Black Tie Untied

The 2nd annual Women and Medicine Luncheon Friday, Feb. 1, was quite a success with double the attendance from the previous year’s luncheon. Many attendees lined up to try their hand at operating on the DaVinci machine. This year’s luncheon focused on women’s heart disease, and since it was held on the American Heart Association’s “Wear Red Day,” most attendees donned their best rouge.

Sarasota Opera’s winter gala took guests back in time and onto an entirely different continent for “An Evening in the Forbidden City” Saturday, Feb. 2, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. The ballroom was transformed into a Chinese wonderland with silk lanterns, centerpieces made from bamboo and orchids. A Chinese pagoda, created especially for the event, framed the stage where the 12-piece 42nd Street Big Band played. More than 265 guests were encouraged to take Chinese fans as a souvenir. 

Board Chairman Donald Worthington was happy and perhaps even a bit relieved — the Opera tried something different this year, hosting its gala one-week before the opening of the season instead of an opening night event. The company’s first production of Giacomo Puccini’s vocally extravagant opera, “Turandot,” opens Saturday, Feb. 9.