Denyce Graves. The Dress: Strapless, purple and black; and ruffles, lots of ruffles. The Dessert: Fruit tart brimming with Malibu rum and mascarpone. The Departure: Deluxe getaways (courtesy of the silent auction) to Barcelona, worth $5,000, or to Tokyo, worth $7,500. High Notes: The 525 guests at this year’s bash at the Fairmont Chicago raised more than $300,000 toward the Sinfonietta’s educational outreach programs and honored the Joyce Foundation for supporting diversity in the arts. This fall, Graves returns here to perform the title role in “Margaret Garner,” an opera based on a libretto by Toni Morrison about a fugitive slave and her children. “I love the universality of the story,” Graves said. “It’s a history lesson for America,” she added, after previewing an aria from Act I. “It is simply a mother’s love to her child.”
