Diva-Colored Glasses

The “Traveling Diva” invited me to attend the 90th Anniversary of TAIX, a french country cuisine restaurant in the Silverlake, Echo Park area at 1911 W. Sunset Blvd. Pleasantly surprised , I went and enjoyed a wide variety of tasteful temptations of hors d’oeuvres from beef burgundy, shrimp ceviche, truffled macaroni and cheese, mushroom caps with garlic escargot de Bourgogne, succulent frog legs that melted in your mouth, petit toasted crab and cheese finger sandwiches following a number of other treats for dessert. My favorite dessert was the Mousse au Chocolate Noir. TAIX spoiled our palettes with a taste of France and wine. All that was missing was the Eiffel Tower! They have one of the most extensive wine collections in the Los Angeles area and are one of the few restaurants, nationally, that can say they are a fourth generation cuisine! Raymond Taix gave a heartfelt speech celebrating the ancestry of his family’s french food. In 1912 Marius Taix Sr. started his legacy of treating everyone with his culinary delights in the downtown Los Angeles French quarter. His affordable prices back then and still today make this a must for everyone’s needs for lunch , dinner, wine tasting, dessert and coffee ...

https://youtu.be/6sw4GzhmZ40 The heat continues to rise as the biggest names in Hollywood attend “Halloween Hotness”. This annual inspirational charity event benefits two fantastic causes in St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital & The National Canine Cancer Foundation. Also a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort. The tremendous impact of Halloween Hotness has brought out the Hollywood elite again and again for a truly benevolent cause. The proceeds from the Halloween Hotness’ in years past have helped advance the battle against cancer and brought us a few steps closer to eliminate it once and for all. This year we’ve chosen American Legion Hollywood Post 43 as the location for our event. These hallowed halls were once graced by such stars such as: Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Regan, Charlton Heston, Abbott & Costello, Shirley Temple, and thousands more. Accommodating the event at the American Legion Hollywood, Halloween Hotness also benefits our troops, veterans, and their families. We’ve also added an exciting new element to our event, a Fashion Show! This exciting fashion show will be highlighting the unique and trendy attire to our evening’s festivities. Halloween Hotness event information: Celebrity Red Carpet Charity Event - Halloween Hotness 4 American Legion Hollywood Post 43 Sunday, ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo copyright 2017 Laguna Beach, California, resembles the Italian Amalfi Coast - at least to we Italian Americans. So naturally, we wanted to enjoy it with our four DeCarlo grandchildren, aged 12 to 19. Getting them together was a feat we relished. However, we had to be sure there was something for everyone to enjoy. So we concocted an afternoon itinerary which included diving into the frothy surf,  lunch as Las Brisas, with a quick detour next door to the Laguna Art Museum. Actually, I had read a review of the "Ben Messick: Memories of Los Angeles" exhibit and thought it would be wonderful to see and perfect for our little artist, Serritella. But how to entice the baseball and hockey players, Sam and Andrew,  as well as college girl, Michelle? The genius of our plan included the "Holy Grail" of any Laguna Beach visit - a parking space - with apologies to the illustrious legend. While Laguna is gorgeous, traffic and parking are ugly. So we zeroed in on lunch at an old favorite, Las Brisas restaurant, with its valet parking lot and were perfectly located to do everything easily without lost time or much walking. I really appreciated the front desk ...

Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center Anaheim, CA By Angela Rocco DeCarlo "Downton Abbey," one of the most successful television shows, is set in a fictional Edwardian English castle, awash with nobles, paid-servants and enormous upheavals due to war, jealousy and financial ruin. The Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, Anaheim, CA, is presenting an exhibition of the lovely wardrobe of the show. Seeing the clothing up close is delightful. In every detail the show's six seasons evoked the volcanic disruptions brought on by World War I and its political, societal and financial changes. The Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age took woman from their corseted floor-length dresses to loose shifts exposing naked shoulders and legs - shocking. "In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, now God knows, anything goes." From Noel Coward's song, "Anything Goes." The Downton Abbey era is illuminated through the skillful Julian Fellows' scripts and an array of outstanding good-looking actors who enchanted television viewers. The gorgeous period clothing charmed all. "Dressing Downton - Changing Fashion for Changing Times" featuring nearly 40 of the original garments designed and fitted to the individual actors, can be seen at Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, Anaheim, California, until May 11. It then ...

by Greg Morabito  A lot of New York restaurants are hard to get into, but only a handful of places in the city require background checks, referrals, or special membership cards to enter. Here's a guide to 10 private New York bars and restaurants, with information about where to go and who to talk to if you want a table. 10) Tiro a Segno: This private Italian-American social club, which occupies three brownstones on MacDougal Street, has something you won't find at any other restaurant in New York City: an active, wood-paneled shooting range in the basement. Upstairs, there's a bar and several dining rooms serving a wide array of traditional Italian American food. Tiro A Segno (which means "shoot the target") is strictly members-only, although they sometimes bend the rules if you want to buy-out one of the banquet rooms for a large event. But if you want to become a member for life, you must be nominated by a current member, and it certainly helps if someone in your family is Italian. For more on the club's 124 year legacy, check out their official site. (Photo) 9) Brooklyn Edible Social Club: About twice a month, this culinary collectiveholds small dinner parties ...

Verdi's masterpiece - one of them anyway - AIDA, has it's final Orange County, CA, performance Tuesday, 8 p.m., Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA. It is not to be missed.        Aida, the 1871 spectacle usually performed with "a cast of thousands," including animals, which debuted at the Cairo Opera House, is distilled to its essential elements, which are quite enough to enthrall an audience.  Local critics were lavish in praise of the South African soprano, Kelebogile Besong, making her North American debut, in the role of Aida at Segerstrom Concert Hall.                    This is one of the great operas everyone should see at least once.  It is awash with military and political intrigue, a love triangle and enough gorgeous Verdi music to thrill.         Besong as Aida, slave to the Egyptian princess Amneris, played by local diva, Milena Kitic, is besotted with the Egyptian military hero, Radames, the man Amneris wants for herself. Aida, herself a princess, unknown to her captors, is distraught when the victorious General Radames brings back defeated enemies, which include Aida's father, the king.          The ingenious staging in an oversized downstage sandbox, with the fabulous 88 - piece Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Carl St. Clair conducting, on stage behind the actors, works rather well. The chorus and dancers ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall Segerstrom Center for the Arts Costa Mesa, CA February 23, 25, 28 – 8 p.m. Aida, the spectacular Giuseppe Verdi opera of 1871, alight with a dramatic love triangle, political and military intrigue, and the glorious aria “Celeste Aida” in Act 1, and the “Triumphal March” of Act II, comes to Orange County, California, February 23, 25 and 28. This is the opera everyone should experience at least once. Verdi was the most successful and widely performed composer in opera history. No opera season in the world is complete without including at least two of his major pieces. The Pacific Symphony, with Carl St. Clair conducting, at Renee and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA, presents Verdi's dynamic masterpiece in a full-orchestra of  88 musicians, “semi-staged” concert presentation, featuring stellar performers, including local diva, Milena Kitic, who was the ferocious gypsy beauty of Bizet's Carmen, in thePacific Symphony production of a few years ago. She performs Amneris, the Egyptian princess in love with military hero, Radames. Making her North American debut, South African mezzo, Kelebogile Besong, sings the role of Aida, captured Nubian princess, slave to Amneris. Unknown to others, Aida and Radames share a deep love ...

By Angela Rocco DeCarlo The Costa Mesa opera house audience in Orange County, California, went wild. The Segerstrom Center for the Arts’  performance, October 2,  featuring the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece film,"The Godfather" with a full symphonic orchestra onstage providing the beautiful music of Nino Rota's Academy Award winning score, conducted by UCLA alum, Justin Freer, was sensational. The word was the symphony's trumpet player, Robert Frear, of Long Beach State music department, was the original musician from the film. His featured solo, The Godfather Waltz,  in that haunting opening scene in Don Corleone's office, as Bonasera is asking for a favor to avenge his daughter, primes the audience for what is to come. As an Opera Pacific docent I've enjoyed many operas in that theater, but I can not recall such a vocally appreciative audience. Of course, The Godfather, is, in a certain sense, an opera. It is something Puccini or Verdi might have fashioned. It has all the elements of a great opera - love, loyalty, betrayal and revenge. Especially loyalty and revenge. And there are certainly enough deaths to satisfy that element of operatic trauma. Poor Michael Corleone is the perfect Aristotelian tragic hero. His flaw of family love and devotion to his father causes him to lose his soul. He abandons his planned life to avenge his father. So sad. In ...

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Costa Mesa, CA Renée Fleming is a big deal. The opera soprano is celebrated for her beauty, charming grace and acclaimed vocal talents.   She will be performing with the Pacific Symphony orchestra, conductor Carl St. Clair, in Orange County September 13, 8 p.m., at theRenée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, singing a varied program including songs from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical "The King and I," as well as opera favorites such as Leoncavello's "Mattinata," and Mozart's Overture to "The Abduction from the Seraglio."  Of particular anticipation will be her presentation of Richard Strauss's hauntingly beautiful "Four Last Songs."               Renée Fleming  is someone who should be on everyone's "bucket list" of great performers to see in person. Her repertoire of dozens of operas has taken her to opera houses all over the world. Yet, she continues to add to her artistic endeavors with recitals and mentoring budding opera artists with master classes while sending opera into the Chicago community of public schools. She serves as creative consultant to Lyric Opera of Chicago.               This September 13th Fleming recital is a stellar opportunity to experience the very best musical entertainment by a performer at her peak. It will be an evening of glistening music, with something special for everyone.    Fleming is the "gold medal" ...

Never before in recorded history has there been a visionary as gifted... or hilarious, as Dr. Lars Dingman, the iTunes Psychic. Award-winning radio personality Dr. Lars Dingman, will offer every audience member the opportunity to come on stage for a free psychic peek at their future during his live broadcast. Using only the last 3 songs, randomly picked by the subject's digital music player, Earth's first Digital Age Psychic will predict the future and reveal past lives. FREE VACATION: Someone in the audience will win a FREE CANCUN VACATION Lars already knows who's going to win, but you have to show up to find out. Don't miss the oracle the HuffingtonPost calls "Earth's funniest psychic... Dingman's uncanny accuracy - and lunatic hilarity - deftly merge comedy and Psychic phenomena. A MUST SEE!" See and Hear his amazing predictions at www.itunespychic.com and follow him on Twitter @itunespsychic. Video: https://youtu.be/t8Ge-JdLEoc WATCH LIVE THIS MONDAY! Dr. Lars Dingman, iTunes Psychic Monday, May 23 2016 7:00pm   $5 UCB Sunset 5419 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027