A Night of Love and Light: The Met’s Chandeliers Honor Donald Gibbs Tober
Monday night at Lincoln Center, two hundred friends joined Barbara Tober to celebrate the naming of The Metropolitan Opera’s seven lobby chandeliers in memory of her beloved husband, Donald Gibbs Tober. At 6:15 promptly, the Met’s General Manager, Peter Gelb, offered a toast.
“As you know, we are here to celebrate the memory of Donald Tober with tonight’s dedication, which is the result of a generous gift to The Met from Donald’s loving wife, Barbara,” Gelb said. He went on to describe Donald as the genius behind Sweet’N Low and, according to Leonard Lauder himself, the best fellow salesman he ever knew, as well as a world traveler, sportsman, philanthropist to The Met and other causes, and an avid dancer. Gelb recalled that it was on the Grand Tier, beneath the very chandeliers overhead, that Donald and Barbara had once danced to celebrate the New Year.
A Design Born by Accident
Gelb explained that the inspiration guiding Donald’s success as the driving force behind Sugar Foods was echoed, fittingly, in the origin story of the Met’s own chandeliers, a story rooted in pure serendipity. Their design, he revealed, was actually the result of an accident, an ink spill on an architectural rendering of the new Met lobby that had been on deadline for presentation to the Met’s board. Thinking quickly, architect Wallace Harrison’s assistants drew spokes connecting the scattered ink spots, giving rise to the now iconic Sputnik design beneath which Donald and Barbara once danced.
The dedication plaque reads, in part, “May these joyful lights shine forever in memory of Donald Gibbs Tober. Love, Barbara.”
Mrs. Tober also spoke during the evening. “Opera is the singing of a story. That is why we come to experience that special drama,” she said, noting that songs like You Are the Sunshine of My Life, along with many others about light and the sun and the glory of life, played throughout the party on piano, Donald’s favorite instrument. “Nothing is more apropos,” she said. She reflected on the beautiful life she shared with Donald, one filled with love, work, travel, and art, all of which enriched their relationship and helped them grow both individually and together, leading to the spiritual moment being celebrated that evening. She noted that the couple had always supported the opera, but especially now, and that Donald’s light would shine on in a place he had loved and nurtured throughout his life, glimpsed each night in the graceful lifting of the lights whenever the house is in play. She closed by telling Gelb that if the lights ever start twinkling on their own, he should simply wave back, since Donald is probably just out for a walk.
She also spoke warmly of what she called Donald Dust, a touch of magic she hoped would forever bless the project.
A Gathering of Friends and Fellow Patrons
Guests included Afsaneh Akhtari Smith, Richard Armstrong, Carrie Barratt, Ariane Batterberry, Geoffrey Bradfield, Noreen Buckfire, Young Yang Chung, Cece Cord, Machine Dazzle, who stopped by on his way to pick up an Obie, Jamie deRoy, Charles Fabius, Florence Fabricant, Helen Fioratti, Maria and Kenneth Fishel, Helen Fisher and John Tierney, Carole and John French, Mr. and Mrs. Ali Wambold, Mark Gilbertson, Archduchess Emmanuella Habsburg Lothringen and Archduke Dominic Habsburg Lothringen, Isabelle Harnoncourt Feigen, Dr. and Mrs. William Haseltine, Sylvia Hemingway, Mary Hilliard, Cynthia Hornblower, Dr. Nizam Kettaneh, Michele Gerber Klein, Sheila C. Kotur, Judy Lauder, Linda Lindenbaum, Helen Little, William Ivey Long, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Manocherian, Tinu Naija, Peter Olsen, Liane Pei, Maestro Martin J. Piecuch and Elizabeth Moxley Falk, Sana Sabbagh, Dr. Brian R. Saltzman, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant W. Seaman III, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Shiah, Toni Sikes, Bradley Strauchen Scherer, Elizabeth Stribling and Guy Robinson, Oscar Tang, Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE, Saundra Whitney, Barbara Winston, Ann Ziff, and many others.
The Metropolitan Opera chandeliers are one of several recent tributes honoring Donald Tober. The Admissions Building at the Culinary Institute of America, where he served as Vice Chairman, and the board room at Citymeals on Wheels, where he was a founder, will also soon proudly bear his name.
