Los Angeles Opera Ball stars a busy Placido Domingo and draws celebrities

The event: The Los Angeles Opera Ball kicked off the opera’s 30th season on Sept. 12 with a double bill of Woody Allen’s production of “Gianni Schicchi” and Franco Zeffirelli’s production of “Pagliacci.”

Dinner on the Music Center Plaza followed, and, considering the affair raised an impressive $2.2 million, it seemed fitting for the band to kick off the dancing with “Oh, What a Night.”

The crowd: Stana Katic of “Castle,” Miguel Ángel Silvestre of “Sense8,” Kate Walsh of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Christoph Waltz of “Django Unchained,” Katharine McPhee of “American Idol,” Nigel Lythgoe of “So You Think You Can Dance” and Fred Savage of “The Wonder Years” mixed with opera supporters including event chair Mary Hayley, Selim Zilkha, Eva and Marc Stern, Barbara Augusta Teichert, Joyce and Aubrey Chernick and Nancy and Barry Sanders; Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Sheila Kuehl; Music Center board chair Lisa Specht and president/CEO Rachel Moore; LA Opera president/CEO Christopher Koelsch and others.

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The scene: Following the performances, LA Opera board chair Marc Stern tossed a question to the formally attired guests, seated under the stars amid trees wound with lights, crystal chandeliers and posters of past productions.

“What do you think of what we did tonight?” Stern asked, as gala-goers instantly erupted in applause.

“In just three decades, we are the fourth-largest opera company in the country,” Stern said, before praising general director Plácido Domingo for making opera history by singing the lead in the night’s first opera, “Gianni Schicchi,” and then returning after the intermission to conduct the second opera, “Pagliacci.”

Quotes of note: Seated for dinner beside her family, Walsh called Domingo’s performances “amazing.” “Plácido was in such great form as ‘Gianni Schicchi,’ so much in a state of joy, it was like watching a kid in a playhouse. Then he changed clothes and suddenly, he’s conducting ‘Pagliacci.’ That was fabulous.”

“ ‘Pagliacci’ was such an incredible spectacle. The colors were so magical, it was almost like looking into a jewelry box or a dollhouse with so much going on simultaneously in every corner, and everyone being so busy, living their incredible detailed lives,” she said.

Walsh grew up around opera and talked about how it has changed. “What I’ve noticed over the years is just how opera has evolved. It is so incredibly theatrical that you can see first-time opera viewers weeping because it’s so beautiful, so dramatic and so evocative. I love the drama, the intensity — it is really like the ultimate reality show.”

The numbers: More than 500 guests attended the Opera Ball, where tickets began at $3,000 each and tables of 10 sold for as much as $150,000. Among other perks, top patrons received a baton signed by Domingo.

Ellen Olivier is the founder of Society News LA

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