The Valley Line

Jane Napier Neely

It felt a little like autumn over the weekend when on Saturday it was a bit misty and damp outside. I sort of wanted to snuggle under the covers a little bit longer than usual in the morning. But then it was a different story on Sunday when the day dawned sunny and clear — it was a perfect Indian Summer day ending when the moon bounced over the mountain tops that evening — an autumn moon of legends. A moon just meant for Halloween night.

I’m getting caught up on recent major social events about town these past few weeks. The Pasadena Symphony opened its 80th anniversary season. Conductor Jorge Mester magically appeared on his podium in a swirl of mist — that was quite an opening accompanied by oohhs and ahhs.

Without a doubt, the opening symphony’s opening program gained a lot of rapt attention. Philip Glass’s “Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanist and Orchestra”— a classical showstopper written for two timpanists and 14 drums set not in the back as usual, but in front of the orchestra — garnered most of the attention at the opening night performance. However, the second classical blockbuster on the program that evening, Berlioz’s “Romeo and Juliet,” received its fair share of attention as well.

More than 200 supporters of The Pasadena Symphony Association, including members of the board of directors, city officials, major donors and Jorge Mester, music director of The Pasadena Symphony, gathered prior to the performance, at a lovely private club in Pasadena to celebrate the opening of the orchestra’s 80th anniversary season by attending a gala dinner entitled “An Evening of Shakespeare, Passion and Love.”

Returning for an ‘encore performance’ as gala chairmen were Gerri Lee Frye, Shelly Reisch and Benjamin Oberman.

“The three of us have such a good time and work so well together that it’s become a tradition we look forward to,” says Frye, who in addition to chairing the opening night dinner, endowed the opening night performance, as she also has in the past, in memory of her mother, Ethel Cohodas Ornstein. It was her mother, says Frye, who instilled within her a great love of the arts.

Tom O’Connor, executive director of The Pasadena Symphony, added pearls of wisdom when he said, “There’s a quote by Shakespeare, ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’ Gerri Lee’s love of the arts and longstanding dedication and commitment to our orchestra have played an invaluable role in enabling us to ‘play on.’ ”

“An Evening of Shakespeare, Passion and Love” opened with a cocktail reception in the foyer, with old time love songs performed by pianist Dondi Villamayor to set the theme for the evening. Diane Rankin, president of the board of directors – and a former flautist with The Pasadena Symphony – then welcomed the guests to the dinner and introduced Mayor Bill Bogaard, who proposed a toast to The Pasadena Symphony, which was founded in 1928 as a primarily-volunteer orchestra consisting of founder Reginald Bland’s students. Today, under conductor and Music Director Jorge Mester, the orchestra is the 7th largest in the state of California and has won worldwide acclaim.

This season, the symphony will extend beyond Pasadena to reach audiences in Los Angeles in December at the historic Los Angeles Theatre and in Northridge next March at Cal State LA. The orchestra will also launch a new outreach program “Clasica — las raices de la musica.”

“Stay tuned,” says Tom O’Connor. “Our next 80 years are going to be even more spectacular than our last.”

Special thanks go to Wells Fargo for underwriting the opening night dinner and to Riboli Family Wine Estates for donating the wine.

The Los Angeles Opera celebrated the opening of its 22nd season with a weekend gala and festivities that raised $1.1 million dollars for the company. Two memorable performances were presented for a first time by the company, Beethoven’s “Fidelio” followed by Placido Domingo conducting the L.A. Opera’s first-ever performance of Verdi’s “Requiem.”

This also marked the debut of chorus master Grant Gershon. A host of guests attended special events that included a lovely dinner party hosted by mezzo soprano Milena Kitic and her husband Milan Panic. They also underwrote the season-opening production of “Fidelio” and were honorary chairs of the gala weekend.

Mary Hayley, once again chaired the three-day event weekend celebration. Barbara Augusta Teichert made possible the performance of the Verdi “Requiem,” which was conducted by Placido Domingo.

LA Opera launched its gala weekend festivities with a performance of “Fidelio,” conducted by James Conlon and directed and designed by Pier’Alli in his company debut. This production starred two electrifying young artists, soprano Anja Kampe as Leonore and tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as Florestan, in their Company debuts. Matti Salminen returned to LA Opera as the jailer Rocco and baritone Eike Wilm Schulte made his Company debut as the villainous Don Pizarro.

The black-tie evening continued with a lavish post-performance gala on the Music Center Plaza, where guests mingled with the artists and enjoyed dancing and a feast created by Patina.

On Sunday a celebratory luncheon held on the Music Center Plaza preceded the first-ever LA Opera performance of Verdi’s “Requiem.” Plácido Domingo conducted an astounding work featuring a quartet of world-class singers: soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, and, in their company debuts, tenor Arturo Chácon-Cruz and bass René Pape. Plácido dedicated this performance to the memory of tenor Luciano Pavarotti and of Edgar Baitzel, the company’s late chief operating officer. Following the performance, the Gala Weekend culminated with a Finale Celebration with the artists in the Grand Hall of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Jane Napier Neely has covered the La Cañada social scene for more than 25 years. Contact her viae-mail at jnvalleysun@aol.com.