For the New York City Opera’s spring gala, designer Remco van Vliet of Van Vliet & Trap took inspiration from the evening’s performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide—“a very old-fashioned French story,” he said—for the dinner decor. “Instead of being monochromatic, I used very French, pastel colors—springlike and very fresh.”
Van Vliet decorated the dining tables in the New York State Theater’s Grand Promenade with tall golden candelabras laced with lush arrangements. The tall designs were actually eight separate arrangements—one on each of the structures’ arms, on top, and at the base. Large buttery yellow roses were interspersed with chartreuse hydrangea, mimosa, golden James Story orchids, eucalyptus with berries, and variegated Italian ivy. The graceful look was complemented by champagne-colored taffeta tablecloths and gold napkins.
The opera’s director of special events Margaux Biernat oversaw the event with help from Lisa Lori Communications.
During the cocktail hour, Catering by Restaurant Associates passed hors d’oeuvres including plantain-crusted shrimp with spicy passionfruit sauce, Italian sausage popover rolls, and foie gras on brioche with apricot chutney. After the performance, dinner included appetizers of artichoke bottoms with lemon and chervil, eggplant caponata on sweet potato croquettes, and a warm fennel soup with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The entrée was seared North Atlantic cod with a Basque wine sauce, shrimp, cockles, and chorizo and garbanzo bean confit with spinach, shallots, and tomatoes.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Read our coverage of the New York City Opera’s fall gala…
Van Vliet decorated the dining tables in the New York State Theater’s Grand Promenade with tall golden candelabras laced with lush arrangements. The tall designs were actually eight separate arrangements—one on each of the structures’ arms, on top, and at the base. Large buttery yellow roses were interspersed with chartreuse hydrangea, mimosa, golden James Story orchids, eucalyptus with berries, and variegated Italian ivy. The graceful look was complemented by champagne-colored taffeta tablecloths and gold napkins.
The opera’s director of special events Margaux Biernat oversaw the event with help from Lisa Lori Communications.
During the cocktail hour, Catering by Restaurant Associates passed hors d’oeuvres including plantain-crusted shrimp with spicy passionfruit sauce, Italian sausage popover rolls, and foie gras on brioche with apricot chutney. After the performance, dinner included appetizers of artichoke bottoms with lemon and chervil, eggplant caponata on sweet potato croquettes, and a warm fennel soup with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The entrée was seared North Atlantic cod with a Basque wine sauce, shrimp, cockles, and chorizo and garbanzo bean confit with spinach, shallots, and tomatoes.
—Mark Mavrigian
Photo: Patrick McMullan
Read our coverage of the New York City Opera’s fall gala…
For the New York City Opera’s spring gala performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, Van Vliet & Trap created elegant arrangements laced within golden candelabras.
