Threatening Divorce at BSO’s Opening Night Gala

Andris Nelsons and Carlos Simon. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

There were varying levels of enthusiasm during the cocktail hour at the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Opening Night Gala, ranging from “This is the only thing that could drag me away from Martha’s Vineyard” to “I told my wife if she ever says yes to a black-tie event on a weeknight again, we’re getting a divorce.”

Judging by the raucous standing ovation after the concert, however, everyone eventually came around—not surprising, given the stellar performances by soloists Lang Lang and his wife, Gina Alice Redlinger (on piano); mezzo-soprano Susan Graham; 18-year-old violin prodigy Keila Wakao, a student at New England Conservatory; and a world premiere by BSO composer chair Carlos Simon (looking dapper in a white dinner jacket after Labor Day).

Perhaps the aforementioned grump was won over when Graham performed a song called “Sorry the Man Who Has a Wife,” but the crowd was unequivocally buoyant as they descended from the balcony for dinner on the floor of Symphony Hall, which was transformed into an enchanting French garden for the evening. The menu by chef Ken Oringer was bold: oysters as a passed app and swordfish au poivre as a main course.

Spotted among the diamond-bedecked crowd: maestros Andris Nelsons and Keith Lockhart; the incomparable James Taylor and his wife, Kim; cochairs Deborah Elfers and Wendy Shattuck; board chair Barbara Hostetter; former first couple Deval and Diane Patrick; righteous reverends Ray Hammond and Gloria White-Hammond; the swan-like Suki de Bragança and her cygnets, Camilla and Annabel; iconoclastic Brahmin Linda Cabot Black; über-philanthropists Ann and Graham Gund; Boston Foundation head honcho Lee Pelton; and one woman who said, “I have to go to Florida for 68 more days before January 1, or I have to pay taxes in Massachusetts.”

Lang Lang. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Miriam Ortiz and Imari Paris Jeffries. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Diane and Deval Patrick flanking James and Kim Taylor. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Susan Cohen, Matthew Teitelbaum, and Barbara Hostetter. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Deborah Elfers and Wendy Shattuck. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Margaret Hearn, Kristen Thomas, and Lucy Huntington-Bailey. / Photo by Sophie Adams Photography

You Can Lead a Horticulture

After a 16-year hiatus, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society revived the New England Fall Flower Show, which was one of the biggest events on Boston’s social calendar until it came to a halt in 2008. The 138th iteration’s preview party was smaller but no less charming, held at the Garden at Elm Bank, the estate in Wellesley that serves as the organization’s headquarters. It’s heartening to see a beloved tradition restored, with judges from all over the country participating, but perhaps the most fitting tribute to growing plants was when a guest handed his friend a jar of homegrown cannabis called Dante’s Inferno.

Sarah Reynolds and Justin Hester. / Photo by Sophie Adams Photography

A guest strolls through a greenhouse. / Photo by Sophie Adams Photography

Sandra and George Gilpatrick. / Photo by Sophie Adams Photography

Roza Yarchun-Sullivan and Jim Sullivan. / Photo by Sophie Adams Photography

Duncan McCallum, Jeff Palmucci, and Stephen Lewin-Berlin. / Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Food Bank

Food for Thought

Raising almost a million dollars for the Greater Boston Food Bank, chef Jody Adams and restaurateur Steve DiFillippo hosted Taste of the Food Bank at its Yawkey Distribution Center, which produces 87 million meals a year for people in need. The evening featured fine wines and nibbles by such culinary giants as Michael Schlow, Joanne Chang, Dante de Magistris, Douglass Williams, and Jeremy Sewall. A band provided entertainment to accompany the grazing, and the live auction was a food lover’s dream.

Herb Chambers and Melissa Lees. / Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Food Bank

Jillian Nichols and Orly Khon. / Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Food Bank

Andy Husbands, Angela Correia, and Matheus de Araujo. / Photo courtesy of Greater Boston Food Bank