March 01, 2010
Black, White, and red all over
All that red at the Black and White Opera Soirée had less to do with Liberal politicians participating in the Opera On the Hill-themed arts benefit and more to do with Canadians showing their Olympic spirit Saturday night at the National Arts Centre.
Julia Foster, head of the NAC's board of trustees, donned a red 'Go Canada Go' shirt beneath her evening wear while NAC president Peter Herrndorf wore the button version on his tuxedo lapel.
Gala-goers had the chance to cheer on Canada as it picked up three more golds that night. The NAC has been keeping its patrons in the loop by broadcasting the games in the lobby. Former PM Jean Chrétien and his wife, Aline, were among those seen watching Canada's men's curling on the big screen.
The 13th annual soirée attracted a full-house of 2,200 people and raised $223,500 for the NAC Orchestra and Opera Lyra Ottawa. This year's organizing committee was headed up by Hill & Knowlton senior V-P Elizabeth Roscoe while Bell, represented by regional V-P Louis Savoie, was back as major sponsor.
The concert showcased some of the world's most beautiful opera music performed by such top talents as tenor Richard Margison; baritone Phillip Addis; sopranos Shannon Mercer, Arianna Zukerman and Yannick-Muriel Noah; and mezzo-soprano Anita Krause with Andrew Grams conducting the NAC orchestra.
The show was hosted by former Liberal deputy prime minister Sheila "nobody's baby" Copps and Conservative MP Maxime Bernier, who poked fun at himself by claiming to have lost his script backstage (he resigned from cabinet in 2008 following his mishandling of secret documents). Mayor Larry O'Brien and his cockapoo, Remi, soon appeared with the chewed-up script. "I think the dog ate all the funny parts, though," quipped O'Brien.
Other amusing on-stage appearances were made by Liberal MPs Bob Rae and Justin Trudeau, Tory MP Lisa Raitt, NDP MP Paul Dewar and Green Party leader Elizabeth May. It was the kind of show where the name of opera's most famous barber, Figaro, appeared on the surtitles as the name of Ottawa's most famous barber, Rinaldo. A real crowd-pleaser was the MP5 quintet (Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl and MPs Ed Fast, Randy Kamp, Kevin Sorenson and Mark Warawa) with their song, The Rumour Mill.
Also a hit, at least with the ladies, was improved access to the loo. Some of the men's washrooms were temporarily turned over to the women for the night. Sorry, fellas.
