'Wonderland' Gala Celebrated 63 Years of Opera Support
The Young Patronesses of the Opera (YPO) is a group of volunteers that raise funds to make educational opera appreciation programs available to more than 20,000 students each year in South Florida. YPO, supports the Florida Grand Opera and presented its annual gala at the elegant Four Seasons hotel on Brickell Avenue.
More than 250 opera lovers entered the cocktail, through a storybook measuring 12 feet high and the 'Queen of Hearts' welcomed them as the theme of the gala and the decoration was Alice in the Country of wonders, the surreal fantasy book written by Lewis Carroll.
Many of the guests put on touches of costumes and the room was decorated with the same theme, including gigantic chandeliers decorated with branches and huge orchids in the centerpieces. All the characters in the book, including the Mad Hatter, walked around the room during the cocktail.
The best moment of the night was when several of these characters - who were actually opera singers - arrived on the dance floor to perform the best-known opera arias, accompanied by 'techno' music. Among the benefactors were Swanee and Paul DiMare, Trish and Dan Bell, The Wilder Foundation, The Dunspaugh Dalton Foundation and Bacardi. A spectacular night!
By Daisy Olivera | Photos by Betty Alvarez | Published by The New Herald | Read the article