2012
04/30/2012 - THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION’S HOT PINK PARTYNEW
04/26/2012 - Grand St. Settlement's Taste of the Lower East Side
04/02/2012 - 2012 Skating with the Stars Gala
04/02/2012 - Strokes of Genius to benefit Autism Spectrum Disorders
03/29/2012 - The American Classical Orchestra 2012 Spring Gala Concert & Benefit
03/24/2012 - United States launch of the Seol Won Foundation
03/21/2012 - Kick-off event for The Perlman Music Program’s May 3rd Spring Benefit
03/16/2012 - Asia WeekNY kick-off reception at the Morgan Museum & Library
03/10/2012 - Toby and Itzhak Perlman and The Perlman Music Program hosted by Jim and Kristy Clark in Palm Beach
03/08/2012 - National Committee on American Foreign Policy Hosts the 2012 Gala Awards Dinner
03/06/2012 - 2nd Annual Fountain House Associates Spring Breakfast
03/05/2012 - School of American Ballet's Winter Ball 2012
03/03/2012 - AMIT NewGen Wine Tasting
03/01/2012 - American Cancer Society Honors Grace Hightower De Niro, Diane Reidy-Lagunes MD, Emily Sonnenblick MD
03/01/2012 - New York School of Interior Design Kick-off Reception
02/25/2012 - GiGi’s PLAYHOUSE NYC, Down Syndrome Awareness Centers, opened its doors for the first time
02/25/2012 - CARON LIGHTS UP MAR-A-LAGO WITH “AFTER DARK” GALA
02/19/2012 - Blitz Build 2012
02/07/2012 - 2012 Annual High School Counselor’s Breakfast
02/06/2012 - The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s ® (BCRF) annual Hot Pink Luncheon and Symposium
02/04/2012 - The 2012 Hope Gala
02/03/2012 - North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee Presents Checks to Local Food Banks
02/03/2012 - American Cancer Society’s 54th Annual Black and White Gala
02/02/2012 - Cut 25 Flagship opening - an event to benefit Project Paz
01/29/2012 - KiDS of NYU Langone Foundation hosted its 6th annual KiDS Play to Win!
01/28/2012 - Girls Bite Out for the North Texas Food Bank
01/26/2012 - French Heritage Society’s New York ChapterKicked Off its 2012 Cultural Season
01/26/2012 - Annual Event to benefit The Samuel Scheck Hillel Community Day School
01/26/2012 - 2012 Plates for Pediatrics Benefit
01/24/2012 - New York Philharmonic Chinese New Year Gala
01/20/2012 - 2012 Wishmaker's Ball
01/20/2012 - Silence! Silent Art Forms
01/19/2012 - UJA-Federation of New York Generosity Signature Event
01/19/2012 - JDRF Central Jersey Chapter Events
01/17/2012 - TIFFANY & CO. HOSTS CARON SUPPORTERS TO SPECIAL PREVIEW OF 2012 TIFFANY LEATHER COLLECTION
01/16/2012 - 2nd Annual San Diego Breast Cancer Fundraiser
01/13/2012 - "Cycle Without Limits" Specialized Bike Program
01/12/2012 - Salvatore Ferragamo Hosts and Evening of Shopping to Benefit the Paradise Fund in Support of St. Jud
01/12/2012 - JDRF Central Jersey Chapter Walk to Cure Diabetes Awards Party
01/09/2012 - Museum of American Finance 2012 Gala
2011
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New York City Opera Celebrates Opening Night
11/05/2009

New York City Opera Celebrates Opening Night

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 Theater

Raising 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


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