Palm Beach Insider: Opera hits golden note with featured performer at annual gala

Opera lovers and community leaders donned their black ties and gathered at The Breakers for the Palm Beach Opera's annual gala.

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Judy Harpel, Paulette Koch, and Diane Sculley, were chairwomen for the night, which began with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the Venetian Room, followed by the featured entertainment in the Mediterranean Room.

The event's artistic highlight was a performance by three-time Grammy winner Isabel Leonard, a renowned mezzo-soprano who made her Palm Beach Opera debut as Musetta in the company's 2021 festival production of "La Bohème."

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Leonard regularly appears at the Metropolitan Opera and with major opera companies around the world, including Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera House, the San Francisco Opera and the Lyric Opera.

Accompanied by acclaimed pianist John Arida, Leonard performed selections from Bizet, Valverde, Offenbach, Sondheim, Bernstein, Gardel, Rossini, Tesori, and Arlen.

Post-performance, the crowd moved back to the Venetian Ballroom ― decorated with butterflies and tones of blue ― for dinner, fine wines, and remarks from the gala chairwomen and board chairman David Genser. .

The evening continued with dessert and dancing to the music of Soul Survivor.

Gala council members included Carole and Stefano Acunto, Lee Anne and Jeffrey H. Alderton, Veronica Atkins, William Brown, Julie and Robert Desnick. Rebecca and Randell Doane, Paul Efron, Isanne and Sanford Fisher, Ann and Robert Fromer, Joan and David Genser, Merrill and Charles Gottesman, James Harpel, Florence Kaufman, Judy and Jerry Kaufman, Dorothy and Sidney Kohl, Marsha and Henry Laufer, Frayda Lindemann, Ari Rifkin, John Sculley, Marc S. Solomon, Toni and Martin Sosnoff and Roseanne and Dennis Williams.

More than 350 people attended, raising more than $700,000.

Proceeds from the event will assist the Palm Beach Opera in its mission to deliver world-class opera, provide meaningful arts education, and train the next generation of opera stars.