Photo credit: Janet Donovan
It could have been a Mission Impossible for Gérard Araud to pull off a spectacular birthday party for Washington National Opera’s Maestro Philippe Auguin, but it wasn’t. The Ambassador of France did just that at his Kalorama residence with guests that included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who shared her love of opera with her late dear friend Justice Antonin Scalia.
“You know our friend is going to climb the Everest of music in the coming months,” noted Ambassador Araud. “The Ring (Der Ring des Nibelungen), is one of the most difficult pieces of opera.” The Ring, a cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner, is also one of the most exciting pieces of opera. “Actually, it will be very very unusual – not only will he conduct, but he will sing, because as you know, there are some financial problems.” WNO underwent financial struggles in recent years that ended up in a merger with The Kennedy Center intended to stabilize the opera company. Under the new structure, the Washington National Opera maintains a separate board; separate endowment and donations designated for the opera are spent on the opera. Otherwise, the organizations’ finances and programming decisions are made jointly . “So I think we have to adjust to reality- so it’s perfect. Auguin is perfect, and he can adjust, and he can do anything, so thank you Philip.”
Maestro Philippe Auguin
Auguin didn’t have any problems adjusting to the spirited, well informed opera buffs that enjoyed a bit of salon entertainment when he engaged them in storytelling to accompany his performance. “We have two French songs,” he said, “and if it doesn’t go along too badly, one more song of Napoli and a few others.” After the French rendition of Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves), and La Mer (The Sea) – think Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet – he engaged the audience again. “We now have three possibilities: We stop here or we have something from Napoli, or something from Wagner or both – that’s four possibilities. You tell me. I used to do this when I was young, you know.” He then burst into song Italian style with all the spontaneous hand gestures we have come to expect.
Jonathan Capehart. Nick Schmit, former Chief of Protocol Lucky Roosevelt and Ambassador Aruad
“And last – there will be an encore…but first you have to imagine you have already heard thirty minutes of the most marvelous music you can imagine – treasures of the world – the Rhine River, three ring-maids playing in a type of paradise with pure gold. Then there’s the villain. First he wants the girls, and when he cannot have the girls he takes the gold. That’s the first main problem and then like the most fantastic movie, you have this changing of the Rhine and it goes to the clouds and is suddenly transported to the top of the highest mountain you can imagine. – pure blue sky, and on the sunrise, suddenly you see on the other side the valley – the castle of the Gods.” And so begins this mythical saga set to the music of Wagner.
“You know, after that it’s very difficult to sing Happy Birthday,” Ambassador Araud exclaimed, “and I’m certainly not going to try. We’ll do it later and so now we are going to the dining room and since it’s a birthday, there is a birthday cake; so let’s go and share that with Philip.”
Juliana Porotsky and Irina Rapoport
Let them eat cake was not the death knoll of the evening; but the impetus to move onto party stage #2 hosted by Kevin Chaffee, Septime Weber, James Alefantis and Renaud de Veil Castel at Buck’s Fishing & Camping on upper Connecticut Avenue. Yes, it was a hike; and yes it was a school night, but that didn’t stop a list of guests too long to mention that showed up for Champagne and dancing. Here are a few that engaged in the after party: Kay Kendall & Jack Davies, Nancy Bagley and Soroush Shehabi, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, David Deckelbaum, Stuart Holliday, The Ambassador of Denmark and Mrs. Lars Lohse, Kathleen Matthews, Francesca Craig, The Ambassador of Afghanistan, Nina Auchincloss Straight, Roxanne Roberts, and Dr. Susan Blumenthal.
“Philippe wanted an after party with lots of champagne, great food and a good mix of fun people that lasted until the wee hours,” event organizer Chaffee told Hollywood on the Potomac. “– and that’s what he got!”
George Webb doing the selfie thing
Mission Impossible after party accomplished! Oh and BTW, in 2015, Philippe Auguin recorded with the Vienna Philharmonic the Opera sequences (La Nozze di Figaro, Turandot) used in the film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson (Paramount Pictures). Happy Birthday Maestro!
