placido domingo

Bravos for Placido Domingo’s Show and VIP Dinner, March 27, 2017

Susan Stein Social Scene

placido domingo
Ana Maria Martinez and Placido Domingo perform at at The Show at Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage.
PHOTO BY DIMITRI HALKIDIS

“King of Opera” Placido Domingo and renowned soprano Ana María Martínez dazzled spectators at The Show at Aqua Caliente Casino Resort Spa in Rancho Mirage, part of the annual Palm Springs Life Festival. The duo performed with the L.A. Opera Orchestra conducted by Grant Gershon. Domingo performed arias from La Traviata, Franz Lehár’s “Dein is Mein Ganzes Herz” from The Land of Smiles, as well as numbers by Giuseppe Verdi and, from his Spanish-language lyrical comedy Maravilla, Moreno Torroba.

Martínez and Domingo sang duets including “Puro Siccome un Angelo” by Verdi and Leonard Bernstein’s “Tonight” from West Side Story and a piece from Lehár’s The Merry Widow. Martínez performed a compelling rendition of “If I Loved You” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.

The performance was followed by an invitation-only dinner at Wally’s Desert Turtle in Rancho Mirage. Both performers attended the dinner along with Angel Romero, a classical guitarist who performed at last year’s Palm Spring Life Festival. Guests mingled with the performers and enjoyed an elegant three-course dinner conceived and prepared by Wally’s Executive Chef Pascal Lallemand.

Raju and Jaishri Mehta of El Paseo Jewelers, presenting sponsors of the festival, as well as underwriter-of-the-evening James Rigler of Rigler Deutsch Foundation, attended both events. Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa sponsored the evening’s events, which were executive produced by Barrett Wissman in partnership with LA Opera.

The Show at Agua Caliente
32-250 Bob Hope Drive
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
888-999-1995
www.hotwatercasino.com/theshow

Wally’s Desert Turtle
71775 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
760-568-9321
www.wallysdesertturtle.com

Photography by Loretta Vlach