On Wednesday night, the Folger Shakespeare Library hosted its annual gala, which took its theme from the country of Spain. As in the past, Folger director of special events Caroline Bedinger garnered her inspiration from the library’s programming, which this year includes the Mediterranean Notes concert series highlighting early chamber music from Spain. Then, Bedinger discovered an intriguing link.
The pre-performance reception in the cavernous, wood-paneled exhibition hall included passed tapas, such as chicken and ham croquetas, manchego lollipops with quince preserves for dipping, and Spanish potato omelet bites from Design Cuisine. Once the hall was filled, staffers guided the 220 guests into the library's Elizabethan Theatre, where actress Lynn Redgrave hosted the hour-long program of 16th-century Spanish music by Folger’s own Mark Rimple and Julie Ferris. Also on tap was an excerpt of Love’s Labor's Lost, read by Redgrave and Cody Nickell, and 18th-century Spanish dancing from Castanet Virtuoso Carmen de Vicente. (The other highlight: British Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald and Spanish Ambassador Jorge Dezcallar scored laughs from the crowd with jokes about their countries’ relationship during Shakespearean times.)
After the performance, guests dined in the two reading rooms (one traditional, the other airy and more modern) on a trio of scallop, shrimp, and squid tapas, grilled quail stuffed with spinach, figs, and pine nuts, and Ibiza goat cheese tarts for dessert. Both rooms showcased spotlit, five-foot-tall centerpieces of red roses, yellow orchids, and forsythia branches created by Spot Floral Design.
Bedinger worked with Spot Floral Design to highlight the colors of the Spanish flag in the dramatic arrangements, but her focus remained on the library itself. “We make the reading rooms look very special, but we don’t want to change them beyond recognition,” said Bedinger. “We enhance the most treasured objects in the rooms with flowers, staging, lighting or drapery, but we make sure the message to the people that come to the gala is, 'This is what your money goes to support, and we thank you for your help.'"
