小瓊：首先祝大家新年快乐！一提到新年，我就想到团圆饭上的一道道佳肴。这又让我想起多年前看过的一场电影。当时我整个中午都很忙，没来得及吃午饭，所以下午看电影的时候胃就不停地咕咕叫，非常痛苦。
　　小薇：那是什么电影呢？
　　小琼：你知道李安1994年执导的《饮食男女》吗？那是一部略带悲情的喜剧片，讲的是一位大厨父亲，对他来说烹饪就是生活的意义和目标。可每到重要的家庭聚餐时，三个女儿总会有一个人做出令一家惊讶的事。影片精心摄制了这些美味菜肴的每一个制作步骤，看得我口水直流，肚子直叫。甚至连蒸、炒、煮、炸等烹饪手法的声效都捕捉得恰到好处。从此我跟自己说好：再也不饿着肚子看美食片了。而最近，费城歌剧院的一部网上歌剧又让我回忆起那段经历。
　　小薇：我看到官网的信息，费城歌剧院之前在线播放了《祝你好胃口》，一部20分钟长的歌剧。
　　小琼：李·霍以比（1926～2011）谱写了这部歌剧——或者说，把一个原本的电视烹饪节目《法国大厨》改编成了歌剧。《法国大厨》由朱莉娅·查尔德（1912～2004）主持，是当年非常受欢迎的电视节目，被誉为“将法式烹饪带到了美国人的家中”。霍以比的搭档马克·舒尔加瑟把其中两集的台本改编成了喜歌剧，1989年的时候在肯尼迪中心首演。《祝你好胃口》是一部独角戏，由一名女中音饰演朱莉娅·查尔德，给观众展示如何制作巧克力蛋糕。剧中展现了蛋糕制作的每一个步骤，从融化巧克力、筛玉米淀粉，一直到打蛋清、烤蛋糕。
　　小薇：《祝你好胃口》这部短歌剧具有强大的可塑性，不仅在大大小小的舞台上演出过，甚至还进过餐厅，由室内乐团或是仅仅靠钢琴来伴奏。
　　小琼：杰米·巴顿在这次的网络版中饰演朱莉娅·查尔德，演得真的很有意思。里面有一段她甚至把一滴融化的巧克力涂到了鼻子上！幸而这次看之前我吃过了一块蛋糕，不然肚子又要不高兴了。


　　Joan： First of all， Happy New Year！ Whenever I think of New Year， I think of the fine array of foods at family dinners. And that reminds me of a film I saw years ago. I was in such a rush one afternoon that I ran to the cinema having missed lunch， so my stomach kept growling and growling during the screening. It was quite painful.
　　Valery： Which film was that？
　　Joan： Have you heard of Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman from 1994？ It is a bittersweet comedy about a father who is a master-chef， his cooking giving meaning and purpose to his life. At every major family meal， something dramatic happens to one of his three daughters. Amazing scenes detail every step in making these elaborate dishes， and my mouth was watering while my stomach kept growling. Even the sounds of steaming， frying and boiling were so wellcaptured. Since then， I’ve made a promise to myself： always have a full stomach before I watch another film about food. Most recently， Opera Philadelphia presented an online production that brought back these memories.
　　Valery： I read on the opera company’s website that they just put on Bon Appetit！， a 20-minute opera.
　　Joan： Lee Hoiby （1926–2011） composed this opera—or really， adapted what was originally a TV cooking show， The French Chef， hosted by Julia Child （1912–2004）. The French Chef， which was widely credited for introducing French cooking to American households， was very popular during its time. Transcripts from two episodes were adapted by Hoiby’s partner Mark Shulgasser into a comic libretto and premiered at the Kennedy Center in 1989. Bon Appetit！ is a onewoman show， with a mezzo soprano playing Julia Child showing the audience how to make a chocolate cake. It includes all of the little steps： from melting the chocolate， sifting cornstarch， to whisking egg white and baking the cake.
　　Valery： Bon Appetit！ was such a malleable short opera that it’s been produced on stages large and small and even in restaurants， accompanied by chamber ensemble or just on the piano.
　　Joan： Jamie Barton played Julia Child in the Opera Philadelphia stream， and I can assure you it was delightfully fun. At one point， she even had a speck of melted chocolate on her nose！ And this time， I had a piece of cake before the show. My stomach was happy！