 Katonah, NY – The stakes will be high and there will only be one winner - Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts – but everyone will have a good time at Encore…Casino Royale, the second annual benefit featuring games of chance at Caramoor’s House Museum on Saturday, May 19, 2007.
Movie star Lena Olin and TV star Federico Castelluccio of The Sopranos will be the honorary chairs and will attend the event which is also a preview night for the House Museum’s 2007 special exhibition: Could They Be da Vinci’s? Two Horses and Bronzes from the Caramoor Collection.
Encore…Casino Royale offers an evening of games of chance such as Black Jack, Roulette, Texas Hold’em Poker, Craps, Money Wheel and Slot Machine, played for prizes. Hors d’oeuvres, a delicious dinner by Marcia Selden, delectable Viennese table, open bar, and even a Tarot reader and Astrologer as well as a fabulous silent auction are included in the evening. Appropriate attire for Encore…Casino Royale is described as “casino chic.”
Encore…Casino Royale will raise funds for the preservation of the collection, as well as for the House Museum’s 2007 special exhibition, Could They Be da Vinci’s? Two Horses and Bronzes from the Caramoor Collection, opening to the public the next day, Sunday, May 20. Tickets for Casino Royale are $500, $250 and $150. All will include chips, with more available for purchase. More chips means more chances to win prizes (chips cannot be exchanged for cash, but will be converted to raffle tickets and chances to win lovely prizes ).
Co-chairs for the Encore…Casino Royale benefit are Ellen Garguilo of Cortlandt Manor and Marilyn Gizzi of North Salem, New York. Casino Royale’s debut in May of 2006 was an evening full of excitement. The game tables transformed the Music Room of the House Museum into a festive “Old World” casino elegance – a taste of Monte Carlo in Katonah. The clatter of a roulette wheel, shouts of “snake eyes,” and general merriment were the order of the day and all for a good cause.
The honorary co-chairs for the evening, Lena Olin and Federico Castelluccio, are well-known celebrities. Movie star Lena Olin received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film Enemies: A Love Story and has also starred in such features as The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Chocolat, Sleepy Hollow, and Casanova. She will be accompanied to Encore…Casino Royale by her husband, acclaimed film director Lasse Hallström. Federico Castelluccio is best-known for his starring role on television in HBO’s critically-acclaimed series The Sopranos, where he portrays Tony Soprano’s hottest hit man, Furio Giunta. His acting talent is matched by his artistry with a paintbrush; his works have been exhibited in several galleries in New York City, as well as the Gallery Yellow in Cross River.
For tickets to Encore…Casino Royale call the House Museum at (914) 232-5035 ext. 221 or 223.
About the Exhibition
Two bronze Renaissance statuettes of horses are the centerpieces of the exhibition Could They Be da Vinci’s? Two Horses and Bronzes from the Caramoor Collection. The pieces were forged in Florence at the end of the 16th century, about 80 years after da Vinci’s death and are possibly made from a model or designs by Leonardo da Vinci, according to exhibition curator Andrew Butterfield, a renowned art historian and sculpture expert. One of the horses, from the Caramoor Collection, was purchased 63 years ago by the Rosens, Caramoor’s founders, who bought it from an art dealer in New York City who had traced its provenance to Jay Gould, the railroad tycoon who was the last resident of Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, NY. The other horse is from a private collection. The exhibition will also include additional bronzes from the House Museum collection, including works by 20th century American sculptors such as Malvina Hoffman and Gleb Derujinsky and the Italian-born sculptor, Paul Troubetzkoy.
Could They Be da Vinci’s? Two Horses and Bronzes from the Caramoor Collection will be on view at the House Museum from May 20 through October 14 during regular museum hours and by appointment from October 15 through December 15.
Admission to the House Museum, which includes the exhibition is $10, children 16 and under are admitted for free.
Caramoor’s House Museum, the former country home of Caramoor’s founders, Lucie and Walter Rosen, opens for the season on Saturday, May 5 and remains open through Sunday, October 14. Guided tours are Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (last tour begins at 3:00 pm). During the summertime Caramoor International Music Festival Saturday hours are extended to 5:00 pm (last tour begins at 4:00 pm). Twenty rooms of the mansion are open to the public.
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