Oscar De La Renta Steps In For Barbara Walters At El Museo Gala

Oscar De La Renta gallantly took over for Barbara Walters as Master of Ceremonies at last Thursday's El Museo Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street, which honored Spanish singer Placido Domingo. Narciso Rodriguez, Maria Cornejo, Brian Reyes and Fe Fendi all attended the annual El Museo Del Barrio event.-

[All photos by Steve Eichner for WWD]

Though she couldn't be there to award Domingo in person, Walters wrote a heartfelt letter to the Opera Legend, which De La Renta read aloud at the ceremony. In his acceptance speech, Domingo referenced the fact that he and his wife have been married for 48 years--a feat of longevity which almost rivals his record-breaking singing career.

"If you ask Marta how it feels, she says "Like five minutes--under the water."

The singer, who performed his 131st role at the Met this past January (more roles than any other tenor in history), is set to return to the Lincoln Center later this year, after singing the role of Pablo Neruda in the highly anticipated Los Angeles Opera production of "Il Postino".

Luckily, the event narrowly missed the bee invasion of the weekend...

Belen Hudson                                  Narciso Rodriguez

Placido Domingo, Oscar De La Renta, Yaz Hernandez, Valentin Hernandez

Marcia Mishaan                              Brian Reyes

Maria Cornejo                                    Liliana Dominguez

Oscar De La Renta                               Gabriel Rivera