Turkey and chicken leftovers often find themselves chopped up and tossed in recipes ending in ‘à la King‘ and ‘Tetrazzini‘. Just last weekend, I pulled out Emeril Lagasses’s recipe for Chicken à la King to use up some turkey leftovers, and I have Ree Drummond’s Turkey Tetrazzini recipe on standby for Christmas.
Historically the two dishes appeared within less than two decades of each other—‘à la King’ in the early 1890s was the invention of Chef William King of the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia*, and ‘Tetrazzini’ was lovingly assembled in 1908-1910 by Chef Ernest Arbogast of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California*, a city adored by Italian opera star Luisa Tertrazzini (1871-1940) and the site of her 1905 US debut. I confess that until recently, I’d never heard of Luisa nor did I know the origins of the culinary creation that bears her name. Discovering her has been a wonderful surprise.
Luisa was a huge phenomenon in her day, and it would be a shame if current generations did not get to know who she was and the cultural contributions she made to her adopted country, particularly to her beloved San Francisco, victim of a devastating earthquake in 1906.
After her San Francisco debut, Luisa headed to New York where she was a huge sensation and worked for the great Oscar Hammerstein. Some legal disputes erupted at one point that were preventing her from performing in New York. The feisty Luisa called a press conference and made her famous pronouncement: “I will sing in San Francisco if I have to sing there in the streets, for I know the streets of San Francisco are free.” And that is exactly what Luisa did after winning her legal battles.
On Christmas Eve 1910, she demonstrated her affection for the City by the Bay with a live evening performance before an audience estimated at up to 300,000 people. In the heart of the city, near the famed ‘Lotta’s Fountain‘, accompanied by Steindorff’s Orchestra and choristers from the Good Samaritan Mission and the Church of St. John the Baptist, Madame Luisa Tetrazzini, age 39, sang her heart out. As one newspaper described it: “It was a Christmas party at which San Francisco ‘hung up’ its ears instead of its stockings and filled them with the gold and silver of Tetrazzini’s music.” **
Visit YouTube today, and you can have the privilege of listening to this amazing star yourself. There are dozens of links to choose from, all accompanied by some image of the Italian diva.
Much was written about that Christmas Eve performance so many years ago, and I’m posting a few of the articles I’ve found here, just so you can get a sense of how utterly phenomenal Luisa was and why she truly deserves to be remembered for generations to come.
Suffice it to say that from now on, whenever I reach for my recipe for Chicken/Turkey Tetrazzini or think of San Francisco, I will remember this portly little lady with the heavenly voice who was adored by millions of our ancestors and brought so much joy to the lives of so many.
(CLICK IMAGES BELOW FOR LEGIBLE VIEWS)
***Christmas Eve Concert – commemorative plaque unveiled – March 1912***
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*Wikipedia
**San Francisco’s The Call, Sunday, December 25, 1910, pp. 29-36.
***calciums = calcium lights that produce light effects
What a wonderful story. Thanks. –Curt
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Thanks, Curt
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I really enjoyed this story. I am going to do some listening on YouTube- I love a good soprano voice!
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Thanks, Barbara! Glad you liked it. It’s great those old recordings survive.
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Wow, I haven’t had time to read the inserts yet but I did listen to one of the YouTube recordings. What an amazing voice! I’ll be back to read this! sigh–sometimes life’s obligations just interfere with my fun! 😉
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She was quite a powerhouse. How is your move coming along?
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We got a lot done around here and now it looks like the move is going to have to be set aside for a while! YAY! I know to be sensible we should downsize one of these days. Just not yet! 😆 (Picture me trying to sing the Hallelujah Chorus!)
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Well, it’s not easy downsizing, and this is not the best time of year to be headed north anyway! Enjoy your holidays!
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I finally won the round on not going north so I will definitely enjoy my holidays! You too! 😀
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Great! Enjoy!
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