- 2010
- 03/05/2010 - Starlight Children's Foundation 25th Annual GalaNEW
- 03/02/2010 - American Ballet Theatre’s Junior Council and Quest MagazineNEW
- 03/02/2010 - Hanley Center Foundation's 15th Annual LuncheonNEW
- 03/01/2010 - The School of American Ballet’s Winter Ball NEW
- 03/01/2010 - Literacy Partners 26th Annual Evening of Readings Gala Kick-off NEW
- 02/27/2010 - New York Junior League 58th Annual Winter Ball
- 02/27/2010 - Society Ties' Black Tie & Black Jack Casino Night
- 02/25/2010 - Bailey House 22nd Annual Auction and PartyNEW
- 02/25/2010 - Hedge Funds Care 12th Annual New York Open Your Heart to the Children BenefitNEW
- 02/25/2010 - Toast to "Justice is Served" Dinner Benefit
- 02/25/2010 - 2010 Frick Museum Young Fellows Ball
- 02/25/2010 - Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl's Third Annual Purim BallNEW
- 02/24/2010 - Kick Off Party to Benefit The East Side House Settlement Gala Preview of the 2010 Auto Show
- 02/24/2010 - C-CAP 20th Anniversary CelebrationNEW
- 02/24/2010 - POSH Palm Beach 2010 Gala Dinner
- 02/23/2010 - ForEverglades Benefit
- 02/20/2010 - 5th Annual Childhelp Fashion Show and Luncheon
- 02/19/2010 - MacDella Cooper Foundation Fashion Week Finale Party
- 02/17/2010 - Friends of the South Florida Science Museum Toast
- 02/14/2010 - Action Against Hunger Help Heart Haiti Valentine's Day Benefit
- 02/13/2010 - 55th Annual Palm Beach Heart Ball
- 02/09/2010 - Museum of Design Patron Preview event
- 02/09/2010 - Animal Fair and Wendy Diamond’s Yappy Hour
- 02/06/2010 - Lighthouse Center for the Arts’ 46th Annual Beaux Arts Ball
- 02/06/2010 - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Gem of an Evening Gala
- 02/06/2010 - Norton Museum of Art Bal des Arts 2010
- 02/05/2010 - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual Light The Night Awards Party
- 02/05/2010 - The Princes Ball Mardi Gras Masquerade Gala
- 02/04/2010 - City Chicks 4 Charity & Young Wall Street benefit Chess in Schools
- 02/03/2010 - International Women's Health Coalition 2010 Gala
- 02/02/2010 - The Associates Council Lunch at The Oak Room
- 02/02/2010 - Parsons Dance Opening Night Gala
- 01/31/2010 - KIDs Strikes Back Bowling Party at Chelsea Piers
- 01/30/2010 - 53rd Annual International Red Cross Ball
- 01/30/2010 - Epilepsy Foundation’s Taste of Love Gala 2010
- 01/29/2010 - Partnership for the Homeless’ Auction at the Gagosian Gallery
- 01/28/2010 - Hearts 4 Haiti
- 01/26/2010 - Peggy Adams Unveils Much-anticipated Grace Pavilion
- 01/26/2010 - Art Battles
- 01/25/2010 - Fashionable opening night for Red Cross Show House
- 01/25/2010 - MICHAEL KORS and GRAFF Fashion Show Honors Heart Ball
- 01/24/2010 - National Dance Institute's Benefit Performance of Imagine: A Celebration of John Lennon
- 01/22/2010 - LADACIN Polar Bear Plunge
- 01/21/2010 - Help Haiti Now
- 01/21/2010 - Hospice Evening 2010 with Oscar de la Renta
- 01/21/2010 - UJA-Federation of New York's Generosity Event
- 01/20/2010 - Citymeals-on-Wheels Winter Cocktail Benefit
- 01/20/2010 - The American Antiques Show (TAAS) Benefit Preview Celebrating Texas
- 01/19/2010 - Cocktails for Vital Voices Global Partnership
- 01/14/2010 - Winter Antiques Show Preview Party
- 01/14/2010 - CCE Honors Over the Big Top Chairs at Saks Fifth Avenue
- 01/12/2010 - Zac Posen Fashion Show Featuring Cartier
- 01/12/2010 - Hope For Haiti With The Red Cross
- 01/11/2010 - Young Friends Red Cross Beach Bash
- 01/10/2010 - AICF-American-Israel Cultural Foundation 70th Anniversary Gala and Concer
- 01/07/2010 - Autism Speaks to Young Professionals
- 01/07/2010 - CHIC @ the Ames hotel
- 2009
- 2008
- 2007
New York City Opera Celebrates Opening Night
11/05/2009
New York City Opera Celebrates Opening Night with Record-Breaking Gala
Theater Debut Celebration Raises More Than $2.3 million, Representing the
Most Successful Gala in City Opera History
David H. Koch Honored for $100 million Lead Gift to TheaterRaising more than $2.3 million, New York City Opera celebrated its return to the stage of the newly renovated David H. Koch Theater last night, Thursday, November 5, with the most successful fundraising gala in the company’s history. The funds raised included the proceeds of the evening’s live auction of luxury items that was chaired by Luziah Isamail-Hennessy and led by Jamie Niven, Chairman of Sotheby’s North and South America.
The festive event honored David H. Koch in recognition of his $100 million lead gift to City Opera’s joint capital campaign with New York City Ballet and heralded the start of City Opera’s 2009/2010 season – its first under new General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was the Honorary Chairman of the gala with Co-Chairmen Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer, Joan Granlund, Julia Koch, Charles and Liz Koch, Lee Slaughter and Ann Ziff. Major gala sponsors included American Airlines, Moët Hennessy and Dom Pérignon.
The opening gala concert, American Voices, featured classic repertoire from American opera and musical theater performed by returning City Opera stars Amy Burton, Joyce Castle, Anna Christy, Joyce DiDonato, Lauren Flanigan, Marc Kudisch and Samuel Ramey; along with guest artists Measha Brueggergosman, Talise Trevigne and Kelley O’Connor. The New York City Opera Orchestra and Chorus were led by New York City Opera’s Music Director George Manahan and former General Director and Principal Conductor Julius Rudel. In honor of the occasion, the principal concert artists generously donated their services for the evening.
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and the New York City Ballet made special guest appearances during the evening. Carolina Herrera dressed four of the performers in stunning gowns.
All proceeds from the Theater Debut Celebration support City Opera’s mission to produce innovative productions of new and classic work, reach a wide audience with affordable ticket prices, and bring music into the lives of thousands of students each year through its acclaimed education programs in New York City public schools.
Notable attendees included:
Claude Arpels, Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Harolyn Blackwell, Hamish Bowles, Amy Fine Collins, , Mary Sharp Cronson, E.V. Day, Michelle DiBucci, Joyce DiDonato, Elizabeth Diller & Ricardo Scofidio, Brook Hayward Duchin, Christine Ebersole, Katherine Farley, Nicholas & Edmee Firth, Peter Gelb, Habib Ghawi, Ted Gibson, Joan Granlund, Joel Grey, Gilles & Luziah Hennessy, Xavier Guerrand-Hermès, Carolina & Reinaldo Herrera, David & Julia Koch, Arie & Coco Kopelman, Judy Kuhn, Dr. Reynold Levy, Elizabeth Cooke Levy, Michael Lynch & Susan Baker, Thom Mayne (Art Committee Advisor, President Obama), Alex McCord & Simon van Kempen, Kate McGarrigle, Terrence McNally, Gillian & Sylvester F. Miniter IV, Mark Morris, Tinsley Mortimer, Georgette Mosbacher, Mark & Lorry Newhouse, S.I. & Victoria Newhouse, Jamie Niven, Constantine Orbelian, Elizabeth & Jeffrey Peek, Diane Picasso, Jack Pierson, Laudomia Pucci, Princess Alexandra of Greece, Prince Antonio Licata di Baucina, David Robertson, Devorah Rose, Rachel Roy, Julius Rudel, Giovanni Russo, Reshma Shetty, Lee Slaughter, Sarah & George Steel, Ken Sunshine, Count Carl-Eduard von Bismarck, George & Olga Votis, Rufus Wainwright & Jorn Weisbrodt, Robert Wilson, Damian Woetzel & Heather Watts, Paula Zahn, and Ann Ziff.
About New York City Opera
Since its founding in 1943, New York City Opera has been recognized as one of America’s preeminent cultural institutions, celebrated for its adventurous programming and innovative, risk-taking production style. The company’s wide-ranging repertory of 275 works spans five centuries of music and includes 29 world premieres and 61 American and/or New York premieres of such notable works as Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shostakovich’s Katerina Ismailova, Busoni’s Doktor Faust, Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges and The Flaming Angel, Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten, Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron, and Glass’ Akhnaten. The company has been a leading showcase for young artists, helping to launch the careers of more than 3,000 singers, including José Carreras, Phyllis Curtin, David Daniels, Plácido Domingo, Lauren Flanigan, Elizabeth Futral, Jerry Hadley, Catherine Malfitano, Bejun Mehta, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, Gianna Rolandi, Beverly Sills, Norman Treigle, Tatiana Troyanos, and Carol Vaness. In 1983, City Opera made operatic history when it became the first American opera company to use supertitles, an innovation that has revolutionized the way opera is produced and appreciated worldwide.
In February 2009, George Steel, former executive director of the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, began his tenure as New York City Opera's new General Manager and Artistic Director. Building on the company's core mission of artistic excellence and accessibility, Mr. Steel's plans include broadening the company's adventurous approach to repertory, supporting the careers of promising artists, and continuing to develop the company's acclaimed education and outreach programs.
Press Contact:
Lauren Thayer, Lisa Lori Communications at 203-228-5090 or thayer@lisalori.com
Photos: Patrick McMullan
Photo Gallery
Click here for more pictures and a slideshow. You can also click on any of the photos to start slideshow.
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