Dining with the DIVA
A unique culinary experience combining the delicious tastes of Italy with the gorgeous sounds of classically trained musicians.
An Intimate Multi-Sensory Experience
A professional opera singer, who is also a self-confessed foodie and a superb Italian trained chef, along with her sous chef (who is also a classical guitarist) promises an experience for all the senses!
The two artists will prepare a delicious meal for your invited guests and serve it with live opera and art songs in an intimate setting. You cannot get any closer to art than this.
The guests are encouraged to participate in the preparations and discuss gastronomy with the chef, as they please. Specialties include home made risotto and pasta.
The idea behind Dining With The Diva is to get up-close and personal with the artists. What better way than to share a meal while enjoying the pleasures of all the senses.
What To Expect
A fun, interactive and entertaining evening that begins with authentic Italian antipasti, a demonstration on how to make fresh pasta, followed by a delicious meal of lasagna Bolognese or risotto of your choice. We then move on to dessert where you will enjoy a delicious tiramisu while being serenaded by Christina and Lars in a concert of opera and Broadway favorites.
Appetizers and Kitchen Demonstration
Enjoy authentic Italian antipasti and learn how to make fresh pasta!
Sit-Down Dinner
Enjoy a delicious homemade meal of Lasagna Bolognese or Risotto!
Dessert and Concert
Savor a delectable tiramisu while being serenaded by Christina and Lars!
Our Menus
You can choose from two delicious Italian meals that include appetizers, entree and dessert.
Lasagna Feast
- Our signature 1/4 wheel of Grana Padano cheese
- Italian antipasti platter which includes a selection of prosciutto, salami and sopressata
- Seasonal bruschetta made with our house made ricotta cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes and basil
- Lasagna Bolognese
- Arugula salad
- Traditional or Limoncello Tiramisu
- Coffee and tea
Vegetarian Risotto Feast
- Our signature 1/4 wheel of Grana Padano cheese
- Italian antipasti platter which includes a selection of prosciutto, salami and soppressata
- Seasonal bruschetta made with our house made ricotta cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes and basil
- A seasonal risotto of your choice: Wild mushroom/Asparagus and pea/Lemon and zucchini
- Arugula salad
- Traditional or Limoncello Tiramisu
- Coffee/Tea
Our Music
Christina and Lars will present a selection of Italian and Spanish art songs, opera and Broadway favorites. A sample program is below.
Seguidilla/ Bizet
Guitar Solos:
- By Isaac Albeniz Capriccio /Opus 232
- Mallorca /Opus 202
- Zambra Granadina /Opus 232
- Asturias /Opus 147
Cabaret Medley:
- All the things you are/Kern
- Lullaby of Birdland/Shearing
- Summertime/Gershwin/ Guitar solo
- Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered/ Rodgers
- Cheek to Cheek/Berlin
- I could have danced all night/Lerner and Loewe
Opera Selections:
- Mon Coeur/Saint-Saens
- Voi lo sapete/Mascagni
- O mio babbino caro/Puccini
Meet Us
Christina Lamberti
Diva/Chef
Christina’s love of cooking was nurtured at an early age by both of her grandmothers. They were wonderful home cooks that always had something homemade on the dinner table be it a simple minestrone soup or an elaborate roast. Her grandfather on her mother’s side served in Italy in WW2 and was a well known illustrator and would paint her landscapes of the Italian countryside. Her obsession with all things Italian continued when she met her voice teacher, Claudia Pinza, daughter of the great Bass Ezio Pinza. Christina spent many evenings dining at her teacher’s home and learning how to make risottos, pasta and lasagna. Christina went on to live and sing in Europe, while living in Vienna, Austria she helped run a small Italian trattoria on the weekends while performing leading roles with the Theater Regensburg in Germany.
She has performed for some of the world’s leading organizations, including San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Pittsburg Opera. To read more about Christina’s impressive performing career please visit her website. Christina is now living in NYC with her husband classical guitarist and Dining with the Diva partner Lars Frandsen. Christina’s love for music and great food are now combined to create an unforgettable evening that will stir all your senses.
Lars Frandsen
Guitarist/Sous Chef
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Yale University, and the Eastman School of Music, Lars holds a doctoral degree in performance and literature.
In addition, Lars has performed several times in guitar master classes conducted by John Williams, David Russell and Manuel Barruecco. Lars was the first guitarist to play and coach chamber music (during five consecutive concert seasons) at the Apple Hill Summer School, where he taught and performed with members of the London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras.
Lars directs the classical guitar program at Brooklyn College at the City University of New York, and he also directs the theory and ear training program at Nyack College in Manhattan.
Lars’ culinary interests originally relate to the home cooking of his father and older brother. His desire to learn knife sharpening stems from childhood, watching his cabinet maker dad sharpening his wood working tools. The skill of maintaining and using a tool is essential to both wood working as well as cooking, and is indeed similar to the way in which an instrumentalist relates to the tool of his trade.
Check out My Foodie Blog!
A professional opera singer and self-confessed foodie!
I have finally done it!! I have started my own food blog after years of putting it off!! What a year it has been so far, newly married, a new position as an adjunct professor of voice and Italian, launching a new creative venture with my wonderful husband. It has been...
Testimonials
“Christina’s talents as a chef are surpassed only by her amazing musical gift, she and Lars created a wonderful sense of community, as if we were a family coming together to share food and music. It was a joyful, delicious and, ultimately, moving experience, an evening we will remember.”
Art P.
“We spent the most delightful evening being wined, dined, and entertained in grand style! Christina’s voice is magnificent! It is hard to believe she is not singing at the Met! The intimacy of the evening brought everyone up close and personal with her voice.”
Sally W.
“What a magnificent evening! The food was delicious from the antipasti (including a delectable homemade ricotta!), to the creamy risotto, to the tiramisu. Christina and Lars are world-class musicians and the concert after dinner was Met-worthy! It was a truly fabulous experience.”
Regina Z.
Ippolita R.