Washington Opera Thank You Gala

Mrs. Eugene (Betty) Casey, who is known toWashingtonians for her generosity (she gave $50million to restore the city's trees), sponsored a galaconcert to thank supporters of the WashingtonOpera on April 13.Invitations went out to 2,500people (from former staff to envelope-stuffngvolunteers) for a concert held at DAR ConstitutionHall. Among the performers were diva and nativeWashingtonian Denyce Graves, the Three Mo'Tenors, international soprano Veronica Villarroel,bass sensation Rene Pape, young American tenorDaniil Shtoda, and members of the Opera's YoungArtists Program of the Americas, with patrioticchoreography to "The Stars and Stripes Forever"by Debbie Allen. After the performance, a selectgroup of 290 of the company's supporters wereinvited to dinner and dancing at the Organization of American States.