THE CROWD:

Tiffany & Co.’s signature blue boxes tied in white ribbon were everywhere. Patrons attending the 25th anniversary 2008 Opera Ball last week at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa were greeted in the hotel lobby with a table stacked high and proud with the iconic gift boxes. “Please consider making a $100 donation to Opera Pacific and purchase a box,” offered the women behind the table. By the time the big evening festivities were fully underway there was not a box left to be sold. Instead, they adorned the tables throughout the ballroom awaiting the appropriate moment when opening would be permitted.

Each of the Tiffany boxes contained a crystal votive holder, valued at $90, making the $100 donation a very generous trade. One box contained a blue porcelain object d’art and the fortunate opener would receive a diamond bracelet valued at $17,500. An even more generous trade! Tiffany & Co., represented locally by the much-admired Vice President Jeffrey Bennett has been front and center sponsoring this unique form of charitable fundraising assisting Opera Pacific as well as Bowers Museum and other worthy local causes. The production has become a sensation at parties, adding a dramatic high point to the festivities.

On this night, the diamond bracelet was won by a couple who had just become engaged that evening. Pure serendipity.

Chaired by the glamorous social star Donna Bunce, resplendent in a fuchsia-colored chiffon and sequin clad gown, Opera Ball ’08 had all the elements of success. Most important was the crowd. The local support for Opera Pacific is die-hard. Big money behind the opera comes from the philanthropic couple Paul and Marybelle Musco, whose love of the art form is not just a cultural connection but a passion. The Muscos joined fellow donors Milan and Milena Panic, David and Kathryn Moore, Michelle Rohé, George and Terry Schreyer, and Henry and Elizabeth Segerstrom, ensuring a major success with net proceeds approaching $400,000.

The evening was grand and music was the anchor. The Opera Pacific Ball Orchestra conducted by Henri Venanzi was superb. Guests including Barbara and Kyle Eidson, friends of Bunce and her husband Douglas Bunce, were charmed by the orchestra.

“This is absolutely fabulous. Can you believe the quality of the orchestra?” gushed Barbara Eidson, also showing off a fashionable fuchsia colored gown which was de riguer for the night at the Opera Ball.

The evening was dedicated to Maestro John DeMain for his 10-year anniversary of service to Opera Pacific as artistic director and principal conductor. Tributes to DeMain poured in all night, including a video message from Placido Domingo. Bunce also paid tribute to all of the former Opera Ball chairs. Gals in stunning gowns including S. Gayle Widyolar, Gayle Anderson, Ruth Ding, Joanne Sokolski, Margie Hubbard, Christyne Olson, Katie Ford and Barbara DeMain all took a bow in front of the appreciative crowd.

Dinner began with a trio of ahi: poke, sushi and seared rare, and was followed by a sea bass entrée and “Mozart’s Figaro Concerto Mousse” for dessert. Served at round tables dressed in shimmering gold-sequin covered clothes underneath enormous Maria Teresa-inspired crystal chandeliers hung from the Hyatt rafters set the “grand night at the opera” mood. Patrons table-hopped between courses, toasts and amazing entertainment provided by talented Opera Pacific, guest stars and repertory artists.

Special dinner concert performances came from Dean Peterson, Shana Blake Hill, Cedric Berry, Cynthia Jansen, Erin Wood, Chad Berlinghieri, John Atkins and Bruce Wright. Also on stage were Ernest Alvarez, James Martin Schaefer, Shira Reneé Thomas and Corinn Kopezynski. If that wasn’t enough, a dance troupe known as The Beverly Hills Cotillion Dance Ensemble livened the evening as did the Baytown Band who took over from the Opera Pacific orchestra and got the patrons up on their feet and dancing into the night.

Special guests of the night included Robert C. Jones, Opera Pacific president and chief executive, vocal artist Milena Kitic, Mike and Ellie Gordon, Terry Dwyer, Loretta Sanchez, Jose Arias, general director of the Mexico City Opera, Haydee and Carlos Mollura, Deborah and John Dunbar, the Dirk family, Jim and Lynne Doti, Laila and Bill Conlin, Sandy and Doug Jackson, Hunter and Elaine Keck, Barbara and Bill Roberts, Robert and LaDorna Eichenberg, and Marc and Eva Stern. In addition to Tiffany & Co., corporate sponsorship came from Frette at South Coast Plaza represented by Patricia Vickers and Escada also of South Coast Plaza represented by Eda Wong. Bunce summed up the evening, “25 years of opera in Orange County … We have come so far. It is all because of your support.”

THE CROWD runs Thursdays and Saturdays.