What: Fort Worth Opera Dinner with the Stars
Where: City Club of Fort Worth
The 411: Fort Worth Opera's annual Dinner With The Stars brought together music patrons from all over the city for an elegant evening of delightful music and delectable food.
As patrons arrived for champagne and cocktail hour, they were serenaded by saxophone player Jock Lewis.
After a three-course dinner, FWO General Director Tuomas Hiltunen and FWO Chairman of the Board Mike Martinez welcomed the audience, which included special guests Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and General Consul of Mexico Francisco de la Torre Galindo.
After all the talking ended, the music took center stage.
The literal and figurative high note of the evening came when celebrated soprano Karen Slack, one of the stars of the company’s upcoming Porgy and Bess, delivered a stunning performance of arias, art songs, spirituals, and American songbook classics. She was accompanied on piano by FWO Artistic Director Joe Illick. Together, they entertained with works by Strauss, Gershwin, and Puccini.
The audience demanded an encore, and she happily delivered “He's Got the Whole World in His Hand,” arranged by Margaret Bonds.
The night's musical menagerie also included a performance from FWO-TCU Lesley Artists — including Sam Parkinson, Heather Weirich, Jonathan Walker-VanKuren, Bridget Cappel, Myles Garver, Anne Wright, and pianist Michael Sherman — who gave guests a sneak peek at Fort Worth Opera’s 2020 season. Their selection “You and You” from Johann Strauss II’s charming comic operetta Die Fledermaus (hint, hint about that season) earned rousing applause.
The evening was a foretaste of what's to come for Fort Worth Opera. The next Opera Festival starts April 26, 2019 with Porgy and Bess and also includes mariachi opera El Pasado Nunca se Termina, new work Companionship and a Frontiers showcase of emerging pieces.
FWO's biggest fundraiser of the season, its gala, will take place May 4, 2019. It be a "Southern Soiree" and will star Metropolitan Opera Star Jennifer Rowley.
Who: Brian Smith, Nicolle Duvall, Barbara Jordan, Paulina Magdaleno, Sheran Keyton, Gina Browning, Aaron Noble, Cassie Dunn, and Dante Davis.
Brian Smith, Nicolle Duvall, Anne Wright, Barbara Jordan
Maestro Robert Spano leads the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra on opening night at Bass Hall.Photo by Randal Vanderveer
