R S V P / ORANGE COUNTY : A Touch of Paris, a Taste of Italy : Members of Opera Pacific’s Impresario Circle Follow ‘Traviata’ With an Encore

After watching scenes of elegant Parisian parties in the opening-night production of “La Traviata” staged by Opera Pacific, members of the opera company’s Impresario Circle attended a glamorous soiree of their own.

About 150 guests showed up for a post-performance gala at the Center Club in Costa Mesa on Saturday to celebrate the opening of Opera Pacific’s winter season at the nearby Orange County Performing Arts Center. The gala was held in honor of Impresario members, who each contribute $5,000 or more annually to support Opera Pacific.

Timeless Love Story

For many party-goers, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera about a beautiful Parisian courtesan, Violetta Valery, and her ill-fated love for Alfredo Germont, is a sentimental favorite.

“This was my first opera--I saw it when I was 12, and, although I didn’t understand everything that was going on, I was transfixed,” said Gloria Gellman, president of the Opera Pacific Guild Alliance.

“When ‘La Traviata’ opened originally (in 1853 in Venice), it was a failure,” she said. People found the story of the young lovers scandalous.

“Today, because of the music, the pathos and the story, it is much loved,” Gellman said.

David DiChiera, general director of Opera Pacific, said “La Traviata” is the “epitome of romanticism in opera.”

“It’s such a great love story,” he said. “The music has kept this opera alive.”

The part of Violetta, portrayed opening night by Tiziana Fabbricini (she did not attend the party), is demanding of an opera singer, he said.

“You really need three different sopranos--one who is technically proficient, a second one who has great stamina and a third who has tremendous ability to act. It’s a tour de force.”

Opera Makes New Friend

Party-goers mingled with members of the cast, including Roberto Aronica, who portrayed Alfredo, and sampled a buffet stocked with fare befitting an Italian opera--pasta and sweets.

For Barbara Venezia, who will co-chair this year’s opera ball in the fall, opera is a relatively new passion. She began attending operas three years ago.

“I’m a novice. If it weren’t for the surtitles (projected above the stage in English), I’d be lost,” she said.

“I love opera because the voices are so incredible. If you’re like me, and you can’t sing a note, to see people use their voices like instruments is incredible. I always think of the years of hard work and discipline that go into it, and (the performance is) over so quickly.”

Other guests were Mary Dell Barkouras, Mary Boyajian, George and Arlene Cheng, Bill and Laila Conlin, Ben and Patricia Dolson, Niles Gates, Robert and Maxine Gibson, Tom and Judy Kendrick, Lorre Mehlinger, Elaine Redfield, Ed and Floss Schumacher, Gayle Widyolar and David Scott, and Herb and Milli Wieseneck.