Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1534561
Takes Grand Dame A the Stage The Houston Grand Opera Ball was a record-breaker. By Shelby Hodge. Photography by Emily Jaschke, Michelle Watson. B e l o v e d p h i l a n t h r o p i s t Margaret Alkek Williams might be of small stature, but she's a grande dame of great determination, as Houston Grand Opera patrons saw when she chaired the company's Love Is in the Air Gala. As she walked through the Grand Foyer of Wortham Theater Center in a rose-hued beaded gown, the age- defying dynamo needlessly worried that her $2 million goal would not be met. She surpassed it in a flurry of white-tie glamour. Air-kisses flowed and smartphones flashed as the throng of 450 made their way through a heavenly scented tableau. The Events Company set the romantic stage, swathing the surroundings from tabletops to overhead trestles in banks of vibrant flowers. For the first time in 16 years, HGO honored two of its most stalwart patrons, Dian and Harlan Stai. HGO honors are rare, given only to "those who have profoundly altered the trajectory of our institution," as HGO general director and CEO Khori Dastoor noted. In a surprise for the honorees and guests alike, legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade was on hand to celebrate the couple; with HGO artistic and music director Patrick Summers at the piano, she magically performed Steven Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns." A seated dinner from City Kitchen fueled the guests, who packed the dance floor as the band The Party Feels played on. PC Seen: Ann and Karl Stern, Claire Liu, Anna Dean, Anne and Albert Chao, Allyson and Theodore Pritchett, Drs. Rachel and Warren Ellsworth, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Celina Hellmund, Melissa and Sam Stubbs, Molly and James Crownover, Teresa and José Ivo, Betty and Jess Tutor, Alicia Smith, Hallie Vanderhider, Brigitte Kalai, Maria and Omar Alaoui, and Penny and Paul Loyd. Warren & Rachel Ellsworth Patrick Summers Chair Margaret Alkek Williams Khori Dastoor Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes Christina Jack, Destiny Fernandisse Ann & Jonathan Ayre Cynthia Petrello, Celina Hellmund Melinda Stubbs Theodore & Allyson Pritchett Patrick Summers Frederica von Stade Honorees Harlan & Dian Stai 28