Frappe Recipe from Mangia Dolce! Cookbook

Carnevale, Italy's magical version of mardi gras, is traditionally celebrated in Italy 40 days before Easter. Carnevale is one of Italy's biggest festivals. Masquerade reveling, partying and, of course, eating is a part of this annual celebration.  To kick off the Carnival festivities here in DC, CiaoDC would like to share a "Frappe" recipe from Pasticcere, Italian Pastry Chef, Nicola Tarallo of Gaeta, Italy from his collection of Italian home-cooked sweets, Mangia Dolce!  Frappe, or as refferred to by Ada Boni, "Lover's Knot" are the best known Carnival pastries. When preparing and enjoying this dessert, may the drama come alive in you all!  Buon Appetito e Buon Divertimento!

FRAPPE

Prep Time: 40 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Makes about 60 frappe

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cake flour

4 eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons sugar

4 tablespoons white wine

A pinch of salt

Zest of 1 lemon, grated

Oil for deep frying

Confectioners sugar for dusting

PREPARATION:
Mix together the flour, eggs, sugar, butter, wine, salt and grated zest in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork until the dough begins to stick together, and then use your hands to mix thoroughly.Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until it becomes homogeneous. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for about an hour. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Use a cutting wheel to cut the dough into strips about 1 inch wide and 3 inches long.  Fry the pastry strips a few at a time in very hot oil until crisp and golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and let the frappe drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining dough.  Transfer onto a serving plate or platter, and dust with confectioners sugar.

Tony LoBianco is Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in "The Little Flower"

MNA Productions, Inc., proudly announces that Tony Lo Bianco will bring his award-winning performance as Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in THE LITTLE FLOWER to Washington D.C. and New York City this winter. The D.C. premiere will include special performances for members of the United States House and Senate, the Wounded Warriors Foundation and the Embassy of Italy in the United States. THE LITTLE FLOWER will then return to New York for a 16-performance run.

On Thursday, February 22, 2013, Claudio Bisogniero, the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, will host a special presentation of THE LITTLE FLOWER at the Italian Embassy as part of the “Year of Italian Culture in the United States”. On Monday, February 25, Lo Bianco will perform THE LITTLE FLOWER at the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Roberta Burke Theater for an audience of wounded veterans, members of the United States House and Senate and the general public. $35 tickets for the U.S. Navy Memorial performance on February 26 are available by emailing Chris Schembra at tonylobo@aol.com.


Tony Lo Bianco is an award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer who has had the privilege to collaborate with many of the brightest creative minds in the performing arts, both past and present, throughout his distinguished career. CiaoDC interviews Tony LoBianco on his passion as a playwright, politico and - of course - an Italian American.  Listen here for interview. Exclusive CiaoDC.com Interview Here.

Two Events In Honor of Remembrance Day

REMEMBRANCE DAY AT THE EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES

Italy was one of the first European countries to establish “Remembrance Day,” an international memorial day held around the world each year on January 27. In this context, the Italian Embassy and Consulates, and the Italian Cultural Institutes in the United States offer a wide range of cultural events to maintain the memory of the Holocaust in younger generations and to continue honoring the victims of the Holocaust. This year's commemorative events are also part of “2013 - Year of Italian Culture in the United States.”

“The Italian diplomatic network in the United States - stated Claudio Bisogniero, Ambassador of Italy in Washington - is making a special effort to stress the meaning of this day, a plea to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust and to guard against all forms of anti-Semitism in the future.”

The Embassy in Washington is hosting two events. The first will begin today at 7:00 p.m. with the presentation of the play “1938 - The Invention of the Enemy.” January 24 Event Information here.

The second event will take place at the Embassy on Monday, January 28: a screening of the film “The Righteous Enemy,” directed in 1987 by Joseph Rochlitz. January 28 Event Information here.

Over the course of these next few days, numerous events will be held at the Consulates and the Italian Cultural Institutes in major U.S. cities. From New York to San Francisco, from Boston to Philadelphia, from Chicago to Miami, from Los Angelesto Newark, ample space will be devoted to commemorations, presentations, conferences, and film screenings on the Holocaust and its remembrance.

NOIAW Celebrates Three Wise 'Italian' Women!

The National Organization of Italian American Women host "An Epiphany Celebration" in honor of 'Three Wise Women' on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Maggiano's Little Italy in Washington, DC.  Join this annual celebration of accomplished Italian American women as they are honored for their contributions in art, media and business.  Honorees will include Mirella Monti Belshe, Resident Sculptor of Torpedo Factory Art Center; Gracia C. Martore, President & CEO of Gannett Company; Patricia De Stacy Harrison, President & CEO of Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  

An intimate affair and grand networking opportunity, NOIAW's Epiphany Celebration was initiated by it's national headquarter's in New York 28 years ago.  Recently launched four years ago in Washington, DC by the Greater Washington, DC Region of NOIAW, the honored 'Three Wise Women' are traditionally introduced by Master of Ceremonies Congresswomen Rosa L. DeLauro who will be presented by Ambassador Constance Morella this year.  Other distinguished guests include dignitaries of the Italian Embassy; representatives of national Italian organizations among other luminaries and Washington movers and shakers.  

"This is our friends and family event...It is made up of friends and family of NOIAW and friends and family of our honorees," says Diana Femia, President of the Greater Washington, DC Region NOIAW/Epiphany Celebration Event Planner. 

Also featured this year will be a stellar silent auction to include a coveted sculpture from the Torpedo Factory crafted and donated by honoree Mirella Monti Belshe; and other gifts of art, Italian cuisine, fashion and more!  Tickets are $115 and include a dinner buffet and bar.  For more information click here.  To hear highlights of the event and an exclusive CiaoDC.com interview with Diana Femia, President of Greater Washington, DC Region NOIAW listen here (mp3).

See interview with Mirella Monti Belshe here.

2013 - The Year of Italian Culture

Washington, DC—This morning at the National Gallery of Art, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata opens 2013—The Year of Italian Culture by unveiling Michelangelo's David-Apollo, which will be on view in the West Building's Italian galleries from December 13, 2012, through March 3, 2013. 

2013—The Year of Italian Culture is a project launched by Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. This program will showcase the best of Italian arts and culture in some 70 U.S. cultural institutions across America in more than 40 major cities, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington. The initiative will highlight research, discovery, and innovation in Italian culture and identity, focusing on art, music, theater, cinema, literature, science, design, fashion, and cuisine.

"My country's cultural heritage is a unique 'natural resource,'" said Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata. "Culture is what immediately comes to mind when you think about Italy. It is indeed a fundamental pillar of our foreign policy. In this spirit we launch the year of Italian culture in the United States in 2013, which will include an impressive program of events in the arts, science, and technology. This initiative will enhance the friendship between Italy and the United States and forge a new legacy for future generations."

Exhibition Organization and Support

Under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic, the presentation ofMichelangelo's David-Apollo inaugurates 2013—The Year of Italian Culture, organized by The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Italy in Washington, in collaboration with the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali and with the support of the Corporate Ambassadors Intesa Sanpaolo and Eni.

The presentation has been organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Patrimonio Storico, Artistico ed Etnoantropologico e per il Polo Museale della città di Firenze, and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence.

Michelangelo's David-Apollo

The ideal of the multitalented Renaissance man came to life in Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), whose achievements in sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry are legendary. The subject of this statue, like its form, is unresolved. In 1550 Michelangelo's biographer Giorgio Vasari described the figure as "an Apollo who draws an arrow from his quiver," referring to the classical god of music and enlightenment, whose arrows could assail both terrible monsters and disrespectful mortals. A 1553 inventory of the collection of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, however, calls the work "an incomplete David by Buonarroti." By then it had entered the Palazzo Vecchio (the seat of government in Florence), joining several earlier sculptures of the biblical giant-killer David, a favorite Florentine symbol of resistance to tyranny.

Related Programs and Offerings

An illustrated brochure written by Alison Luchs, curator of early European sculpture, will accompany the exhibition. Luchs will also present a public lecture entitled "Michelangelo's David-Apollo: An Offer He Couldn't Refuse," on January 27 at 2:00 p.m. in the East Building Auditorium. Eric Denker, senior lecturer, will lead Gallery Talks about the sculpture at noon on January 3, 5, 7, and 9 in the West Building.

Pina Ragionieri, director of Casa Buonarroti, will give an overview of the Florentine museum's remarkable collection of Michelangelo's work. The lecture will take place at the Embassy of Italy in Washington on February 11 at 3:00 p.m.

2013—The Year of Italian Culture in the United States

Research, discovery, and innovation will be highlighted through Italian art, music, theater, cinema, literature, science, design, fashion, and cuisine. Nicola Piovani, winner of the 1998 Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Score of the Roberto Benigni film La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful), has composed a musical score dedicated to this yearlong event. The celebration also coincides with the 200th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's birth, which will be honored with performances featuring Riccardo Muti, conductor and musical director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and classical pianist Maurizio Pollini. Visitors to American museums and cultural venues will be able to view great masterpieces by Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Morandi, Chia, and De Chirico, among others

Ring in the Yuletide Cheer with Faction of Fools' A Commedia Christmas Carol

If you are like me, you’ve grown up seeing the annual performance of A Christmas Carol at your local repertory company. Still, I bet you’ve never seen it from the lens of A Commedia Christmas Carol, the Faction of Fools’ latest undertaking to fuse 16^th century Italian theater with stage classics.

At first thought, A Christmas Carol may not seem suited for rendering into a commedia dell' arte version. But Faction of Fools’ Founding Artistic Director, Matthew R. Wilson’s adaption easily finds inspiration for many of Dicken’s characters in the rich tradition of A Commedia’s archetypes. Scrooge (Paul Riesman) is the miserly Pantalone, Jacob Marley (Toby Mulford) as il Dottore; Bob Cratchit (Joel David Santner) is a servant-like Arlecchino, and Scrooge’s nephew, Fred (Tyler Herman), portrays  an eloquent innamorato.

True to any of the Fools’ plays, there are plenty of laughter inducing moments scattered throughout, which often provide relief for the more serious moments. In the beginning, Cratchit’s fruitless attempts to keep the office door closed, and the cold air out, function  as slapstick on the periphery of Scrooge’s “Bah Humbug” invective. The life-size caricature apparitions from Scrooge’s youth, revealed during a visit from the Christmas past, lighten the heavy burden of realizing one's regrets. And when the Cratchits eagerly hunt the horse fly in their home for dinner, we are momentarily distracted from their more than humble circumstances.

Yet, A Commedia Christmas Carol is so much more than it’s masks, improvisation, and physical comedy.  It is the enthusiasm with which Scrooge pledges to change his selfish ways, as well as the alacrity with which he begins to prove himself through various acts of charity. It is the welcoming comfort provided by those who, like Tiny Tim, withhold judgment. It is the invitation from a family member that is continually extended, with the hope that someday it will be accepted. These lessons, and many more, are captured by the ensemble of Fools.

This potent telling of a timeless story highlights the important things in life: making time for our loved ones, empathizing with our less fortunate neighbors, and keeping the spirit of Christmas with us throughout the year. For those of us who have been neglectful, Jacob Marley reminds us, “It’s never too late!”

A Commedia Christmas Carol is playing Thursday through Sunday at the Elstad Theater at Galludet University until Sunday, December 23^rd.  For more information or tickets, click here.

Bah Hum Bug Commedia dell' Arte Style!

Faction of Fools Theatre Company presents
A Commedia Christmas Carol

$20 Tickets for CiaoDC members, purchase anytime, with the code: NATALE
Masks, acrobatics, humbug, and holiday cheer abound in this modern retelling of the Dickens holiday classic, written and directed by Helen Hayes Award nominee Matthew R. Wilson.

When Pantalone Scrooge is visited by his old friend Dottore Marley, an unforgettable adventure of ghosts, yuletides, and omens sets the greedy old man on the rocky road to redemption. Dickens's London comes alive in a new way with a Commedia twist and a fresh new script. A Commedia Christmas Carol is a treat for the whole family and a hilarious, heart-felt celebration of the holiday season.

Nov. 29 - Dec. 23
Thu, Fri, Sat @ 8pm // Sun @ 2pm
Pay What You Can Preview: Thu, Nov. 29 @ 8pm
Special Monday Night Performance: Mon, Dec. 17 @ 7:30pm.
(No Performance: Sun, Dec. 9)

Elstad Auditorium
Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave NE, WDC
*** Free Parking *** Metro: Red Line, NY Ave ***

Sign Language Interpreted: Thursday, November 19 and Friday, December 14 at 8:00 PM, & Sunday, December 16 at 2:00PM. Captioning available all other performances upon request.

Tickets: $25; call 800-838-3006, or visit http://www.factionoffools.org/ccc