RECIPE FOR SUCCESS:

This past weekend I was in Detroit at the Michigan Opera Theater to see the world premiere of “Cyrano,” a new opera composed by my dear friend David DiChiera.

“Cyrano” was seven years in the making. Creating some of the score on his many visits to Newport, DiChiera filled our home with the most incredible music I’d ever heard. My husband and I had to be there for the premiere.

It was a weekend to remember.

Friday night we attended the Opera Ball. Six hundred people filled a huge opulent tent in the theater parking lot adjacent to the theater.

Saturday night “Cyrano” premiered to a packed house. The press and opera lovers from all over the world were in attendance.

The curtain rose, the scenery and lighting were breathtaking. The voices were magical, the music was awe-inspiring, and when it was over, the crowd gave a roaring standing ovation.

When DiChiera took the stage the audience went wild. At that moment I knew he had attained rock star status in the opera world. The emotion that filled the theater was pure love for his creation.

After the performance, 800 VIPs enjoyed a dinner with the cast that was even more impressive than the Opera Ball the night before.

This million-dollar production of Cyrano was co-produced by Michigan, Miami and Philadelphia Opera companies.

But as the opera world watched, where was Orange County and Opera Pacific in the mix here? After all, DiChiera was the founding director of Opera Pacific — or is that something that Opera Pacific would rather you not know?

Unlike most opera companies that honor their founding directors and have buildings named after them, Opera Pacific is rewriting history and DiChiera is not part of it. There is no mention of their founding director any where on their website or in their literature. Their version of how Opera Pacific got its start is not quite the whole story.

DiChiera brought opera to Orange County, make no mistake about that.

In 1984, a committee of women contacted Opera America looking for a general director. DiChiera was suggested and for the next 10 years he developed Opera Pacific raising money and awareness bringing world class opera to the O.C.

He shared his time between the Detroit Opera and Opera Pacific until Opera Pacific Board members insisted he step down as general director, taking the lesser role of creative director complaining he wasn’t spending enough time in the O.C. even though the opera company was flourishing.

A new general director was hired who took apart the team DiChiera built, finally forcing him out all together. The opera company is still struggling to regain its footing in the community — out-of-control egos and back-stabbing, the true makings of any operatic story.

So in a city like Detroit, whose economy is severely depressed, The Michigan Opera thrives with overwhelming support and in rich Orange County, our opera company flounders. The world premiere of “Cyrano” should have been here in Costa Mesa, certainly a missed opportunity.

With “Cyrano,” David DiChiera takes his place in opera history, proving once again that creativity and perseverance is the true recipe for success.

BARBARA VENEZIA is the chairman of the Santa Ana Heights Redevelopment Project Advisor Committee and was the co-creator of the cooking show “At Home on the Range” with John Crean.