Italy -- the home of good wine, good food and good opera. The same could be said of Annapolis, as all three were also found there at the Annapolis Opera's Italian Wine Tasting Evening. Arias soared in the background as wine expert Griff Hamilton introduced each wine to the gathering at the Naval Academy's Officers Club. Between sips, guests discussed each selection and nibbled on cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto, stuffed eggplant, chicken rotolo and antipasto. Ah, la dolce vita.
Among the 67 wine and song lovers: Melanie Teems, event chair; Anna Marie Darlington-Gilmour, Annapolis Opera board president; Victoria Waldner, board vice president; Sylvia Earl and Felix Rosario, board members; John Belcher, ARINC president; Bill Bol-dyga, retired Northrop Grumman engineer; Ardath Cade, Maryland State Arts Council past president; John Brooke Shehan, Legal Aid attorney; Anna Walker, Northeast High School teacher; Bruce Googins, AERA Inc. vice president; Linda Giuliani, Verizon central office technician; Jim Earl, retired University of Maryland professor; Dr. Jan Hegstrom, Anne Arundel Community College adjunct professor; Nancie Kennedy, Peabody Preparatory voice instructor; and Dr. Bill LeFevre, Prince George's County Schools regional executive director.
