Donnie Ray Albert, baritone and teacher

Louisiana native Donnie Ray Albert began his operatic career after earning a Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University in 1972 and a Master of Music in vocal performance from Southern Methodist University in 1975. In his half-century-long career, he has been a regular guest of opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. Highlights include performances with the Metropolitan Opera in the Parks and with LA Opera, plus numerous appearances with Opera Pacific, Houston Grand Opera, Florentine Opera, The Dallas Opera, Arizona Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, and Utah Opera, among many other companies. In Canada, he has sung with the companies in Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Manitoba, and Vancouver, and in Europe, he has appeared at houses including the Cologne Opera, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, National Theatre in Prague, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Lithuanian National Opera. Albert has sung with orchestras across the United States, Canada, and Europe, collaborating with conductors Karel Mark Chichon, James Conlon, John DeMain, John Fiore, Paavo Järvi, Alexander Joel, Zubin Mehta, and Riccardo Muti. Albert can be heard on RCA’s Grammy Award- and Grand Prix du Disque-winning recording of Porgy and Bess, NOW’s recording of The Horse I Ride Has Wings with David Garvey on piano, EMI’s Frühlingsbegräbnis and Eine florentinische Tragödie by Zemlinsky conducted by James Conlon, and Simon Sargon’s A Clear Midnight on the Gasparo label. Since 2012, Albert has been a senior lecturer in voice at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mark Campbell, librettist and teacher

The Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning works of librettist/lyricist and educator Mark Campbell are among the most successful in the contemporary opera canon. Campbell has written 41 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals, and text for 9 song cycles and 5 oratorios. His works include Silent Night, The Shining, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, As One, Elizabeth Cree, Sanctuary Road, Later the Same Evening, Unruly Sun, Edward Tulane, The Manchurian Candidate, A Nation of Others, and Songs from an Unmade Bed. Campbell mentors rising composers and librettists through such organizations as American Opera Projects, American Lyric Theater, and the American Opera Initiative of Washington National Opera. In 2020, he created and funded the first award for opera librettists in the history of the art form — the Campbell Opera Librettist Prize — and in 2022 co-created the True Voice Award to help with the training of transgender singers. Campbell received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Opera Association.

Denyce Graves, mezzo-soprano and teacher

American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves has captivated audiences across the globe for over four decades, gracing the world’s most esteemed opera houses and concert halls. A consummate artist with an extensive discography, she has been prominently featured on national public television, appearing in celebrated programs ranging from Great Performances to Sesame Street. Beyond her illustrious performing career, Graves is an Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning artist and holds the distinguished title of global music ambassador for the United States. Her enduring legacy is further enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution, where her portrait is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection, and her image is commemorated in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. While Graves remains an active performer and sought-after stage director, she envisions her greatest legacy extending beyond the stage. Through The Denyce Graves Foundation, she is shaping the future of vocal artistry, empowering the next generation of extraordinary singers, and illuminating the narratives of pivotal yet underrecognized musical pioneers.

Christopher Hahn, arts leader and administrator

Christopher Hahn was appointed general director of Pittsburgh Opera in 2008, having served as artistic director since 2000. Since then, he has enriched the company’s repertoire, introducing Baroque and contemporary operas presented in a variety of production styles. Trained in his native South Africa, Hahn began his career in opera in 1983 at San Francisco Opera as rehearsal administrator. He then managed the San Francisco Opera Center, including the world-renowned Merola Opera Program, the country’s leading training program for American singers. Following his 13-year tenure in San Francisco, he served as artistic administrator at LA Opera with Plácido Domingo and Peter Hemmings. Hahn’s expertise in recognizing young vocal talent has made him a sought-after juror at American and international vocal competitions, including the Bernstein Competition (Jerusalem), Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition, the Tenor Viñas Competition (Barcelona), the MacAllister Awards, and the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. He will retire from his current role at Pittsburgh Opera at the end of the 2025–2026 season.

Susan F. and William C. Morris, philanthropists and advocates

Susan F. Morris attended her first Santa Fe Opera performance as part of the Gala Opening Celebration for the company’s 40^th season in 1996. As a token of her admiration for the company’s founding general director, John Crosby, Morris and her husband, William (Bill), established the John Crosby Production Endowment Fund, which each season helps to underwrite one production. She became a member of the board of directors of the Santa Fe Opera in 1999 and was later elected vice president in 2001 and president in 2003, serving until 2011. During that time, she chaired the Building a Sound Future Campaign, providing the single largest gift to the $30 million multi-year campaign to improve rehearsal and patron facilities. Morris was a hands-on president, bringing to the opera her extensive experience from the board of trustees of her alma mater, the Masters School, and providing advice and support to Richard Gaddes, the company’s second general director. She spearheaded the search for the company’s third general director, identifying and then recruiting Charles MacKay for the position. In her leadership capacity, she participated in the strategic planning process undertaken by the board of directors in concert with MacKay. Morris has advocated for the company with the mayor and City Council and also walked the halls of the state Capitol to campaign on behalf of the Santa Fe Opera with state legislators. “The Morrises’ contributions to both institutions are immeasurable, and a lasting legacy to their passion and commitment to the operatic art form,” observed MacKay.

William C. Morris served as chairman of the Metropolitan Opera’s Executive Committee for 12 years following eight years of exemplary service as the company’s president and chief executive officer, a period of extraordinary artistic achievement and unparalleled fundraising success. Morris made remarkably generous unrestricted operating gifts each fiscal year, in addition to participating at the highest possible level in Met galas and special events. On top of his unrestricted gifts, Morris also underwrote several new productions and other special projects. Notably, he oversaw the long-range planning process that resulted in a $470 million Campaign for the Met, to which he contributed generously. As a strong advocate for audience development, he was a particularly keen supporter of General Manager Peter Gelb’s Live in HD series of movie theater performance transmissions. Morris also demonstrated his commitment to engaging new audiences through his support of the Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Tickets program. He contributed extra gifts to expand the Rush Tickets program to include weekend performances. He passed away in February 2023.

Bernard and Barbro Osher, philanthropists and advocates

Bernard and Barbro Osher are deeply committed supporters of San Francisco Opera, where Mr. Osher serves on the Board of Directors and Chair’s Council. As company sponsors of SFO, the Oshers generously underwrite the Osher Future of Opera Subscription, a discounted subscription package designed to engage new subscribers. They have also helped underwrite numerous SFO productions, including Dialogues of the Carmelites, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Dead Man Walking, Elektra, Partenope, and Tristan und Isolde. Through the Bernard Osher Foundation, they created the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes — 125 lifelong learning opportunities on university and college campuses across the country, at which many opera companies present programming.

Bernard Osher started The Bernard Osher Foundation in 1977 to support higher education and the arts. A graduate of Bowdoin College, Osher has pursued a successful career in business, managing his family’s hardware and plumbing supplies store in Maine and continuing with work at Oppenheimer & Company in New York before moving to California. There, he became a founding director of World Savings, the second largest savings institution in the United States when it was purchased by Wachovia in 2006. A collector of American paintings of the mid-19^th to the mid-20^th centuries, Osher purchased the fine art auction house of Butterfield & Butterfield in 1970, oversaw its growth to become the fourth largest auction house in the world, and sold the company to eBay in 1999. Osher has been affiliated with a variety of nonprofit boards and currently serves as vice chair of the American Himalayan Foundation. A recipient of numerous honorary degrees, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a lifelong student of opera and an ardent fly fisherman. He and his wife, Barbro Osher, conduct their philanthropy through The Bernard Osher Foundation, The Bernard Osher Jewish Philanthropies Fund, and The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.

A graduate of Stockholm University, Barbro Osher pursued a career in publishing in Sweden before moving to the United States in the early 1980s. She founded the Swedish Women’s Educational Association chapter in San Francisco and was president of Positive Sweden/North America, an organization furthering the image of Sweden in the United States. She is a trustee of the University of California (Berkeley) Foundation, the American-Scandinavian Foundation, and the Nobel Museum. For many years, Osher served as honorary consul general of Sweden in California. She has received recognition both in the United States and in Sweden. She was a recipient of His Majesty the King’s Medal in 2002, and in 2006 and 2010, respectively, she was awarded honorary doctorates from Göteborg University and the Karolinska Institute. Also in 2010, she received the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Public Service. In 2014, the Swedish minister of culture awarded her the honorary title of professor in view of her significant contributions to Swedish and American cultural life. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Osher chairs The Bernard Osher Foundation board and is president of The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, which supports Swedish-related cultural and educational projects in North America and Sweden.

Francesca Zambello, arts administrator and director

Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognized opera and theater director who has been the artistic director of Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center since 2013. She has directed numerous productions for WNO, including its first complete Ring cycle, and founded the company’s commissioning program, the American Opera Initiative. She is also the artistic and general director emerita of the Glimmerglass Festival, which she led from 2011 to 2022. At Glimmerglass, Zambello is credited with cementing the company’s brand identity as a summer festival destination, achieving financial stability, expanding the resident artist program, commissioning several new works, introducing new community engagement initiatives, and working toward diversity both onstage and off. She served as the artistic advisor to San Francisco Opera from 2005 to 2011 and as the artistic director of Skylight Opera Theatre (now Skylight Music Theatre) from 1987 to 1992. Zambello’s U.S. directing debut occurred at Houston Grand Opera with a production of Fidelio. She debuted in Europe at Teatro La Fenice in Venice with Beatrice di Tenda and has since staged new productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe, Asia, Australia, Russia, and the U.S. She has worked at more than 50 national and international opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Paris Opera, Bolshoi, Munich State Opera, Covent Garden, and Opera Australia. Her theatrical work has been performed on Broadway, in regional theaters, and on European stages. She has been named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and a Knight with the Order of the Star of Italy, and she has received the Russian Federation’s Arts Medal for her service to culture. Other honors include three Olivier Awards from the Society of London Theatre, two Evening Standard Awards, two French Grand Prix de la Critique awards for her work at the Paris Opera, and two Green Room Awards for her work in Australia. She also received the San Francisco Opera Medal from the San Francisco Opera, recognizing 30 years of work for the company, including directing the Ring cycle in 2011 and 2018. Recently, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sons and Daughters of Italy in recognition of her work in the arts.