Join us for a spectacular dinner experience with an Italian cuisine-inspired menu by our Chef Aislinn McManigal-Quintana with live opera entertainment featuring local stars Eli & Shelly Traverse. This will be truly one of a kind evening you will not want to miss! Each dinner will include reception wine and a passed app, followed by a seated coursed dinner with paired wines. Unless otherwise designated, all dinners will be outside on our patio (weather-dependent). Tickets are $250 per person. Club Only.
HFE Dinner Series - Italian Night
Lyric soprano Shelly Traverse has been noted as a "scene stealer, charming the audience with her voice and stage presence, both lovely and unaffected" (Seattle Times). Ms. Traverse recently starred as Eurydice in Seattle Opera's intimate production of Orpheus and Eurydice by Gluck under the baton of Maestro Stephen Stubbs. Additional Seattle Opera credits include Chan in Charlie Parker's Yardbird sung with "maximum power and great control" (bachtack) and her "break out" performance as Hero in Beatrice and Benedict.
In recent seasons, Shelly has performed Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia and Valencienne in The Merry Widow with Tacoma Opera, Pamina in The Magic Flute and Annina in La Traviata with Vashon Opera, and as the Soprano soloist in The Little Match Girl Passion with Eugene Opera.
Equally at home in many genres, Shelly has performed the roles of Johanna in Sweeney Todd with the Renton Civic Theatre, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music at Second Story Repertory theater. She is a founding member of The Living music ensemble, a chamber group committed to performing works by living composers who were recently featured on King FM’s Northwest Focus Live.
Ms. Traverse holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and completed her master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
Upcoming performances include Annina in La Traviata and her Wagner debut as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold both with Seattle Opera.
Eli Traverse received a bachelor's degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he performed the roles of Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea and Snout/Wall in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He spent the following 5 years performing throughout the country, highlighted by performances with Central City Opera, Opera North, Commonwealth Opera, Quisisana Opera, and Opera Saratoga. Most recently he sang the role of Mr. Erlanson in Sondheim's A Little Night Music with Second Story Repertory Theater in Renton, WA, as well as a recital for Tacoma Opera's Intermezzo Recital series. Most recently, Eli sang the tenor solo in Puccini’s Messa di Gloria with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
