Doris Yaffe enjoys the Flower Show Preview Party with Paul Pultorak, left, and Duncan Hughes. (Photo © Hilda M. Morrill)
 

The New England Spring Flower Show Preview Party at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston found lucky guests enjoying the spectacular horticultural extravaganza on the evening before it officially opened to the public.

A radiant Carolyn Weston, Director of the Flower Show and Special Events for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, personally greeted the guests when the doors opened at 7 p.m. Volunteer Master Gardeners distributed programs and guided small groups on exhibit tours.

Everyone was checking out the items in the Silent Auction, even Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Proceeds from the auction and the party will benefit MassHort's development of three parcels of world-class gardens on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Downtown Boston.

Among the hundreds of guests, we spied three-year-old Reilly Lorenzo with her daddy Mark Lorenzo, director of sales for High Output Lighting of Canton; North End residents Bernie Ortwein and Karen Semmelman enjoying the festivities with Deborah and John Trickett of Milton; and the fabulous fashionista Doris Yaffe with Paul Pultorak, of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty and noted interior designer Duncan Hughes.

Also, sculptor Karin Stanley with none other than the famous photographer Roger Farrington, on the other side of the lens for a change; perennial partygoers Natalie Gardiner and John Hambright; and Boston Globe gardening writer and book author Carol Stocker, with Adriana O’Sullivan, chairman of The Landscape Design Council—just to name a very few.

As a reminder of a very special evening, at the end of the party each guest received a festive lime-green goody-bag containing a “So Sweet” hosta plant, grown in the MHS Horticulture Center at Elm Bank in Wellesley.

A perfect ending to a perfect evening, indeed!

“Italian Virtuosi” for Handel and Haydn Society

The Handel and Haydn Society will present “Italian Virtuosi” on Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m. and again on Sunday, March 23 at 7 p.m., in Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough Street, Boston.

In a program “full of fire and exuberance,” violinist Daniel Stepner leads principal players from the Society’s Period-Instrument Orchestra in Baroque concerti by composers who were also leading violinists of their day, including Corelli and Vivaldi.

Renowned soprano Dominique Labelle is featured on the program, singing Handel’s rarely performed cantata “Delirio Amoroso,” written during the composer’s four-year sojourn in Italy.

Handel and Haydn Society concertmaster since 1986, Daniel Stepner is also a member of the Lydian String Quartet and the Boston Museum Trio, as well as director of the Aston Magna Festival in the Berkshires. He has performed and recorded a wide repertoire on period and contemporary instruments.

Composed during Handel’s years living in Italy (1706-1710), “Delirio Amiroso” (love’s delirium) is a brilliantly orchestrated cantata for solo soprano. It tells a story of classical love featuring stunning arias and music that is in turns light and airy, then tragically dramatic. It is a perfect match for soprano Labelle, a frequent guest with the Society, who is esteemed for the beauty of her tone and technique.

Arcangelo Corelli’s “Concerto Grosso,” Op. 6, No. 3, is one of the Baroque composer’s most beloved works. Long considered a genius of Western music, Corelli (1653-1713) exercised a wide influence on his contemporaries and on succeeding generation of composers. His work, as both performer and composer, did much to spread the popularity of the violin throughout Europe.

One of Italy’s most distinguished and best-known Baroque violinist–composers, Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), is represented on the program with his “Concerto” for oboe, bassoon, string and continuo – a work noted for its vitality, melodic invention, and originality.

Pietro Locatelli (1695–1764), a student of Corelli’s, was a virtuoso violinist. Based on the story of Ariadne, his “Pianto d’Arianna” is essentially an instrumental cantata, with the solo violin playing the role of Ariadne and the orchestra serving as the chorus prominent in Greek tragedy.

For ticket information, call 617-266-3605, or visit www.handelandhaydn.org.

Celebrate Easter at Top of the Hub

Offering spectacular views of the city from its location on the 52nd floor of The Prudential Building, Top Of The Hub Restaurant will celebrate Easter high above Boston with a special menu designed by Executive Chef Mark Porcaro.

On Sunday, March 23, the restaurant will offer a four-course Easter Brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a four-course Easter Dinner from 3 to 9 p.m. For information and reservations call 617-536-1775.

Live jazz entertainment in the restaurant's lounge area will be provided by The Lee Childs Group from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and The Marty Ballou Trio from 5 to 9 p.m. The Lounge will also offer a lighter fare menu throughout the day.

Easter Brunch & Dinner pricing includes complimentary admission to the Skywalk Observatory on the 50th floor of the Prudential Building. The Skywalk's many exhibits include the Dreams of Freedom Museum as well as "Wings Over Boston," a spectacular aerial video tour of Boston, shown in the Skywalk’s state-of-the-art film theater.

Open seven days a week, serving lunch, dinner and Sunday Brunch in addition to offering a late night dining menu and live jazz entertainment nightly, Top of the Hub is proud to have received continued industry recognition from Distinguished Restaurants of North America as well as multiple Awards of Excellence from “Wine Spectator” magazine.

Top Of The Hub Restaurant is located at 800 Boylston Street. Discounted parking is available in The Prudential Center Garage.

Enjoy!

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