses, and then discovering this secret.
0:18:46 > 0:18:51- Si. Rossini was famous for eating a lot.- Yeah.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54And he was a gourmet.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01And he's famous not just for music, but for food.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05- There is a lot of things... - Oh, we know. Tournedos Rossini...
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- Exactly. - Would he have had this cheese?
0:19:08 > 0:19:14Sure. Because this cheese is typical from this area.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16And Pesaro is real near.
0:19:16 > 0:19:22For us Italians, food is a cultural way of life.
0:19:22 > 0:19:29So, we can work ten hours for preparing a dish,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and, in ten minutes, eat that.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34But it doesn't matter.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38For food, time is...
0:19:38 > 0:19:44We spend a lot of time. And that comes from our culture.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48'After the burial service, I joined them to sample the cheese,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50'which had a certain, how shall I say it,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52'caveyness about it.'
0:19:52 > 0:19:56Cheese, a good bread, and wine...
0:19:56 > 0:20:03And if you have a nice girl that served that, it can be enough!
0:20:05 > 0:20:10Well, I'd like to propose a toast to everyone, if you don't mind.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15To the formaggio di fossa of Talamello.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17ALL: Salute!
0:20:19 > 0:20:21This landscape of northern Italy looks bountiful,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24like a label for a fancy bottle of olive oil.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26The cities here jealously guard their link
0:20:26 > 0:20:29with the famous foods that bear their name.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31When he was young, Rossini came here to Bologna,
0:20:31 > 0:20:34the oldest university town in Europe.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37He lived with his mother above a pork butcher's shop,
0:20:37 > 0:20:41so he would have, no doubt, sampled Bologna's most famous product.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44No, it's not Bolognese sauce, ragu Bolognese,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47but the famous Mortadella sausage,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50known throughout the world, like Rossini's operas.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52As a cook, I couldn't resist
0:20:52 > 0:20:55going to a thoroughly modern Mortadella factory,
0:20:55 > 0:20:56to see how it was made.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09There's a fabulous aroma here.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12You've got garlic, you've got nutmeg and mace,
0:21:12 > 0:21:14you've got cloves, you've got cinnamon.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17You've got pepper, you've got coriander.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19It's just so exotic.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22But it's all just a little touch,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24it's not like the Orient, this is Italy.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26It's very, very subtle.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28'And then the fat goes in.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32'It wouldn't be Mortadella without those sweet chunks of fat.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35'Then out it comes, in all its silky glory.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37'This is opera to me.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40'Then the huge sausages are cooked in vast ovens,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44'and instantly cooled down in a shower of cold water.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'That's it, ecco lo'e', as they say over here.'
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Look at these! These are magnificent.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55We have 100 kilos Mortadella.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59You could almost do a sort of Victorian photo.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02And it's made by hand.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Maybe with a gun, as if I'd just shot it!
0:22:04 > 0:22:06THEY LAUGH
0:22:06 > 0:22:09'So, here's to Mortadella, and here's to Rossini,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12'the greatest musical gourmet of his time.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15'And here's to the comedy which is life.'
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Giacomo Puccini was born in a place I always associate
0:22:55 > 0:22:58with good olive oil, Lucca in Tuscany.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00And he was part of a musical dynasty.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03He was inspired by Verdi's Aida.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08After seeing it, he said, "A musical window has opened for me."
0:23:08 > 0:23:11He lived for much of his life here in Torre del Lago,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14it means, "the tower by the lake".
0:23:14 > 0:23:17This rare film of him was discovered recently by a film director,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Paolo Benvenuti, who, after seeing it,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24was inspired to make a feature film about Puccini's life
0:23:24 > 0:23:25on the edge of the lake.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30When he wasn't sitting at the piano composing,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33'he loved nothing better than to go with his mate,
0:23:33 > 0:23:38'a local fisherman called Tonio, and shoot wildfowl for the table.'
0:23:40 > 0:23:43One of the things I've discovered he really liked,
0:23:43 > 0:23:44was Folaghe a la Puccini,
0:23:44 > 0:23:48which was stewed duck with vegetables and pasta.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52I think you'll find that's coot.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55It was duck, it was in the film, it was duck.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57No. He liked coots.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Coots?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01You can't eat coots.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03You can. It was coot.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05Folaghe. Folaghe means "coot".
0:24:05 > 0:24:07No, I think it means a type of duck.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10It doesn't mean a coot. It's like eating London pigeons.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Urgh!
0:24:13 > 0:24:14Anyway, he ate coot.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16Duck, David, duck.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19Coot, Ricky, coot.
0:24:19 > 0:24:20Have it your own way.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22All right.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Benvenuti's film tells the tragic story
0:24:32 > 0:24:35of the suicide of Puccini's housemaid.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41It happened after his wife suspected she was having an affair with him,
0:24:41 > 0:24:43whereas the poor girl was simply the go-between
0:24:43 > 0:24:48for him and her cousin Julia, who ran the local bar on the lakeside.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51'I met up with Paolo,
0:24:51 > 0:24:55'who reconstructed the little bar by the lake for his film.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58'It's a bit empty and forgotten now,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00'but nevertheless a fitting place to talk to him
0:25:00 > 0:25:04'about Puccini's life here in Torre del Lago.'
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Yeah, I remember, with the pump.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11SHE SINGS IN ITALIAN
0:25:23 > 0:25:25Grazie.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26Paolo, in Britain I'm a chef.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30And I'm particularly interested in Puccini's
0:25:30 > 0:25:33love of food and of cooking.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37And I think that comes out in his operas, would you agree?
0:25:37 > 0:25:39HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:25:44 > 0:25:45'He says, "Absolutely.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47"Puccini loved good food so much,
0:25:47 > 0:25:49"that whenever he was away in New York,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53"or wherever, as soon as he came back, he'd say to Julia,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56"Please, Julia, would you cook soup of cauliflower,
0:25:56 > 0:26:01"or beans with taglialini?" He had to eat that.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04"Not only that, but the whole village, and the farmers around,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06"knew that he loved food.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09"And he went to visit them sometimes at lunchtime.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11"He'd go to their kitchen, open a pan,
0:26:11 > 0:26:15"and if he fancied what he smelt, he'd say, "Oh, this is lovely!"
0:26:15 > 0:26:18"And of course, they would say, "OK, sit down."
0:26:18 > 0:26:21"The children used to hate him, because if he was at lunch,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24"and he ate the food, they knew there'd be less for them."
0:26:24 > 0:26:27HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:26:28 > 0:26:32'There's a Puccini festival every year
0:26:32 > 0:26:34'on the banks of Lake Massaciuccoli,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36'in a huge, blue, open-air auditorium.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40'If Hello magazine was published in the early 1900s,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'at the height of his fame, no question,
0:26:43 > 0:26:44'he'd be on the front cover.'
0:26:44 > 0:26:49I must say, meeting Paolo Benvenuti, and talking through the film,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51and the background to Puccini's life,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55I'm sort of filled with a sense of privilege, really,
0:26:55 > 0:27:00in seeing this beautiful lake, which he loved so much,
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and feeling the enjoyment that he had
0:27:03 > 0:27:06for everything about the lake, the enjoyment of his friends.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09It's great to understand that,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12although he dressed incredibly immaculately,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16and he'd have driven a Ferrari these days, probably.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19And the way he smoked his cigarettes,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22he was enormously attractive to women,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25because he was so suave and debonair.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28But he liked nothing more than going down to that bar
0:27:28 > 0:27:30in that chalet, and drinking with his mates.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32THEY COUNT IN ITALIAN
0:27:37 > 0:27:41I mean, at one stage in the film, he's playing what I'd say was Spoof.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43You know, he's spoofing for a round,
0:27:43 > 0:27:45because at the end he goes like that, "Two more."
0:27:45 > 0:27:49And it's that side of him, also, I have to say,
0:27:49 > 0:27:55the side of him where he's got a girl on the side, you know?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57And all that comes out in his operas,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59this sort of sense of ordinariness.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03But, of course, elevated by his immense talent,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and the wonderful melodies that he created.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24'For 30 years, he lived by the lake, and wrote his most famous works,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27'La Boheme, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35'He'd make many journeys to the grand home of the Marquesa Ginori,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38'his friend, and a powerful landowner.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40'It now belongs to Ginori's distant relative,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42'the Contessa Maria Gaddi-Pepoli.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46'But, because Puccini was such a frequent guest,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49'I'm here to try one of his favourite dishes,
0:28:49 > 0:28:50'Folaghe a la Puccini.'
0:28:50 > 0:28:55So, Donatella is going to cook a coot for us.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57I can't believe it, but apparently it is so.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01I just think it might taste rather fishy, what do you think?
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Yes, yes, it tastes fishy.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07In fact, it's the only meat that you can eat also on Friday.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10Because, as you know, for Catholic people, it's forbidden.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14Folaghe, it's OK, you can do that.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20'Essentially, it's just a stew of coot, with stock,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23'wine, and a mirepoix of vegetables.'
0:29:25 > 0:29:27- So, that's it, for 40 minutes?- Yes.
0:29:27 > 0:29:29So, how important do you think food was to Puccini?
0:29:29 > 0:29:31For him, everything was important.
0:29:31 > 0:29:38Food, good wine, beautiful woman, the music, and friends.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42Everything. He enjoyed very much life.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46'We ate on the Contessa's rather grand terrace with her friends,
0:29:46 > 0:29:49'and the coot was served on a piece of toast to soak up the sauce,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52'the exact way Puccini liked it.'
0:29:52 > 0:29:56I've never tasted coot before.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59Very good.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01It tastes a bit gamey.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04It's rather nice, it's just... It's slightly bitter.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07It's so good.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09Very good, really, in fact.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11I mean, it's quite special,
0:30:11 > 0:30:13it's a very sophisticated taste, I would say.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Oh, yes. Not so strong, not fish tasting.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Just a tiny bit of fish, a tiny bit of bitterness,
0:30:18 > 0:30:20- a tiny little gaminess.- Good.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24It just... It increases my admiration for Puccini,
0:30:24 > 0:30:28that he would have enjoyed something like this so much.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31You know, I'm sort of reading him through the food he loved.
0:30:31 > 0:30:32He loved this very much.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35I bet, I bet.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38But what did the lago, the lake, mean to him, then?
0:30:38 > 0:30:44When he decided to come here and to live in Torre del Lago,
0:30:44 > 0:30:50he was coming out from very big depression, he was very unhappy.
0:30:50 > 0:30:57And this lake was representing for him, a sort of medicine.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01He love it very much, and try to...
0:31:03 > 0:31:06coming back again to the music, to composing music,
0:31:06 > 0:31:11and especially the one, the coro muto of the Madame Butterfly...
0:31:11 > 0:31:13What, you mean that...?
0:31:13 > 0:31:18- You remember, hmm-hmm....- Yes.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- Yeah. The sound of the wind in the reeds.- Yes.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27It's that humming, it's, like, ethereal, isn't it, that music?
0:31:27 > 0:31:32Yes, it's like that. It's really a magic sensation.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I'm happy to stay in this part of the world.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38MUSIC: "Madame Butterfly" By Puccini
0:31:50 > 0:31:53Although he looked the part, he wasn't aristocracy,
0:31:53 > 0:31:57but he certainly lived a very elevated lifestyle.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02On the other hand, he mixed with artists and fishermen,
0:32:02 > 0:32:06which I suspect was a rich well of inspiration for him.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12They told me at the hotel where I was staying, that this,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15the poignant humming chorus from Madame Butterfly,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19was inspired by the sounds of the evening breeze in the reeds,
0:32:19 > 0:32:21and you can feel that when you're here.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33'The regional food of Italy,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36'and by that I mean the everyday food that subtly changes
0:32:36 > 0:32:38'from village to village and from town to town,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42'is one of the constant threads that make up the tapestry
0:32:42 > 0:32:44'of Italian life.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47'This is a speciality from Puccini's home town of Lucca,
0:32:47 > 0:32:51'and it would have been the sort of dish that he and his artist friends
0:32:51 > 0:32:53'would be eating on a daily basis.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55'I shared it in a lakeside restaurant
0:32:55 > 0:33:01'with a celebrated Italian conductor, Alberto Veronesi.'
0:33:01 > 0:33:04So, maestro, just explain this dish to me.
0:33:04 > 0:33:09This is tagliarini alla Puccini.
0:33:09 > 0:33:15It is done with Tuscan beans, the red beans from Diecimo,
0:33:15 > 0:33:21a little town near Lucca, which Puccini loved very much.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26Well, maestro, I wonder if with you, whether cooking and a love of food,
0:33:26 > 0:33:31does it help you in your performances as a major conductor?
0:33:31 > 0:33:37I think there are two kind of people who make music,
0:33:37 > 0:33:42people which don't like to eat, and I don't like these people,
0:33:42 > 0:33:50and people who absolutely need to eat before doing any kind of work.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54Before conducting, before evening performance,
0:33:54 > 0:33:58I have to be really satisfied with my stomach!
0:34:27 > 0:34:35And he loved very much...people and his friends, especially his friends,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39to be completely free, to eat, to laugh,
0:34:39 > 0:34:44to play cards, to drink, and to say very bad words.
0:34:45 > 0:34:50And that, you can see also in his operas,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53describe what he was when he was young.
0:35:07 > 0:35:14And, of course, when you are satisfied, when you eat well,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18you can give more, and to be more serene,
0:35:18 > 0:35:22to be more...more calm,
0:35:22 > 0:35:27to have your music, and to find, really,
0:35:27 > 0:35:30the right way to interpret the music.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35I agree! I think it inclines you to a generosity of spirit.
0:35:35 > 0:35:41- Generosity of spirit, yes. Please! - Cheers. Salute.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45When I go to Venice, there's one particular dish that I really love,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47which I think is like a scampi risotto,
0:35:47 > 0:35:49and they tell me the reason why it's so intense
0:35:49 > 0:35:51is that the stock is made from, I think,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54- from...well, shellfish, very concentrated.- Of course it is.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57But of course to most people who perhaps don't understand
0:35:57 > 0:35:59how Italian cooking goes, they think,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02"Yes, olive oil, yes, garlic, yes, tomato,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04"those are natural bedfellows."
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Bt the idea of all these kind of nasty unwanted bits,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09like the head, the eyes, all that kind of stuff,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13they're the foreign bodies. And in a way that makes me think of Puccini,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16because he was absolutely brilliant of creating tunes out of nowhere,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19which somehow summon up the essence of the character.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22So, when Mimi first appears in Boheme,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25what is it that he wants to understand about who Mimi is?
0:36:25 > 0:36:28She's shy, she's probably quite diminutive,
0:36:28 > 0:36:29she's out of her comfort zone,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32- she's nervous, but there's something...- Boisterous boys.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34Exactly, in a garret in Paris.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38And he assembles this tune which becomes like a motto for her,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40every time you then hear it in the piece,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44it's another part of the Mimi puzzle filling in in your mind.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46And it's a funny connection of notes.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51And here's the really rogue note coming up here.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54It's, like, well out of place.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55And then he turns it round.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58If you put those notes together and said, "What do you think?"
0:36:58 > 0:37:00you'd say, "No, that's a foreign body,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03"it simply doesn't fit into the context of that phrase."
0:37:03 > 0:37:05But that's like cooking.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22The great Italian operas are all very much about humanitarian issues,
0:37:22 > 0:37:26human stories, you know, the human condition.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29Where the Germans, particularly people like Wagner,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33and before him, Weber, were much more about mysticism, about magic,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36about magic casements, other-worldly concepts,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40Italian opera was always about me and you, and him and her.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Perfect, I mean, isn't that what it's all about, really?
0:37:43 > 0:37:46That's why the food is so important,
0:37:46 > 0:37:49because it's back to what really matters in life.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53And in a way, if you can come up with the perfect melody, that's the key,
0:37:53 > 0:37:56just in the way, the reason why Italian cuisine is so extraordinary,
0:37:56 > 0:37:59is because it's about doing very simple things
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- with very, very fresh ingredients, right?- Yeah, it is.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03So, same thing with Puccini.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05If you can come up with the eureka moment...
0:38:05 > 0:38:07HE PLAYS PIANO
0:38:07 > 0:38:09..you're away, aren't you?
0:38:09 > 0:38:11There in that one theme is all the DNA,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14all the information you need to understand who Mimi is,
0:38:14 > 0:38:17where she's from, and, ultimately, probably where she's headed.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58There was a great deal of sadness in Puccini's life,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01but again, the joys of the table were never far away.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And it was the lake, its light,
0:39:06 > 0:39:09and the natural sounds that inspired him,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12and all mankind benefited from that.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02'This is Parma, where Verdi is king.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'His music is revered, and this monument to him, one of many,
0:40:05 > 0:40:09'is a testament to the whole range of human emotions
0:40:09 > 0:40:12'his operas captured and celebrated.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17'Everything from love, hatred, joy, and deep, undying grief,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19'are here for all the world to see.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25'In the village of Roncole where Verdi was born,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29'there are banners grandly bearing his wish to be known as a peasant,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32'rather than someone even more famous
0:40:32 > 0:40:36'than the great father of modern Italy, Garibaldi.'
0:40:36 > 0:40:38I was sort of imagining before I got here
0:40:38 > 0:40:41a bit of a peasant's hovel, but not at all.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43In fact, he was an innkeeper's son.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46This is where the guests at the inn would eat,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49and I'm told that this was where the polenta, of course, was heating up,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51and was stirred,
0:40:51 > 0:40:55and they'd sit down, bowls of polenta, some wine,
0:40:55 > 0:40:56Parmesan, of course.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00No, not a peasant's background at all,
0:41:00 > 0:41:02but, I suppose, in later life,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05when you've got the king of Italy sort of bowing,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08sitting down at your feet,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12he probably used it as a way of grounding himself,
0:41:12 > 0:41:17because he became so nationally and internationally famous.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20He probably felt, "Yes, at heart, I AM a peasant."
0:41:20 > 0:41:25And one has to think that having this background of an innkeeper,
0:41:25 > 0:41:29that his whole childhood would have been so involved with food,
0:41:29 > 0:41:34that it was obviously a very important part of his life.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39'But wandering around Parma today,'
0:41:39 > 0:41:42'and seeing the enormous importance of Verdi here,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45'I mean, just look at all those posters over there,
0:41:45 > 0:41:50'you begin to pick up the importance of opera to the Italians.
0:41:50 > 0:41:51'When I set out on this journey,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54'I just thought there was a good connection
0:41:54 > 0:41:57'between food and Italian opera,
0:41:57 > 0:42:02'but you need to be here to live it, to understand how enormous it is.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06'I suppose, coming from cold northern Europe,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08'Protestant influenced,'
0:42:08 > 0:42:13this whole sort of Catholic enjoyment of the physicality of life
0:42:13 > 0:42:15is hard to get on board,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18but terribly attractive to us, of course.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23And that's the world that Verdi, Rossini, and Puccini came from.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Just this enormous, sensuous enjoyment.
0:42:25 > 0:42:31And once you've got it, you realise just what big stars they were.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33There's nothing like it today.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38You can't really combine the classic and the popular,
0:42:38 > 0:42:42if you like, but in somebody like Verdi, you could.
0:42:42 > 0:42:48I mean, he appealed to the highest echelons of society and the lowest.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52Everybody loved him. And, of course, it made him enormously wealthy.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54And what did he spend his money on?
0:42:54 > 0:42:59The joys of the table, on food, on enjoying life.
0:42:59 > 0:43:00I think that's really the crux of it.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05I think that's what I mean about food and the Italian opera,
0:43:05 > 0:43:09it's that fantastic sort of sensuous enjoyment.
0:43:09 > 0:43:14I just noticed, this was an account of some food he ordered
0:43:14 > 0:43:18when he was staying at the Grand Hotel in Milan, next to La Scala,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21aged 87, a year before he died.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24He ordered rice and liver,
0:43:24 > 0:43:31trout hollandaise, veal jardiniere, oxtail, Brussels sprouts,
0:43:31 > 0:43:34roast chicken salad, and an assortment of patisserie.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37I mean, 87?
0:43:37 > 0:43:41Isn't that somebody who loved his food as much as he loved opera
0:43:41 > 0:43:43and loved life?
0:43:44 > 0:43:46CLOCK CHIMES
0:43:59 > 0:44:01'When he was at the tender age of nine,
0:44:01 > 0:44:05'he played this organ in the church at Roncole.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09'The organ is situated halfway up the wall, above the altar,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12'so he'd have had a grand view of his audience, and they of him.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15'Imagine what went through the mind of that boy,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17'playing that powerful organ.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23'Not only that, but he was surrounded by the imagery
0:44:23 > 0:44:26'depicting good over evil, pain and suffering.
0:44:26 > 0:44:29'The very stuff of opera.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32'I wouldn't mind betting these icons had a profound effect
0:44:32 > 0:44:33'on such a young boy,
0:44:33 > 0:44:37'who was the centre of attention in that small church.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41'In fact, one of Verdi's most famous operas, Nabucco,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44'is based on the biblical story of King Nebuchadnezzar.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48'Verdi said of it when it was first performed in 1842,
0:44:48 > 0:44:53"This is the opera with which my artistic career really begins."
0:45:28 > 0:45:30But of course the reason that Nabucco became
0:45:30 > 0:45:34such an instant success, was because, at the time,
0:45:34 > 0:45:38this part of northern Italy was yearning for independence.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42It was under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire,
0:45:42 > 0:45:46and so such stirring choruses like the Va, pensiero,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49the Hebrews' lament for their homeland,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51had a tremendous ring,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55struck a nerve to the people of this part of Italy.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43'The interval proved to be a revelation to me.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45'Food and opera in this country
0:46:45 > 0:46:48'are never very far away from each other.'
0:46:48 > 0:46:51Well, this is very enjoyable, I must say,
0:46:51 > 0:46:55because back in England, you'd just have a glass.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59But to have all this wonderful culatello as well is sensational,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01and such a pleasant thing to do.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06I think it's typical of the Italian enthusiasm for food and opera,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09that you have to have some nice food in the interval.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11I very much approve.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Anyway, salute.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21Charles, just in an attempt to prove the link
0:47:21 > 0:47:23between food and Italian opera,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25I've looked at various occasions in opera
0:47:25 > 0:47:27where food or drink is mentioned.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Obviously, the fighting with the baguettes in Boheme,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32and in Rigoletto, there's a drinking song.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35But particularly in Traviata, of course,
0:47:35 > 0:47:38with the most famous one, tell me about it.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41Well, it does absolutely illustrate Verdi's, and through him,
0:47:41 > 0:47:44the whole of Italy's lust for life, doesn't it?
0:47:44 > 0:47:47I mean, the very word, "libiamo," it's such a sensual language.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Even just saying, "libiamo," there's an intrinsic melody to it.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53It naturally climbs. Lib-yah, you know?
0:47:53 > 0:47:56So, of course he sets it to what's known as a rising sixth,
0:47:56 > 0:47:58which is particularly a combination of two notes
0:47:58 > 0:48:02which suggests yearning, suggests really wanting, sort of desire.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04That interval. And again.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16"Libiamo" means "let's drink,"
0:48:16 > 0:48:19'and this song is something that Verdi put into La Traviata
0:48:19 > 0:48:23'to attract the opera stars of the day, and give them a walk-on part.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26'It's performed here by the Parma Choral Society,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29'who rehearse conveniently over a restaurant
0:48:29 > 0:48:33'that specialises in cooking the dishes the maestro loved.'
0:48:42 > 0:48:46It's just like it encapsulates that absolute sort of joy
0:48:46 > 0:48:49and euphoria of meeting a load of people that you know well,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and you're going to drink, you're going to eat,
0:48:52 > 0:48:56- you're going to enjoy yourself. - Absolutely, kind of lust for life.
0:48:56 > 0:48:57Just think, if it had been...
0:48:57 > 0:49:00HE PLAYS PIANO
0:49:00 > 0:49:04You know, it hasn't got nearly the elan of...
0:49:09 > 0:49:11and he's tasting those notes.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14He's tasting the interval between them like a fine wine in his mouth.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16The other thing which works about this,
0:49:16 > 0:49:20the thing that drags you out of your seat with a kind of centrifugal force
0:49:20 > 0:49:22is the sense of lilt. Libiamo, libiamo!
0:49:22 > 0:49:25"Of course we're going to drink. We couldn't do anything else."
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Surely, this, more than anything else,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31proves that Verdi was an absolute lover of the good things in life,
0:49:31 > 0:49:32ie, food and wine.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43'One floor below,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47'one of the chefs is making the celebrated Rosa di Parma.'
0:49:47 > 0:49:51Well, there couldn't be a more classic Parma dish than this.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54I mean, it's fillet steak stuffed with culatello,
0:49:54 > 0:49:58which is the rump of pork, as opposed to the leg,
0:49:58 > 0:50:02even more revered in Parma than Parma ham itself.
0:50:02 > 0:50:04And Parmesan.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08So, you've got fillet steak, Parma ham and Parmesan, all in one dish.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11It's a really good way with fillet steak, because, fillet steak,
0:50:11 > 0:50:13I find quite boring.
0:50:13 > 0:50:16So it's perfect to put lots of lovely flavours,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18like culatello and Parmesan.
0:50:32 > 0:50:37'So, it's rolled, sliced, flamed in brandy and Marsala wine.
0:50:37 > 0:50:38'Talk about rich!'
0:50:41 > 0:50:43I just love the look of this.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47I mean, this is simple, luxurious,
0:50:47 > 0:50:52the sort of thing that everybody would be longing to eat, I'm sure.
0:50:52 > 0:50:58'The chef here makes it with reduced roasted meat stock and cream.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01'Definitely a celebratory dish,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04'which seems to say to me in true Mae West style,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06"if you've got it, honey, why don't you flaunt it?"
0:51:06 > 0:51:09'It's not a dish for the faint-hearted!'
0:51:14 > 0:51:17CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:20 > 0:51:24'As this programme's about food helping the creative process,
0:51:24 > 0:51:28'the great food writer Brillat-Savarin said in 1825,
0:51:28 > 0:51:30"After a good meal,
0:51:30 > 0:51:34"both body and soul enjoy a remarkable sense of well-being.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36"Your brain is refreshed,
0:51:36 > 0:51:40"your wits are sharpened, and your imagination is fired".
0:51:43 > 0:51:46'This is Verdi's house. Well, it's more than a house,
0:51:46 > 0:51:50'it's a farm, where he threw himself into being the gentleman farmer,
0:51:50 > 0:51:53'and where his workforce would cultivate and rear
0:51:53 > 0:51:55'everything he needed to be self-sufficient.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59'And of course, this place was the creative centre of his works.'
0:52:01 > 0:52:05So, this is where Verdi composed.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07Sat at the desk. Piano over there.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12And he had a good library of books, because he read a great deal.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16Very well read. In fact, he read Shakespeare,
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Paradise Lost, Dante, of course.
0:52:18 > 0:52:20Schiller and Byron as well.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22It's really interesting.
0:52:22 > 0:52:29I'm not a real opera buff, but this relationship between the librettist,
0:52:29 > 0:52:32in his case Arrigo Boito, and himself,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35because, obviously, he drove the whole thing.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40Obviously, all the glory is to the music,
0:52:40 > 0:52:42but the words are very important too.
0:52:45 > 0:52:51'I often think a lot of really creative work is done by two people.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54'The sum of the parts is better than the individuals.'
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Wow, look at that.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09That is splendid.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13I mean, I knew he had a model farm, but look at that avenue of trees.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16It's so aesthetically pleasing as well.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Look at the quality of the soil there.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21And, of course, he grew everything he wanted.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25Corn, he had poultry, cattle, vineyards.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28What a really special way to spend your money.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31I'd love to do something like this.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36'Giuseppe Verdi's farmers had to supply him
0:53:36 > 0:53:38'with a specific list of produce -
0:53:38 > 0:53:44'800 kilos of grapes, eight chickens in each month of July and August,
0:53:44 > 0:53:46'and they had to weigh at least two kilos.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49'20 dozen eggs at Easter and August,
0:53:49 > 0:53:53'eight capons at Christmas, each weighing four kilos.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55'The list, I'm sure, went on and on,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58'from a man who really loved his food.
0:53:59 > 0:54:05'In this region, Emilia-Romagna, you never can stray far from opera,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09'whether it's a full-blown affair, or a recital of choice works.
0:54:18 > 0:54:21'This is the Little Theatre in Busseto, near Verdi's home.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23'And this is the famous duo,
0:54:23 > 0:54:27'Daniela Dessi, and her husband, Fabio Armiliato.'
0:54:27 > 0:54:30As we're enjoying some Verdi tonight,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33tell me about his love of food. What did he like?
0:54:33 > 0:54:38He used to bring with him the food from his own area,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41when he went on a trip.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45He brought pasta and salami,
0:54:45 > 0:54:51something to have the joy of, and remind him of his own country.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53That's a habit,
0:54:53 > 0:54:59and he loved to have this, this food with him and to enjoy it.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01And Rossini too?
0:55:01 > 0:55:02SHE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:55:02 > 0:55:06'She says, "Rossini was a real big eater, and enjoyed his food,
0:55:06 > 0:55:08"and ate a lot, and became very fat.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12"Whereas Verdi enjoyed his food, but enjoyed it in moderation.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17"And he chose the best foods, and he loved to be slender and noble.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20"To him, food was a pleasure, but never excessive."
0:55:28 > 0:55:30AUDIENCE CLAP ALONG
0:55:38 > 0:55:41'I went to a little trattoria in the middle of Busseto.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43'Verdi could well have eaten here.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47'Certainly, they serve his favourite ham, Culatello di Zibello,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50'with lumps of Parmesan cheese.
0:55:50 > 0:55:51I'd never been here before,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54'but there was a great warmth about the place,
0:55:54 > 0:55:56'and a sense of conviviality.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59'It's a place where I wanted lunch to go on all afternoon.'
0:55:59 > 0:56:02I was walking past here this afternoon,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05and I just noticed in the window and did a double-take,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07this black and white photo of what looked like Verdi,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10standing behind the counter there. I was thinking,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13"Gosh, this place is really old". I looked again,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17and it was Verdi standing with the current patron.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19But then I thought, everywhere I've been,
0:56:19 > 0:56:25whether it's Pesaro with Rossini, or Torre del Lago with Puccini,
0:56:25 > 0:56:27or here around Busseto,
0:56:27 > 0:56:33there's so many dishes in honour of all these composers.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37Think of that rather garish pizza in Pesaro,
0:56:37 > 0:56:42or the soup in Torre del Lago, or here, all those things.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44You just think, did he really have them all?
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Did he like all these dishes? I don't know.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50All those 19th century composers are long gone,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54but those wonderful tunes and those fabulous operas live on,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56as does the food they loved.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58What could be more Italian than that?
0:56:58 > 0:57:02MUSIC: "Nessun Dorma" by Puccini, sung by Pavarotti
0:57:02 > 0:57:04'This.
0:57:04 > 0:57:10'The joys of opera and food in one person, the great Pavarotti.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13'He lived right next door to a restaurant run by his friend,
0:57:13 > 0:57:19'Cesare, and Pavarotti's favourite dish was a black rice risotto.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23'According to Cesare, he ate it for every meal.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25'It's made using the all-important beef stock -
0:57:25 > 0:57:28'over here they call it brodo -
0:57:28 > 0:57:31'Parmigiano Reggiano, and the local black rice.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35'In fact, the fewer the ingredients, the better the risotto, I find.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38'But it had a real touch of opera,
0:57:38 > 0:57:43'for a man who was known throughout the world for his love of good food.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47'It was finished with a melted gold leaf, 24 carat.
0:57:47 > 0:57:52'That, to me, is opera on a plate.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54'Well, it was Pavarotti.'
0:57:59 > 0:58:04Here in Parma, it was a habit to go to the performance,
0:58:04 > 0:58:10and in the back, where people sit, they were cooking.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12Cooking, boiling the pasta.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15- So, in the intermission, they have agnolotti.- Si. Yes.
0:58:15 > 0:58:16This is a habit.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19This is a great connection, because you enjoy the music,
0:58:19 > 0:58:20and enjoy the food.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24Imagine that at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden!
0:58:24 > 0:58:25THEY LAUGH
0:58:25 > 0:58:30# Vincero
0:58:31 > 0:58:45# Vincero, vincero! #
0:58:45 > 0:58:47APPLAUSE
0:58:50 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:53 > 0:58:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk