B.W. COOK--The Crowd

The Newport-Mesa crowd gathered to support Opera Pacific, which

performs at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, as the Gold Ring

Society of Founders of Opera Pacific presented its summer gala “An

Evening in Seville.”

The festive Saturday evening crowd partied under the stars and the

backdrop of romantic Spanish architecture at the Bowers Museum of

Cultural Art, Santa Ana. The affair was produced by Newport’s Nancy

Sorosky and Margaret L. “Maggie” Price, both longtime and dedicated

supporters of Opera Pacific.

With the recent news of a new building to headquarter the opera and a

major donation by the Henry Samueli family, the mood was decidedly

upbeat.

Opera Pacific executive director Martin Hubbard and his wife, Margie,

were all smiles greeting the crowd who came to congratulate them on the

company’s success.

The evening unfolded in honor of two more ardent supporters of the

arts in Orange County, Mary and Peter Muth. Hubbard paid tribute to the

generous Muth family with glowing remarks between the musical sets of Les

Brown and his Band of Renown.

Lady golfer and event co-chairwoman Sorosky took enough time away from

her game at Big Canyon to see to every detail. From the lavish

invitations, designed by La Dorna Eichenberg, to the floral sprays of red

roses gracing the Bowers setting created by Mary Raymond, to flamenco

dancers and classical guitarists spinning the proper Seville mood--the

party was appropriately special.

Many guests, who have supported the opera through times good and bad,

reveled in the fact that only a few short years ago this arts

organization found itself in both artistic and financial trouble. The

turnaround has been stellar, with credit going to Hubbard, Artistic

Director John DeMain, Operations Director Mitchell Krieger and support

from the community.

Among the community members offering their allegiance were the elegant

Zee Allred, attending the ball with Drago Gilgic. Also in the crowd were

Joan and Michael Carey, Vesta Curry, Ruth Ding, Kathy and Michael

Dogali, Carmela and Ben Du, Terry Fink, Alejandrina and Leonard Flores,

Barbara and Ben Harris, Janice and Roger Johnson, Heather and Martin

Klein, Phoebe and Robert Lambeth, and Zahide and Harry Lawrence. They

enjoyed a dinner of Singapore salad with coconut shrimp and roasted New

Zealand rack of lamb served with coriander-crusted ahi steak seared rare.

During dinner, Kevin Chrysler handled the auction duties with style,

helping to raise funds for the opera via the sale of generous donations

from merchants, including jewelers Fred and Kim Mozzaffarian of Newport

Beach and Warren Imports.

Stew Law of Windstar Cruises, with underwriting assistance from Opera

Pacific member Susie Meindl, provided a fabulous voyage on the ship

Windsurf. Additional items up for bid included Callaway golf clubs, a

trip to the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel, a stay at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel,

fitness packages, dining packages and, of course, tickets to Opera

Pacific.

A highlight of the evening was the performance of soprano Robin

Follman and baritone Andrew Fernando, with Mona Lands at the piano.

Cynthia and Carl Nolet, Pat and Charlie Poss, Julia and Irv Rappaport,

Elaine Redfield, Michelle Rohe, Sally Segerstrom, Joan and Bill Simonoff,

Babs Soros, Harriet and Irv Weider, and Nancy and Tom Wilson applauded

the musical talents of the three artists.

The 2000-2002 Opera Pacific season begins Sept. 16 with a performance

of “Festa Italiana,” followed by “The Magic Flute” Nov. 7-12, “Macbeth”

Jan. 16-21, “Carmen” Feb. 20-25, and “Der Rosenkavalier” April 3-8.

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* B.W. COOK’S column appears every Thursday and Saturday.