“The First Time I’ve Worn Pantyhose in Five Years!”

The Boston Lyric Opera Gala began with a performance of Aida at the Emerson Colonial Theater, continued with a cocktail reception at the BLO’s headquarters at the Midway Artist Studios followed by a seated dinner, and concluded with an awards ceremony recognizing the evening’s honorees. These included mega-philanthropists Ray and Maria Stata; Grammy-winning bass Morris Robinson; music critic Jeremy Eichler; community organizer Leverett Wing; and mezzo-soprano Arielle Rogers-Wilkey.The location of the celebration was a last-minute change due to an unforeseen snafu that worked several people into a swivet, but the Fort Point loft space made for an ideal venue, with a reception in a wood-and-brick-lined room overlooking the rehearsal and performance hall where dinner was served. (Major props to Tyger Event Design + Production for the flawless pivot.) Guests were ushered to their tables to the tune of the “Triumphal March” from Aida, prompting one man to proudly exclaim, “I can play this on the kazoo!”

Prominent among the throng: Beacon Hillions Suki and Miguel De Bragança; South End nabobs Kurt Gress and Samuel Parkinson; the bewitching Suzanne Bernard-Plimpton and her adoring other half, Samuel; arts boosters Katie and Paul Buttenweiser; the comme il faut Jane Tyler; at least one person who called to mind the line in Aida when she says, “What that man sees and understands could be etched in a grain of sand”; and one woman who lamented the production’s lack of live elephants, prompting her dinner companion to comment, “But who would clean up after them?”

The chocolate-colored roses in the centerpieces were a prominent topic of conversation, and the consensus on dinner was that the filet mignon was delicious and a crowd-pleaser but wasn’t necessarily the most imaginative. However, proving what an exceptional evening it was, one woman exclaimed, “This is the first time I’ve worn pantyhose in five years!”

Lydia Kenton Walsh and Robert Walsh. / Photo by Nile Scott

The “Triumphal March.” / Photo by Nile Scott

Marcia Lynn Sells, Brian Major, and Michelle Johnson. / Photo by Nile Scott

Yael and Eliot Heher, and Suki de Bragança. / Photo by Nile Scott

Connie Chin and Vivian Pham. / Photo by Nile Scott

Jenny McCathy. / Photo by Hill Zhou

Fashion for Every Body

Just because someone’s missing a limb doesn’t mean they’re missing a sense of style, which was the raison d’être behind clothing designer Joe Malaika’s runway show Excessive Fashion for Amputees, held at the Sheraton ­Boston. ­Highlighting designs that celebrate people with prosthetic limbs, the event supported the A Leg Forever Charitable Foundation and Malaika’s Amputee Self Help Network Uganda, and featured models who have lost limbs. These included Paralympic medalist Joseph LeMar; Ugandan force of nature Najeero Sumayah; hockey champion Joe Howard; and the indomitable MaryJo ­Turgeon, who all proved that working the runway with a prosthetic leg is much more inspiring than doing it in heels.

Joseph LeMar. / Photo by Hill Zhou

MaryJo Turgeon. / Photo by Hill Zhou

Najeero Sumayah. / Photo by Hill Zhou

Snow Ball co-chairs Adam and Lea Rutledge, Peter and Catherine Creighton, Jade Gedeon, and Will Kiester. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Cue Olaf

The Trustees missed a perfectly good opportunity to play “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” when they hosted their annual Snow Ball at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich. The evening attracted a glittering crowd that included cochairs Catherine and Peter Creighton; the soigné Diana Chaplin; Manchester-by-the-Sea chatelaine Lori Sullivan; the dangerous duo of Jade Gedeon and Mika Miller; and several people who went outside in their formalwear to make snow angels.

Peter Raymond, Azeo Torre, and Stephanie Danhaki. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Board members Elizabeth Johnson and Uzochi Erlingsson. / Photo by Michael Blanchard

Matthew and Portia Brown, Julia Lippman, and Matthew Eapen. / Photo by Michael Blanchard