Placido Domingo Awards Dinner honors Juan Diego Florez

Alicia Garcia Clark, chairwoman of Hispanics for L.A. Opera, likes to talk about the organization’s relationship with Plácido Domingo.

Clark said that 18 years ago, when she first sought to rally Latino support for the opera, “Plácido Domingo was the first person to say ‘What can I do to help?’ Other people said they were too busy, and Plácido is one of the busiest people in the world.”

Catapulted to success by this auspicious start, L.A. Opera’s audience has since grown from 1% Latinos to 11%. And with 275 people at last Sunday’s Plácido Domingo Awards Dinner at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the night’s proceeds came to more than $100,000.

Under the crystal chandeliers in the pavilion’s Grand Hall, following “The Barber of Seville,” Domingo presented this year’s awards to the celebrated Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez, who had just sung the role of Count Almaviva, and L.A. Opera Chairman and Chief Executive Marc Stern, who runs the asset management firm the TCW Group.

Digressing from his prepared remarks, Domingo said he has been singing opera for 50 years, beginning as Borsa in “Rigoletto” at the National Opera in Mexico City. “You can imagine how many singers I have heard,” he said, before launching into praise for Flórez for “the beauty of his voice, the ability of his coloratura, his great personality and the amazing height of the high notes.”

Hardly a one-sided admiration, Flórez said Domingo has always been his idol. To receive such an award and hear such words, he said, “You have to pinch yourself to see that you’re awake.”

Stern’s award came next, with Domingo calling him “quite simply one of the most important figures in the Los Angeles Opera.”

Before the ceremonies, Stern said, “You look at Los Angeles and you see the importance of the Hispanic community. Where else in the world would you have Plácido Domingo as artistic director of the opera, across the street a young conductor from South America in Gustavo Dudamel and a Hispanic mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa? And to tie it all together, today’s opera is about Seville. What could be better?”

Perhaps not much, except this: Following the speeches, as guests polished off their pumpkin cheesecake desserts, Domingo continued to pose for souvenir snapshots with opera supporters -- graciously, tirelessly and always with a smile.

Dinner chairwoman Dolores Elena Richardson said gala-goers included Angelenos who originally hailed from Spain, Argentina, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and other countries, plus more than 40 people who came from Mexico for the occasion.

Among those present were Haydee and Carlos Mollura, Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha, Carol and Warner Henry, Bertita and Guillermo Martinez, Connie and Peter Spenuzza, Mirta and Joel Arroyo, and Frank Baxter, former U.S. ambassador to Uruguay, with his wife, Kathy.

For the kids

To help celebrate the season, Jamie Tisch opened her Beverly Hills home Wednesday to 140 supporters of the Children’s Action Network for an auction of designer wreaths.

All one-of-a-kind creations, the wreaths had been interpreted by artists and designers in materials such as crystals, rhinestones, orchids, pretzel bread and peacock feathers. Combined with ticket sales, the auction earned more than $35,000 to help the charity raise awareness about children in foster care and find them permanent homes.

Linda Ramone’s design paid tribute to her late husband, the pioneering punk rocker Johnny Ramone, with logo patches, pins and a mini-leather jacket. “Johnny always wore pins on his jacket,” she said.

Christine Devine of KTTV-TV Channel 11 attended with her fiancé, actor-musician Sean McNabb. Devine has been hosting “Wednesday’s Children” TV segments, which spotlight foster children who seek adoptions.

Also turning up to bid were Virginia Madsen, Jay Russell, Barbara Lazaroff, Brooke Burns, Lucy Dahl, Kristan Reilly, Susan Woods, Susie Sheinberg, Mandy Stein, Madeline Stuart, Leigh Manacher and Aubrey Thorne Carey.

ellen.olivier@society-news.com