Opening Night : Social Season Begins at the Opera

Wednesday’s opening night gala on the Music Center Plaza kicked off the Los Angeles Opera’s 1999-2000 programming--and, unofficially, the Los Angeles social season.

A hefty sprinkling of Hollywood glitterati was among those paying up to $1,000 a ticket to hear Placido Domingo and Denyce Graves sing Camille Saint-Saens’ “Samson et Dalila” and partake in post-performance festivities.

Who Was There: David Hockney, Jacqueline Bisset, Sidney Poitier, Kathy Bates, Angie Dickinson, John Schlesinger, Fred Hayman, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, Harry Hamlin, Julia Ormand, Faye Dunaway, opera board president Leonard Green.

The Party: Waiters in red fezzes served the nearly 1,000 guests Middle Eastern cuisine, tapping into the biblical motif. Gypsy Magic, former members of the Gipsy Kings, added romance.

The Mood: “Three years ago, I came to opening night and felt overdressed,” Bates said. “Tonight you see long gowns, diamonds, furs--a throwback to the ‘30s.”

The Buzz: “No one suggests this is a great forward-thrusting piece,” general director Peter Hemmings said. “But the performances don’t get any better.” The crowd agreed.

Inside Dope:: Graves admitted to some opening night jitters. “I used that--particularly in [the exhausting] Act 2,” she said. “Nerves can give you an edge.” Domingo, who takes over for Hemmings next July, had high praise for his co-star: “She’s got beauty, voice and acting ability--it’s easy to be tempted by this Dalila.”

The Challenge: Event organizer Wendy Stark Morrissey, Los Angeles contributing editor to Vanity Fair, had the formidable task of luring the entertainment community downtown. “A Disney executive, say, has to go home and change and be at the opera at 7,” she said. “Scheduling the gala on a Saturday would eliminate that problem.” Opera president Green suspects Domingo’s arrival will generate more enthusiasm: “Hollywood is attracted to talent, and with his contacts, he’s a magnet for big stars.”

The Message: The tale of a Hebrew strongman succumbing to a Philistine temptress struck several chords. “You come away thinking, ‘Beware of flatterers,’ ” Bisset said. Added Garcetti: “The real lesson, my wife, Sukey said, is he shouldn’t have gone out with a shiksa.”