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Orchestra's ball moves to Mahaffey

By Mary Jane Park
Published December 31, 2006

A 40-foot-long red carpet. A gilded tent complete with chandelier. An honor guard wearing elaborate coats and powdered wigs.

Welcome to tonight's ramped-up Affair to Remember, the Florida Orchestra's annual Evening in Vienna, an Imperial Ball.

The event moved to the Mahaffey Theater after many years in the Grand Ballroom at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort.

"The newly completed renovations at Mahaffey Theater make it an ideal location to showcase the orchestra onstage," said Amy Scott, director of the orchestra's annual fund. "You can imagine our music director, Stefan Sanderling, and our orchestra players are thrilled to be playing in an actual concert hall on New Year's Eve."

That's not meant to criticize the Vinoy. Along with the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront, the grand historic hotel offered special hotel rates in connection with the gala.

Invitations to the event call it "a fairy tale evening of magic," and organizers have created a lush atmosphere in decor, food and entertainment. Tickets are among the most expensive of the year: $400 for individuals and $750 for patrons, which indicates an additional donation to the orchestra. About 300 people made reservations before the deadline, up from 230 last year.

After guests arrive at the valet stop, Scott said, they will proceed through the tent and onto the red carpet, to be greeted by costumed guards.

Cassie Osterloth, operations manager for Carter's Florist & Greenhouses, which is staging the event, said tables will be covered in burgundy damask, chairs in gold. Tall silver candelabra and crystal votive holders in various heights will create a soft glow.

"There will be lots of candlelight and lots of fabric," she said, along with bouquets of deep red, velvety Black Magic roses, crystal-embellished gold birch branches and an array of flowers in plum and cranberry tones. Yards and yards of maroon panne velvet will be draped throughout the venue.

Champagne will be offered during a reception on both levels of the atrium. Professional dancers will demonstrate Viennese waltzes, performing to the music of a dozen orchestra members.

At 8 tonight, Sanderling will lead the orchestra in an all-Strauss program.

Hans Hickel, the chef from the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, and a Vienna native, is overseeing the four-course dinner. The menu includes Wiener Schnitzel, a traditional veal dish, and Palatschinken, a crepe-like pancake.

Afterward, SouthTown Fever will rev up dance music in the atrium, where guests can see midnight fireworks along the waterfront.

Tonight's event is an homage to the annual New Year's Concert in Vienna, Austria, which takes place every Jan. 1, although the inaugural performance was held on New Year's Eve 1939.

Gayle Bertelstein is chair of the black-tie event, and Tampa Bay Magazine's Aaron Fodiman and Margaret Word Burnside once again are honorary chairs.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 22:18:50]