The superstar also helped raise big bucks at the Arts for All Gala
Words by CATHERINE BIGELOW
Photography by DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY
For the first time in its 18-year history, a glamorous scrum clamored to the stage on Sunday, July 14, to better experience multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Lionel Richie during the Arts for All Gala at Nickel & Nickel Winery in Oakville.
Amid a sea of heat-wrinkled Isaia linen jackets and cocktail dresses aflutter with feathers, 450 guests held aloft cell phones as they boogied to his stellar show while lending their voices to the iconic canon of soulful hits (“Stuck on You,” “Brick House,” “All Night Long”) that define Richie, a charismatic septuagenarian, as one of the world’s greatest performers.
Even Richie was surprised by the fervency of this well-heeled crowd.
“I’ve successfully broken the wall; it’s just one show. There is no performer, there is no audience. But I thought the invitation was clear,” Richie said, laughing. “It didn’t say, ‘Karaoke with Lionel Richie.’ It read, ‘Lionel Richie.’ Now some of you out there have taken it to another level with choreography.”
A record-breaking level was also achieved as supporters raised a whopping $4.5 million for the festival’s mission of making the arts accessible to all by providing education, free or affordable concerts, and music scholarships. Since inception, this gala — one of the nation’s most impactful arts education fundraisers — has raised more than $28 million.
Gala chairs Rich and Leslie Frank (founders of Frank Family Vineyards) filled the fête with Taittinger bubbles, a chef Elliot Bell (owner of Charlie’s in St. Helena) gourmet dinner (executed by Componere Culinary & Events) paired with Nickel & Nickel wines, and a rousing performance by the Napa High School Chamber Choir (an FNV beneficiary) with Grammy-winning world music trio Time for Three (TF3), a festival fave.
Luxe auction lots also upped the ante, as bidding wars broke out over such items as a private dinner concert at Solage Resort with singer Matteo Bocelli and Tusk Estate wines or a bespoke Maserati EV GranCabrio Folgore “Tignanello” commissioned by vintner Marchese Piero Antinori to toast the 50th anniversary of that famed grape — which elicited a winning bid of $355K.
Inspired by the goal of youth education, Richie offered an off-the-cuff lot of VIP tickets to his Las Vegas residency and a backstage visit with the singer. It proved so popular, he sold the package twice.
Founded in 2006 by FNV president-CEO Rick Walker, the original vision of artistic director Charles Letourneau focused on eight days of classical music. Today the festival is a 16-day midsummer extravaganza comprising more than 60 events with differing access points — including free concerts or world premieres —that span a panoply of styles, including opera, modern dance, jazz, films, youth concerts, and book launches. FNV also produces special programs year-round.
“I can’t believe what we’ve accomplished here. We’ve even become a model for other festivals,” said Letourneau. “And artists love it. First thing after their shows they ask, ‘Can I come back?’ That’s the biggest compliment, especially for famous artists who can perform anywhere.”
Among this year’s featured artists (not including the 200-plus other musicians of all stripes from around the country): soprano Pretty Yende, tenor Jonathan Tetelman, composer Jake Heggie, soprano Lisa Delan, vocalist Monica Mancini (in a centennial tribute concert to her father, renowned composer Henry Mancini), and conductor Carlo Ponti with his son, 17-year-old piano prodigy Vittorio Ponti.
Maestro Ponti, who helms the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra, is a festival linchpin of the last decade. In 2014, he was joined by his mother, screen siren Sophia Loren. This year Loren, 90, stayed home in Switzerland. But her groundbreaking films were screened amid a tribute developed by her amica and FNV stalwart, Maria Manetti Shrem.
The arts philanthropist will highlight the artistry of Italian icons in her new festival initiative: Maria Manetti Celebrates La Dolce Vita!
“Sophia Loren is one of the greatest actors in the world. She can laugh, she can cry, she can dance,” said Manetti Shrem. “With the beautiful performance by Sophia’s son and grandson, tonight is even more special.”
A postconcert patrons dinner was transformed from a sit-down format into a roaming carnival on the verdant grounds of Raymond Vineyards. Proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset welcomed revelers to a film-set facsimile rife with colorful caravans of Italian delicacies, music, acrobats, and his own award-winning wines.
“Federico Fellini is my favorite director. So this outdoor festa is an homage to his films, like 8 1/2,” enthused Boisset, a dashing French vintner and FNV trustee. “The idea is to celebrate the culture of Italy in America and in our valley, both blessed by a great Italian influence. Don’t forget: In the third century, Julius Caesar invaded Burgundy and neutralized us in an hour and a half. So the world over, we always pay tribute to the Italians.”
Rick Walker likens the festival to a blank canvas, upon which his team can design new concepts, including the Suzanne Deal Booth Visual Arts Program, Opus One Premieres, and a composition by pianist-composer Yang Bao. The multimedia artist crafted a new work for Hyperspace, a site-specific sound sculpture set in the vineyards of Donum Estate. The glass-walled pyramid was unveiled at the Founders Dinner hosted by Donum owners Mei and Allan Warburg, whose 200-acre green space “gallery” is dotted with monumental artworks from their collection.
And composer-philanthropist-Renaissance man Gordon Getty celebrated the release of his first poetry collection, Upon a Day: Verse and Other Writings, as well as a world premiere of his Old Man Trilogy, which relies on Getty’s poetry as text, including one triptych in tribute to his late wife, Ann Getty.
Amid this cultural cornucopia, Olympian stamina and numerous costume changes are required for deep-pocketed patrons who attend daily events. And luxury is their mantra. The festival partners with such haute brands as St. John Knits and fine Italian jeweler Pomellato to present fashion events. And forces are joined with a bounty of Napa’s finest: five-star resorts, exclusive vineyards, top toques and, of course, the most primo of vino.
Yet this is “arts for all.” Fans also picnic from artisanal purveyors in a new Culinary Garden on the grounds of the festival’s al fresco concert HQ at Charles Krug Winery — Napa’s oldest, owned for the past 80 years by the storied Mondavi family.
This year Freemark Abbey — the seventh oldest winery established in 1886 by Napa’s first female winemaker — joined the fold with a divine patrons dinner by executive chef Tracey Shepos Cenami. She teamed her taste buds with Kristy Melton, only the second female winemaker in the property’s 130-year history.
“Wine is simply another expression of art,” Melton said. “It is our passion, literally and philosophically. And to share that with you is an extension of our soul.”
Napa Valley is petite in geography, but stratospheric in its renown. A camaraderie exists among longtime businesses, however, which gladly uplift local philanthropic endeavors.
“It’s important for us at the Harvest Inn and Harvest Table to support the festival’s mission,” said Steve Gaebe, director of sales and marketing of this storybook St. Helena resort — adorned with 2 million hand-hewn bricks and situated in a redwood grove that also abuts the blooming vines of Whitehall Lane Winery. “It’s great the festival ensures there are concerts for all ages, demographics and families in our community.”
Stay tuned: Summer Season Patron Passes are on sale now for the 2025 edition of Festival Napa Valley.
Feature image: Lionel Richie. Photo by Bob McClenahan.
July 30, 2024
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