Past Events 2014

55 ballet aficionados were on hand to witness the historical performance of two of the greatest ballet dancers at the height of their technical and creative prowess in Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday classic ballet The Nutcracker. Mikhail Baryshnikov danced the role of the Nutcracker Prince, along with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara, and Alexander Minz as the mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer. Tony Charmoli directed the production with support from the principals and corps de ballet of the American Ballet Theatre and the traditionally lighthearted story of a small girl’s dream on Christmas Eve is transformed into a more complex theatrical experience. A beautiful reception table was decorated with Nutcracker dolls, with a delicate centerpiece of holiday glass ornaments, with intertwining poinsettias and green garland throughout. At intermission our guests enjoyed mini white and chocolate cream eclairs and red and green sugar cookies, and also enjoyed a refreshing cup of sparkling fruity red punch with lemon-lime soda. Our January 2015 inaugural program will feature an outstanding new production of the Giacomo Puccini classic La Boheme (The Bohemians) with Ramon Vargas and Angela Gheorghiu in the HD Live production from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. This will be another not-to-be-missed event, and we look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month throughout 2015.

40 opera fans were on hand to witness the historical performance of Beverly Sills, one the greatest interpreters of the role of Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s great tragic drama Roberto Devereux. Julius Rudel conducted the Orchestra and Chorus of the New York City Opera in a historic live performance from 1975 at the Filene Center Amphitheatre at the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts in Fairfax County, Virginia. The able supporting New York City Opera cast was rounded out by Richard Fredericks as the Duke of Nottingham, John Lankston as Lord Cecil, John Alexander in the title role of Roberto Devereux, and Susanne Marsee as Sara, the Duchess of Nottingham. A beautiful reception table was decorated in red and gold with red rose petals alongside portraits of royal queens and the royal coat-of-arms. At intermission our guests enjoyed mini white and chocolate cream eclairs and petite white cream puffs, and also enjoyed a refreshing cup of fruity red punch. Our December 2014 holiday program will feature another outstanding performance of Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet The Nutcracker. This will be another not-to-be-missed event and we look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month throughout 2015.

42 opera fans were on hand for this special live performance from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York from September 28, 1998, that commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Met debut of tenor Placido Domingo, who took on the title role of Samson in this spectacular production of Saint-Saëns’ Biblical opera Samson et Dalila. Olga Borodina sang the title role of Dalila, with Sergei Leiferkus as the High Priest, and Richard Paul Fink as Abimelech. Maestro James Levine led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in a magnificent performance of Saint-Saëns’ powerful dramatic re-telling of the Biblcal legend. Elijah Moshinsky provided the sumptuous stage production with the set and costume design provided by Richard Hudson. A beautiful reception table was decorated with deep red roses and scattered red rose petals, evoking the spirit of the opera. At intermission, our guests enjoyed assorted mini petit fours and fruit tarts with chocolate pudding and whipped cream, along with a variety of fine gourmet European cookies. Our guests also enjoyed a refreshing cup of Passion Punch, an enticing and bewitching blend of passion fruit juice, peach nectar, and ginger ale soda. Our November 2014 program will feature Roberto Devereux, the third and last installment in the Three Queens trilogy of Gaetano Donizetti with soprano Beverly Sills as Elizabeth I in a historic live performance from 1975 at Wolf Trap, conducted by her friend and mentor Julius Rudel. This is certain to be yet another not-to-be-missed event, and we look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout the upcoming year 2015.

47 opera fans were on hand for Verdi’s dark tale of lust, betrayal, and revenge in this powerful performance from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 2002. The stunning cast included Jose Cura as Manrico, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the Count di Luna, Veronica Villaroel as Leonora, and Yvonne Naef as the gypsy Azucena. Maestro Carlo Rizzi lead the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in an exciting performance. A strikingly beautiful reception table was decorated in black and red with Verdi opera images, and at intermission our guests enjoyed Milano chocolate cookies and snack cubes of Mild Cheddar, Colby-Jack, and Pepper Jack cheese, along with a refreshing cup of blood red punch, a cool and refreshing blend of cherry and dark berry fruit punch, and lemon-lime soda. Our September 2014 program will feature Giacomo Puccini’s magnificent final opera Turandot, in the spectacular Franco Zeffirelli production for the Metropolitan Opera that showcases the powerhouse talents of Placido Domingo, Eva Marton, and Leona Mitchell. We look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout 2014.

82 opera fans, adult and young adult, enjoyed a magical afternoon with a thoroughly delightful performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s fairy-tale opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) in this visually stunning English-language production from Julie Taymor for the Metropolitan Opera in a live HD performance from December 2006 in New York. James Levine lead the cast that included soprano Ying Huang as Pamina in Met debut, baritone Nathan Gunn as the birdcatcher Papageno, tenor Matthew Polenzani as the Prince Tamino, soprano Erika Miklosa as the Queen of the Night, and bass Rene Pape as Sarastro. Maestro Levine conducted a flawless performance from the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra and Opera Chorus. A beautiful reception table was decorated with Masonic images and a gorgeous white peacock. At intermission our guests enjoyed German almond cookies and individual Reuben bites, along with a refreshing cup of fruit punch, a cool and refreshing blend of red fruit punch, watermelon punch, and lemon-lime soda. Our August 2014 program will feature Giuseppe Verdi’s powerful story of love and revenge with Il Trovatore (The Troubadour). We look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout 2014.

60 opera fans enjoyed a thoroughly delightful performance of Jules Massenet’s take on the Cinderella legend in this colorful 2011Laurent Pelly production from the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London. This stunning production featured the brilliant mezzo Joyce DiDonato as Cendrillon, mezzo Alice Coote in the trouser role of le Prince Charmant, contralto Ewa Podles as the Wicked Stepmother, and soprano Eglise Gutierrez as the Good Fairy. Maestro Bertrand de Billy conducted the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Royal Opera Chorus. A beautiful reception table was decorated with a delicate pumpkin carriage and a pink porcelain slipper. At intermission our guests enjoyed edible strawberry ‘magic wands’ , little edible ‘mice’ snacks and treats, and a refreshing cup of ‘fairy-tale’ punch, a cool and refreshing blend of red fruit punch, lemon-lime soda, and rainbow sherbet. Our July 2014 program will feature Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s delightful singspiel Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) in the visually dazzling 2006 English-language Metropolitan Opera production by Julie Taymor, featuring Nathan Gunn, Matthew Polenzani, Rene Pape, and Ying Huang in her Met debut. We look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout 2014.

75 impassioned opera fans were mesmerized during a memorable performance of Puccini’s masterpiece Madama Butterfly from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City that featured Anthony Minghella’s stunning production originally broadcast live in HD on March 7, 2009 world-wide in movie theaters. Patricia Racette shined as the tragic geisha Cio-Cio-San, along with Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, Maria Zifchak as the maidservant Suzuki, and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless. Maestro Patrick Summers conducted a flawless performance of the Met’s Orchestra and Chorus. A beautiful reception table was set with gorgeous paper butterflies and fine oriental colors of red, gold, and green. Our guests feasted on mini teriyaki chicken strips, Asian pear bites, edamame dry roasted soybeans, and Pocky dessert sticks dipped in chocolate and strawberry. Our guests also enjoyed a refreshing cup of Imperial Jade punch, a cool and refreshing blend of kiwi fruit and strawberries. Our June 2014 program will feature Jules Massenet’s take on the Cinderella legend with his Cendrillon, in the charming 2011Covent Garden production by the famed French opera director Laurent Pelly, featuring the mezzos-of-the-moment Joyce DiDonato and Alice Coote. We look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout 2014.

62 passionate opera fans were on hand for a memorable and classic performance of Verdi’s masterpiece Rigoletto from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City in 1977 that featured an all-star dream cast of Placido Domingo as the Duke of Mantua, Ileana Cortrubas as Gilda, Cornell MacNeil as the jester Rigoletto, Justino Diaz as the assassin Sparafucile, and Isola Jones as his sister, Maddelena. Maestro James Levine brilliantly led the venerable Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. A beautiful reception table was set with dark purple and black colors and purple roses wrapped in burlap setting a distinctly ominous tone. Our guests enjoyed small Italian Freschetta cheese mini-pizzas, and petite Milano chocolate cookies, some plain and others dipped in dark chocolate, along with a refreshing cup of strawberry and lemonade punch, a tasty and refreshing blend for a warm Florida afternoon. Our May 2014 program will feature Giacomo Puccini’s operatic masterwork Madama Butterfly, in the colorful Anthony Minghella production for the Metropolitan Opera that showcases Patricia Racette as the tragic courtesan Cio-Cio-San. We look forward to bringing you many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy throughout 2014.

40 opera fans and staff persisted and persevered through numerous technical difficulties on hand during the afternoon and were greatly rewarded with a beautiful performance of Francesco Cilea’s verismo Italian masterpiece Adriana Lecouvreur. This spectacular production from stage director David McVicar was recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London in 2010, and featured Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu in the title role of Adriana, with superstar German tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Maurizio. Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina and Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli performed brilliantly in their supporting roles respectively, as the Princesse de Bouillon and Michonnet, and conductor Mark Elder led a magnificent performance from the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. A gorgeous reception table was set with violet colors and flowers amid a distinctly French setting. Our guests enjoyed small brie and raspberry fillo rolls, mini mozzarella cheese rolls, and petite custard cream eclairs, along with a refreshing cup of violet punch, a tasty blend of limeade, lemonade, orange juice, grape juice, and cranberry/ginger ale. Our April 2014 program will feature Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic masterpiece Rigoletto, and we look forward to bringing many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy.

54 opera lovers were on hand to witness the beheading of the Stuart queen in Donizetti’s historical drama Maria Stuarda, the second installment in the Three Queens Trilogy, Donizetti’s operas that deal with the Tudor period in English history. This spectacular production was recorded live at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 2008, and was directed, designed, and costumed by Pier Luigi Pizzi. It featured the current reigning stars at La Scala, two of today’s best bel canto specialists, Mariella Devia and Anna Caterina Antonacci. Paola Gardina, Francesco Meli, Piero Terranova, and Simone Alberghino rounded out the superb supporting cast, and conductor Antonino Fogliani led a taut, exciting performance from the podium of the venerable La Scala Orchestra and Chorus. A beautiful reception table was set with a Scottish flag and exquisite framed portraits of the feuding monarchs graced the table top. Our guests enjoyed English cucumber tea sandwiches and Scottish shortbread cookies, along with a refreshing cup of royal Stuart punch, a tasty blend of cranberry, lemonade, and ginger ale. Our March 2014 program will feature Angela Gheorghiu and Jonas Kaufmann in Francesco Cilea’s verismo drama Adriana Lecouvreur, and we look forward to bringing many more outstanding operatic performances every month for all to enjoy.

54 opera lovers were on hand to inaugurate the Opera@theLibrary 2014 season with a dazzling performance of Handel’s Baroque gem Rodelinda. Reigning Met diva Renee Fleming and countertenor Andreas Scholl lead a superb cast in Stephen Wadsworth’s celebrated Met production of Handel’s Rodelinda from the 2011 Metropolitan Opera that was broadcast live in HD in cinemas worldwide. Soprano Renee Fleming triumphed in the title role of Rodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, and countertenor superstar Andreas Scholl shined as King Bertarido, assumed dead, but returning to reclaim his throne and his queen. The handsome period production set the drama of public and private passion in the Milan of Handel’s own time, majestically presented in the set designs of Thomas Lynch and the lavish costumes of Martin Pakledinaz. A beautiful reception table set with a gorgeous Baroque-style Italian tablecloth with a crystal vase overflowing with exquisite pastel silk roses provided the setting for our guests to enjoy pinwheel cookies with colby jack cheese bites and petite fruit skewers of pineapple chunks, green grapes, and maraschino cherries. Slices of orange, lemon, and lime floated atop a cool, refreshing clear fruit punch that all our guests enjoyed at the intermission. Our February 2014 program will feature Maria Stuarda, the second opera in the Three Queens trilogy of Gaetano Donizetti. We look forward to another great New Year in 2014 and bringing many more outstanding operatic performances for all to enjoy.