The Emanuel Treitel Senior Citizen Fund
Manny Treitel; members of the WISE and Healthy Aging Club at the opera
For many years, hundreds of senior citizens from every part of Los Angeles have had the opportunity to be captivated by the enthralling stories and soul-stirring music of great opera performances. These experiences have been made possible thanks to Emanuel Treitel, whose passion for opera and devotion to LA Opera led him to include a significant gift to the company in his estate.
Following his passing, his legacy ensures that LA Opera will continue to produce world class opera on its stage and provide Los Angeles seniors with access to the beauty and drama of opera in perpetuity through the Emanuel Treitel Senior Citizen Fund.
Mr. Treitel was a subscriber and supporter of LA Opera from the company’s earliest seasons. He could frequently be found in the Founders Circle on opening nights and loved celebrating with the artists at season-opening galas as well. As the years passed, he had to overcome physical challenges to attend performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, and he noticed that he wasn’t alone in this. Beginning in 2015, Mr. Treitel made generous gifts to help senior citizens attend mainstage productions as well as to bring opera to local seniors through recitals in senior community centers, residences and care facilities. His legacy gift will support these programs for years to come.
Marc Stern, honorary chairman of the LA Opera board of directors, expressed his deep gratitude: “Manny’s commitment is so meaningful because it speaks to his deep love of opera and of this company. His gift continues to make a huge difference in the lives of many, many underserved seniors.”
With heartfelt thanks, LA Opera dedicates our year-round programs for seniors, and this run of Aida, to Mr. Treitel for sharing his love of opera with seniors across Los Angeles.
THE Alfred and Claude Mann FUND
LA Opera is proud to present its first production of Aida since 2005, made possible thanks to the incredible generosity of the Alfred and Claude Mann Fund. The Alfred Mann Trust created this fund with a series of gifts that now have an impact of over $10 million in support. The Manns established the fund as a way of showing their devotion to LA Opera. It underwrites two productions each season, enabling the company to raise the curtain on a host of memorable presentations, which have included La Bohème (2012 and 2016), Tosca (2013 and 2017), Carmen (2013), The Barber of Seville (2015), El Gato Montés (2019), The Light in the Piazza (2019), Roberto Devereux (2020), Il Trovatore (2021) and now this monumental production of Aida.
The Manns’ connection to LA Opera is also a love story. Claude’s own passion for opera brought Al to the art form. As LA Opera Honorary Board Chairman Marc Stern noted, “Al hadn’t been an opera lover, but he loved Claude and therefore loved the opera.” A biotech entrepreneur, Al Mann founded 17 companies in his lifetime and was the CEO of MannKind Corporation, a company focused on developing new, lifesaving treatments for diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. He also served as chair of the Alfred Mann Foundation, a trustee of USC and a board member of the LA Philharmonic.
Claude Mann is a philanthropist who earned success in the restaurant business. She has been a member of LA Opera’s board since 2008. Al passed away in February of 2016. With each thrilling production underwritten thanks to the Manns’ generosity, his legacy in the arts—and his love story with Claude—lives on.
Marilyn Ziering
It is through the generosity of one of LA Opera’s longstanding supporters, Marilyn Ziering, that the company has been able to embark upon many of its most significant artistic initiatives and some of its most memorable productions. LA Opera is honored to acknowledge Mrs. Ziering, who continues her longstanding commitment to the company with her underwriting of this season’s production of Aida.
Mrs. Ziering’s commitment to LA Opera extends to every element of the company. She has graciously shared her leadership on the board, serving as a vice chairman since 2009, and has generously contributed to the 20th, 25th, and now 30th Anniversary Angels campaigns, as well as underwriting support for La Bohème and Don Giovanni in 2012 and Nabucco in 2017.
Her visionary force provided the leadership support for the groundbreaking Recovered Voices series. Devoted to rediscovering the operas of composers who were affected by the Nazi regime, the series was inaugurated in 2007 with semi-staged performances of Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy. It continued with fully staged productions of Ullmann’s The Broken Jug (a U.S. premiere), Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf, Braunfels’ The Birds and Schreker’s The Stigmatized (another U.S. premiere).
Many of these productions were filmed for release on DVD, introducing audiences around the world to works that they might never otherwise have experienced.
In addition to serving on the LA Opera’s board, she served on the boards of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Friends of Sheba, Friends of the Israel Philharmonic and chaired the University of Judaism’s board of directors, where she was instrumental in the creation of the Sigi Ziering Institute, which supports the exploration of the ethical and religious implications of the Holocaust. LA Opera is truly grateful for Mrs. Ziering’s generosity and for sharing her philanthropic spirit, which has been an inspiration to the LA Opera family.
Marilyn Ziering is an extraordinarily generous philanthropist. She has given to numerous organizations such as UCLA, Jewish Family Services, LA Family Housing, Sandy Hook Foundation, Tree People, Venice Family Clinic and the Colburn School. She recently gave a large contribution to Sheba Medical Center and to IsraAid for the Ukraine crisis.
THE Norman and Sadie Lee Foundation
Norman and Sadie Lee exemplified a couple who were committed to classical music in Los Angeles, and to LA Opera since the company’s founding in 1986. Following their passings in 2005 and 2009, their legacy of dedication has continued through the Norman and Sadie Lee Foundation, and through their nephew Paul James, building an endowment that is generously supporting this production of Aida.
Norman and Sadie Lee, both British citizens, lived a life of generous philanthropy and community involvement. Norman was born in 1916, and was an engineer and industrialist in refrigerator manufacturing and property development; Sadie, born in 1911, was a schoolteacher. Both had a love for the arts including music, dance and poetry. Upon their retirements, they became active in the community in Los Angeles and throughout the world. Supporting the newly established LA Opera in 1986, they became subscribers and donors, and Mr. Lee became a board member and officer, serving until the 2001/02 season when he became a Life Trustee.
During that time, the Lees began their commitment to the future of LA Opera by creating an endowment that they would enhance with annual contributions. Upon their passing, the Norman and Sadie Foundation was established, and since that time, the Foundation has continued to contribute to their endowment, as well as the company’s annual fund. They have built a legacy that now provides underwriting support for LA Opera productions annually, helping the company to continue to bring the beauty of the arts to generations to come.
LA Opera is deeply grateful to the Norman and Sadie Lee Foundation for its generosity and dedication to LA Opera over the years.
THE ARMENIAN CONSORTIUM
It is LA Opera’s greatest pleasure when committed opera lovers introduce their friends to the company. Joyce and Joseph Stein have gone even further by bringing together their children, friends, and colleagues to create The Armenian Consortium, who collectively are supporting LA Opera.
Together, they provided generous underwriting support for Roberto Devereux in 2020 as well as for the LA Opera Relief Fund during the challenging time while our stage was dark. Since our reopening, they have gathered at LA Opera dress rehearsals and performances to enjoy each other’s company and share their love of opera.
As a result of the continued efforts of the Steins, 21 consortium members have joined with them to provide special underwriting support for this production of Aida, conducted by James Conlon. LA Opera extends our deep gratitude to Joyce and Joseph Stein and to the following donors of The Armenian Consortium for their steadfast generosity.
Linda Kay and John Abdulian
Any Yakoub Barr and Michael Barr
Ani and Nazareth Darakjian
Michelle Kezirian and Charles Janigian
Stephanie and Michael Landes|
Margaret and David MGrublian
Cheryl and Harry Nadjarian
Arsine and Gary Phillips
Tina Segel
Sirpuhe and John Conte Foundation
Joyce and Joseph Stein
Stephen Philibosian Foundation
Hayde and Andy Torosyan
Special gifts for Aida from the following LA Opera Patrons:
AIDA CONSORTIUM PATRON
David A. Drummond
Susan Edelstein
Carol Mitchell
Mr. Mark Loewen
AIDA CONSORTIUM SPONSOR
Mr. and Mrs. David Elmore
Carolyn L. Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Bengt Muthen
Jutta Romero
Richard and Ellyn Semler
Larry Verdugo
Barbara and Ken Warner
AIDA CONSORTIUM SUPPORTER
Susan & John Ebey
Paul and Missy Jennings
Mr. Leonard Levine & Dr. Mateo Ledezma
Mr. Emory Ron Myrick
Frank and Betty Pinkerton
Mr. Christopher A. Reed
Mrs. Barbara C. Rosenthal
Patrick Lyden & Laurie Schechter
