The Arbuturian likes to think of itself as a well-heeled, well-fed, well-read, well more than welterweight sort of publication and, with this in mind, occasionally there comes to our attention an event that allows us to exercise, well, all of the above in recommendations to our readers.
Marking the first in a series of seasonal gala dinner engagements planned for next year; on Thursday 3rd November 2011 the Landmark Hotel in London’s Marylebone will be the setting for an elegant evening of musical entertainment and fine dining with its inaugural Night at the Opera Gala Dinner.
Featuring a sumptuous six-course banquet, with a wine carefully selected to compliment each dish, interludes between courses will be graced with segments of opera by singers from esteemed classical music performance company, Opera Bespoke.
Upon arrival guests will take to their seats in the stunning surrounds of the five star hotel’s Winter Garden with its soaring eight-storey glass-roof atrium – a fitting location for a sophisticated evening – to enjoy a glass of chilled Champagne and amuse-bouche.
With the onset of dinner, the evening’s musical entertainment begins as guests are taken on a journey through opera, beginning with excerpts of early work from Handel and Mozart, before traversing operas great ages with music by Verdi, Puccini, Rossini and Strauss in three 20-minute sessions of popular arias.
Opera Bespoke’s artists – a soprano, mezzo soprano and a tenor who have performed with the country’s top opera houses and orchestras – will sing (in costume, no less) accompanied by a pianist, while between each operatic segment another delectable course will be served from a sumptuous menu created specially for the evening by Martin Geschwindt, the Winter Garden’s Head Chef, in collaboration with Executive Chef, Gary Klaner. It promises to be a delectable and decidedly delightful evening.
Naturally, to complete the experience, The Landmark London encourages guests attending the dinner to stay in one of its elegant guestrooms or, for the ultimate indulgence, one of their newly completed luxury suites.
A Night at the Opera Gala, Thursday 3rd November 2011, The Landmark London Hotel, 222 Marylebone Road, London NW1 6JQ. Tel: 020 7631 8000. Tickets to the Night at the Opera Gala Dinner are £150 per person and include the six-course dinner with a carefully selected glass of wine per course and, of course, the three operatic interludes. For more information and tickets, visit the hotel’s website. For more information about Opera Bespoke visit their website.
