Honorary Chair
Ellen Jabbur
Special Thanks
Peter Haley and Ro Rosen
In Memoriam
Martha Strohl
Gala Chair
Steve Rosenblum
Thank you for attending and supporting the Opera Saratoga 2024 Gala at the Canfield Casino!
Thanks to your participation, we exceeded our goal! We could not have done it without you!
With your crucial support, we are able to bring this incredible Season of Winners, including GUYS AND DOLLS, COSÌ FAN TUTTE and INTI FIGGIS-VIZUETA’s ENTIRELY NEW OPERA to Universal Preservation Hall, to pay over 80 artists, and to build on the tremendous legacy of Opera Saratoga in this 63rd season.
We take our mission seriously: to educate, inspire and heal through the power of the human voice. Thank you for adding your voice to the chorus, for your belief that the performing arts are important and must be supported by the communities they exist within. We are truly grateful that you are in our community.
Meet our Honoree: Ellen Jabbur
Ellen Jabbur has been a longtime supporter of the arts in the Capital District. Originally from Denmark, she developed a love of music from an early age. Ellen and her late husband, Dr. Munir Jabbur, enjoyed opera, vocal, and classical music, and have supported many local organizations. In addition to providing philanthropic support, Ellen has been a huge advocate for Opera Saratoga, helping the company make connections and form partnerships with other organizations and individuals throughout the Capital region, and in Albany, specifically, where she serves on a number of boards. At Opera Saratoga, Ellen most recently served on the selection committee for our new General & Artistic Director. We are incredibly grateful to Ellen for all of her support, and for being such an active and enthusiastic member of our Board of Directors.
Peter Haley
Professor Peter Haley, M.S., former board member of Opera Saratoga, is retired from Siena College as a professor of music. He began his musical career at age 10 as a church organist, barely able to reach the pedals. This continued for six decades as music director, organist, and choir director for several churches in the Capital District of New York. While at Siena, Peter taught in several subdisciplines of music, including his most intensive love, opera. He led multiple USO tours internationally and twice was hired as Chorus Master for Saratoga Opera (then Lake George Opera) and was Assistant Conductor for Capital Hill Choral Society. Peter also led one of the largest independent opera clubs in the nation, the Siena Opera Club (not affiliated with any single opera house) taking hundreds and hundreds or opera goers to performances throughout the world. Folks, he still sings!
Special Thanks to:
Ro Rosen
Rosemarie V. Rosen (Ro) spent over thirty five years in various NYS agencies in management and administrative roles. She is a long time Opera Saratoga supporter going as far back as the Adirondack Community College and Queensbury High School days, eventually becoming a board member. Ro served as the president of the OS board from 2015 to 2021, a time of significant transition and development for us. Ro has also been active in leadership roles in a variety of organizations in the Capital District including the Albany Institute of History and Art, Capital Rep Theatre and the Center for Disability Services. In 2021, the Albany University Alumni Association recognized Ro with the award for Excellence in Community Service. Ro has recently left the Capital District to be closer to family. She continues as a Guild member and supporter of Opera Saratoga.
Remembering Martha Strohl
Despite growing up in a home filled with bulky sets of 78 rpm recordings of every warhorse extant, Martha Strohl owed her adult love of opera to New York State, specifically SUNY Purchase and the PepsiCo summer fest. In the late 1980s they produced, among other things, a minimum of two operas each July. Peter Sellars’ production of The Marriage of Figaro set in Trump Tower, and Così fan tutte in Despina’s roadside diner, convinced her of the relevance of opera to a contemporary audience. For the next 20 years, Martha was a frequent ticket buyer at the Met. Fast forward to 2000, when she and her husband Tom retired and moved to Saratoga. With lowered expectations, they purchased tickets to Opera Saratoga and were surprised and delighted by the quality of performance, casting, and the intimacy of the Spa Little Theater. After that, Martha never looked back.
Martha was a passionate advocate for Opera Saratoga for over 20 years! Her philanthropic leadership not only allowed Opera Saratoga to increase opportunities for emerging operatic artists to hone their talents, but also helped to inspire greater support throughout the community. Her calm and steady hand throughout the pandemic was a beacon of stability during that difficult time. Martha is greatly missed by all of her “family” at Opera Saratoga and we dedicate a portion of this year’s gala program to her memory.