Red Letter Night at the L.A. Opera

Everything came up roses, red and Russian for the gala opening night of L.A. Opera’s new season Tuesday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

The opulence of the reign of czars set the tone for the evening that started at sunset as the black-tie crowd arrived for champagne before the company’s first-ever production of a fully staged Russian opera, “The Queen of Spades,” Tchaikovsky’s three-hour spin on Alexander Pushkin’s tale of greed, obsession and revenge.

The performance, starring Placido Domingo (the first in his new role as L.A. Opera’s artistic director) and Galina Gorchakova, conducted by Valery Gergiev of the Kirov Opera, drew a standing ovation and five curtain calls before gala-goers strolled over to the “Winter Palace” ballroom on the Music Center Plaza.

There, Kelly Day, Nancy Daly Riordan and Sherry Lansing, the troika who co-chaired the opener for the second year, greeted more than 600 guests. Day and her husband, Robert, underwrote the current production. And international opera benefactor Alberto Vilar was a major sponsor of the gala.

A giant playing card was suspended over the bandstand, where the Moscow Strings serenaded during dinner.

Several first-nighters went all out for a “czarina” look. Among the dazzlers in red were Day in garnet and black lace garnished with rubies and diamonds; Tara Colborn in strapless red silk with a triple-pouf bustle; Jennifer Diener, Barbara White-Thomson, Ruth Shannon, Gail Squires and Jamie Bethea of Stolichnaya, who donated the vodka. She presided over ice sculpture replicas of Moscow’s St. Basil’s Cathedral and the clock tower depicted on the Stoli label.

Helma Bloomberg, Joan Hotchkis and Alyce Williamson opted for lustrous sapphire silk; Alisa Camberlin and Maria Antonia Horne glowed in shocking pink satin.

Chef Joaquim Splichal was on hand to oversee the Russian menu: smoked salmon with blini; beef stroganoff; and tiramisu topped with a fondant playing card.

In the crowd were L.A. Opera’s principal conductor, Kent Nagano, and his wife, Mari; Maximilian Schell, who directs the upcoming “Lohengrin”; L.A. Opera board president Leonard Green; Edythe and Eli Broad; Lisa and Willem Mesdag; Em Green; Chris Walker; Lucinda Childs; Richard Colburn; Barbara and Marvin Davis; Sukey and Gil Garcetti; Carol and Warner Henry; Patricia Kennedy and Lee Iacocca; Karen and Gary Winnick; Robin and Steve Kim; Ginny Mancini; Nolan Miller; Fiorenza and Malcolm Lucas; and Dick Riordan, looking gubernatorial as he made the rounds singing “Mention My Name in Bakersfield.”

Still more were Alicia and Ed Clark, Margaret and David Barry, Liz and Graeme Gilfillan, Laura and John Donnelley-Morton, Barbara Abercrombie and Robert Adams, Susie and Norman Barker, Carla and Fred Sands, Eva and Marc Stern, Flora Thornton and Eric Small, Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha, Sally and John Thornton, Maggie and James Hunt, Hannah Carter and the Richard Seaver and Domingo clans.

Among the show biz folks were Pat and Michael York, David Hyde Pierce, Diane Lane, Thora Birch, William Friedkin, Ridley Scott, Roland Joffe, Rob Minkoff and Randa Haines.

Leonard Green, who introduced Domingo to the crowd, noted, “Placido recently completed his 3,000th performance. That beats Cal Ripken Jr.’s record.” Domingo then paid tribute to each cast and crew member; posed for countless photos and boogied with Kelly Day until past 1 a.m. The next day he was on a plane to Washington, D.C., where he heads the Washington Opera. What’s the source of his stamina? “It’s my passion,” he said. “I love what I do. That’s all.” His performances continue through Sept. 16, when Armenian tenor Gegam Grigorian takes over the role.

--Patt Diroll

A Masterful Occasion

Celebrating a tradition where life imitates art, actors dined alongside supporters of the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach before viewing the final performance of this year’s Pageant of the Masters, “Beyond the Horizon.”

Among the hundreds of people gathered under the stars for the black-tie gala at the Tivoli Terrace restaurant were event emcee Tommy Tune, Peter Falk, Broadway star Susan Egan and pageant director Diane Challis Davy.

Annually, hundreds of volunteers take the stage at the Irvine Bowl to create tableaux vivant , an art form that utilizes the human body, props and painted backdrops to create the illusion of two-dimensional paintings.

“I’ve been coming to the pageant for years because it is such a unique entertainment,” Tony Award-winning performer Tune said. “It doesn’t exist anywhere else on this planet.”

Seated at tables draped in crisp white linens and crowned with flickering votives, guests dined on petite filet mignon, jumbo shrimp and chocolate truffle cake as they chatted about the pageant that attracts viewers from around the world.

“This is my first pageant,” said Bill Brochtrup, a star of television’s “NYPD Blue.” When a table mate exclaimed over the paintings depicted in the pageant program, Brochtrup averted his eyes. “I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises,” he said.

--Ann Conway

Coming Up

* Members of the Helpers Club, which supports St. John of God Retirement and Care Center, will honor Andrew D. Mackel at its 46th Annual Brothers Night Dinner Dance on Sept. 16 at Twin Palms Restaurant in Pasadena. Tickets $75. Call (323) 731-7141.

* The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra launches its 33rd season on Sept. 22 at Royce Hall, UCLA, with a program featuring the 19-year-old pianist Lang Lang followed by a gala post-performance dinner on campus. Tickets $350 and $500. Call (213) 622-7001, Ext. 215.

* Mac Tonight 2001, to benefit the Los Angeles Ronald McDonald House, takes place Sept. 22 at McDonald’s Production Center in the City of Industry. Tickets $175. Call (323) 644-3000.

* The Pasadena Historical Museum will pay tribute to the long relationship between Hollywood and Pasadena at its second annual benefit, “Hollywood Comes to Pasadena,” on Sept. 22 at the museum. Tickets $125. Call (626) 577-1660.

* The TreePeople will honor Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, producers of “Once and Again,” at “An Evening Under the Harvest Moon” to be held Sept. 22, at Coldwater Canyon Park. Tickets $250. Call (310) 559-9334.

* Casa Teresa celebrates its 25th anniversary with a concert Sept. 22 at Mission San Juan Capistrano, starring Grammy Award winner Poncho Sanchez. Tickets are $50 and up. Call (714) 538-4860.

Long Beach Cancer League is staging its Cattle Baron’s gala Sept. 22 at the Green on the Hill in Signal Hill. Tickets $125-$200. Call (213) 736-5075.

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Information for Social Circuits can be directed to Patt Diroll in Los Angeles or Ann Conway in Orange County. Diroll is at pattdiroll@earthlink.net; Conway at ann.conway@latimes.com, or (714) 966-5952.