Régina and Gregory Annenberg
LA Opera is delighted to thank GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation for their underwriting support of Falstaff. A steadfast partner of LA Opera over many years, GRoW @ Annenberg has provided foundational support to the company, underwriting numerous productions, championing its education programming, joining the 30th and 40th anniversary Angels initiatives and, most recently, supporting the company’s Wildfire Relief Fund. LA Opera also extends its deep appreciation to board member Régina Weingarten and her husband Gregory Annenberg Weingarten for their personal commitment to cultural philanthropy through support of organizations providing exceptional artistry, cultural enrichment and access to the arts and arts education.
A philanthropic initiative led by Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, chairman and director of the Annenberg Foundation, and his wife, Régina, GRoW @ Annenberg (“GRoW”) is world-renowned for its extraordinary support of organizations globally that address social and cultural issues and meet urgent community needs.
GRoW’s support of LA Opera has been steadfast since its first significant commitment in 2015. Over the years, GRoW has underwritten nearly 20 productions, dating back to the 2017 production of Salome. These include new productions such as Lucia di Lammermoor (2022), The Marriage of Figaro (2023), Highway 1, USA (2024) and Ainadamar (2025). The company was honored to recognize GRoW as its 2022/23 Season Underwriter in gratitude for their underwriting support of four productions in that season alone.
Furthering their commitment to shining a light on under-recognized works, GRoW @ Annenberg provided underwriting support for last season’s presentation of the 1931 Spanish-language film Dracula. Featuring a new LAO-commissioned score by Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, the presentation brought much-deserved attention to this rarely seen incarnation of the classic film. Additionally, GRoW underwrote last season’s productions of Roméo et Juliette and Ainadamar, as well as the company’s presentations—both last season and later this season—of Paris’s Les Talens Lyriques, performing at Zipper Hall on May 24, 2026.
Through the years, GRoW has supported the company’s education programming and special funding initiatives as a member of the Angels and the Campaign for LA Opera. Thanks to GRoW’s generosity, LA Opera has been recognized for its artistic excellence and its arts education programming, helping to make Los Angeles one of the world’s premier cultural centers. GRoW has also invited representatives from numerous grantee organizations to attend LA Opera performances, including the 2024 double bill of Highway 1, USA and The Dwarf and last season’s Dracula, enabling hundreds of community members to engage in the beauty of opera, many of them for the first time.
Dual citizens of France and the U.S., Gregory and Régina lived in Paris together for more than two decades. For their philanthropic work, each has earned several honors, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Grand Mécène de la Culture, Grand Donateur de la Culture, and Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et Lettres. In 2015, Gregory and Régina moved their family from Paris to Los Angeles, where they remain engaged in cultural and philanthropic diplomacy across the globe.
Andrea Pessino
LA Opera is honored to thank Andrea Pessino for his underwriting support of this production of Falstaff. While relatively new to the LA Opera family, Mr. Pessino has already had a profound impact on the company. In 2022, Mr. Pessino joined the board of directors, and shortly thereafter, he became a member of the 30th Anniversary Angels, LA Opera’s premier support circle, demonstrating his deep commitment to the company. He made his underwriting debut in the 2023/24 season, supporting the company’s productions of The Barber of Seville and La Traviata. He went on to underwrite last season’s Madama Butterfly and Rigoletto, as well as La Bohème earlier this season. Mr. Pessino serves on several board committees, including as a vice chair of the marketing committee.
Mr. Pessino co-founded the video game development studio Ready At Dawn® in 2003 and, until 2020, was the company’s chief technical officer, producing technology for all of Ready At Dawn’s games—from Daxter to The Order 1886 and Lone Echo. He served as head of research, pursuing special R&D projects, until 2024. From 1998 to 2003, he was a senior software engineer with Blizzard Entertainment® where he authored core technologies for several blockbusters in the WarCraft® video game franchise.
A native of Italy, Mr. Pessino has lived and worked in California since 1990. He is a classically trained musician and an accomplished pianist and composer, having studied composition, harmony, and music theory. His orchestration work on the cinematics for Blizzard’s Diablo II® earned him the 2001 IGDA Game Developers Choice Award for “Excellence in Audio.”
LA Opera is most grateful to be among the recipients of Mr. Pessino’s immense generosity and dedication to this beautiful art form.
The Tarasenka Pankiv Fund
LA Opera extends its gratitude to the Tarasenka Pankiv Fund for its support of this season’s production of Falstaff. Tara Colburn established the fund through a bequest in her will, having served as an active board member of LA Opera since the company’s founding in 1986. She was one of the company’s most dedicated supporters for nearly two decades before her passing in 2003. In her farsighted devotion to the company, Ms. Colburn planned this generous endowment to ensure in perpetuity that LA Opera would continue to bring world-class opera productions to future generations.
Ms. Colburn, and subsequently this fund, have to date underwritten 15 LA Opera productions, and most generously supported the company’s supertitles for many years. She would be pleased to know that our supertitles continue to be funded by Dunard Fund USA in her honor since 2010. Her commitment to music extended worldwide as she gave generously to the Metropolitan Opera, Long Beach Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, LA Master Chorale, Glyndebourne Festival and the Salzburg Festival, where she served on the board of the American Friends of Salzburg.
Her love of music and the arts began in early childhood. Born Tarasenka Pankiv in Zagreb, Croatia, she studied piano with her concert pianist mother. Her grandfather was director of the Zagreb Conservatory.
She once wrote, “I will be proud to have played a small part in a very important cultural contribution to the life of our community.” Over the course of many years, she played a starring role in the history of the company. We are grateful to Tara Colburn and the Tarasenka Pankiv Fund for over three decades of vital contribution and a legacy of support that continues to carry LA Opera into the future.
Barbara Augusta Teichert
Barbara Augusta Teichert has helped to bring many of LA Opera’s most beloved productions to the stage for over 17 years. Now, through her generosity, the company is thrilled to be reviving Verdi’s Falstaff this season.
A board member since 2009, Barbara has helped to give life to an impressive number of our productions: Luisa Fernanda (2007), Die Walküre (2009 and 2010), Tamerlano (2009), Il Postino (2010), Simon Boccanegra and The Two Foscari (2012), Thaïs and La Traviata (2014), Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi (2015), Macbeth (2016), Nabucco (2017), El Gato Montés (2019), Roberto Devereux (2020), La Cenerentola (2021), Javier Camarena in recital (2022), Otello (2023), and Turandot and Roméo et Juliette (2024). She also supported the 2007 Verdi Requiem and the 2008 gala celebrating Plácido Domingo’s 40th anniversary in Los Angeles, as well as a 2006 DVD production of La Traviata, starring Renée Fleming. She is a member of LA Opera’s 20th and 30th Anniversary Angels leadership giving programs.
Barbara, who lives in Pennsylvania, shows her love of opera by making sure that a number of companies have the support they need. In 2018, she was elected to the board of Opera Philadelphia. She has underwritten a number of productions there over the years, ranging from Don Carlo and Kevin Puts’ Silent Night to Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain and Ainadamar. She served on the board of Washington National Opera for nine years, supporting a project there every season for over a decade. This past December, she underwrote WNO’s The Little Prince. For the Metropolitan Opera, she has helped underwrite a number of productions, beginning with the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor through Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride and, most recently, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and Umberto Giordano’s Andrea Chenier. In 2023, having been a longtime member of OA’s National Opera Center board, she was invited to join the board of Opera America.
Emanuel Treitel Senior Citizen Fund
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 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 Falstaff, to Mr. Treitel for sharing his love of opera with seniors, and all of us, across Los Angeles.
Laura and Carlton Seaver
Pictured left: Richard Seaver as the Cardinal in Tosca in 2001. Right: Carlton Seaver as the Cardinal in 2017.
The Seaver family’s longstanding tradition of generous support for LA Opera continues this season with their production underwriting for Verdi’s Falstaff. Since the company’s earliest days, the Seaver name has been synonymous with its growth and continued success, and LA Opera is honored to recognize their multigenerational legacy of philanthropy.
The late Richard Seaver, one of the founders of LA Opera, joined the board of directors in 1986. He subsequently served as president, chairman and chairman emeritus. Inspired by his passion for opera and for the company, he became a member of the Founding, Domingo’s, and 20th Anniversary Angels. In recognition of his leadership, Richard portrayed the Cardinal in LA Opera’s productions of Tosca in 2001 and 2005.
The Seaver family’s enduring support for LA Opera continues to this day, including underwriting support for 20 productions since 1991 and joining the company’s 25th, 30th and 40th Anniversary Angels. Following in his father’s footsteps, Carlton Seaver has served on LA Opera’s board of directors since 2005 and, like his father, he also appeared onstage as the Cardinal in the 2017 revival of Tosca. In addition to providing underwriting support for a production each season, Carlton and his wife Laura also generously support LA Opera’s education programs, helping to ensure that young people from across Southern California are able to experience the thrill of live opera.
LA Opera thanks the Seavers with deep gratitude for their indispensable devotion to the company throughout its history.
