THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408260107
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: MARK MOBLEY
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
WHEN ONE young Norfolk woman went to the opera last season, she noticed something missing.
People her own age.
So Tawni Weaver and her sister Tamara Simon started Phantoms of the Opera, a new social group for operatically inclined yuppies.
``We're not professional opera goers,'' Weaver, 30, says. ``We don't want it to be a snobby thing in any way.'' Her goal is to ``cut through some of that mystique that tends to shroud the opera.''
Simon is a third-year student at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and Weaver has left a corporate marketing career to enroll there as well. Last year, they held a party for the ``Don Giovanni'' cast at their house and were struck by how the party started off calmly but picked up after midnight.
``By 2 a.m. people were doing the limbo,'' Weaver says. ``The cast was up on the couches singing show tunes.''
The Phantoms offer two levels of membership. A $25 membership card entitles the bearer to ticket and opera house gift shop discounts, admission to special group events and a subscription to the opera newsletter.
For $200 more, the member gets a season ticket, a meal before and a reception after each performance. Participating restaurants are Bienville Grill, Magnolia's, Maude's and Tandom's Madison Grill.
The first Phantoms event is a masquerade party at the opera house Oct 8. Costumes and couch dancing optional. For more information, call 451-0393.
Phantoms of the Opera isn't the only yuppie-friendly arts group in town. The Chrysler Museum has For Art's Sake; call 664-6200. The Virginia Symphony has Bravo; call 623-8590. The Virginia Beach Center for the Arts has Art & Co.; call 425-0000. The Norfolk Botanical Garden has the Avant Gardeners; call 441-5830. LEARN
For little more than the cost of a prime opera ticket, you can get 10 weeks of fascinating backstage information. ``Opera for Everyone'' is an informal course at Old Dominion University's Community Music Academy. The instructor is the knowledgeable Marilyn Buxbaum, who takes students to Virginia Opera rehearsals and on opera house tours. Singers and others associated with the company's productions will visit for lectures.
Two sessions are available. The Sunday afternoon (2 to 4 p.m.) class begins Sept. 25. The Tuesday morning class (10 a.m. to noon) starts Sept. 27. The fee for each is $66. For information, call 627-7779. To register, call 683-4247. DATEBOOK
A concert of Handel arias by Williamsburg-based early music ensemble Capriole will be broadcast Monday at 10 p.m. on WHRO, 90.3 FM. Soloists are countertenor Derek Lee Ragin and soprano Claron McFadden. For more information about Capriole's upcoming season, call 1-220-1248. For a sample guide to WHRO FM, WHRV FM and WHRO TV programming, call 489-9476.
The Virginia Symphony Pops opens its season Thursday with a ``Salute to the Big Band'' at the Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk. The program includes ``Moonlight Serenade,'' ``In the Mood'' and ``Stardust'' as well as excerpts from ``Gypsy'' and ``West Side Story.'' Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults. To order, call 671-8100. For information about the upcoming Virginia Symphony season, call 623-2310. MEMO: Send your notices to Roy A. Bahls, The Virginian-Pilot and The
Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Fax 446-2963.
Include description of event, admission charge, time, date, location and
phone. Deadline is 10 days before publication. Call Mark Mobley at
446-2783, write to the above address or send electronic mail to
mobley(AT)infi.net. by CNB