Remembering Susan G. Marineau
Remembering Susan G. Marineau, 1946 – 2025
The Santa Fe Opera mourns the passing of Susan G. Marineau, a cherished friend, visionary leader and steadfast champion of the art form.
Sue served the Santa Fe Opera with extraordinary distinction, most recently as Chair of the Board for five years, following six years as President. Her Board leadership extended far beyond Santa Fe: she also served San Francisco Opera and, as Chair of OPERA America, helped shape the national operatic landscape. Throughout her tenure, Sue was guided by a deep belief in opera’s power to reflect the world we live in and to model the equity we strive to achieve.
A lifelong advocate for women and families, Sue’s commitment to nonprofit service began early with the establishment of a center to help alleviate domestic violence in Evanston, Illinois. Her philanthropy supported the Women’s Foundation of California, the Women’s Funding Network and the Chicago Foundation for Women. She was Founding President of Friends of Battered Women and Their Children (Between Friends) and served as Community Vice President of the Association of Junior Leagues, fostering dignity, safety and opportunity for countless individuals.
Together with her husband, Phil, Sue was a transformative supporter of the Santa Fe Opera. Through their family foundation, the Marineaus made a sustained and deeply intentional investment in advancing opportunities for female creators in opera. Over the last decade, they developed multi-year grant programs at the Santa Fe Opera, OPERA America and San Francisco Opera, working to redress long-standing gender inequities among directors, conductors, designers and other creators. Sue believed passionately that representation matters, often noting that “when a company hires a woman director or conductor, that sends a powerful message to women aspiring to such roles and often leads to more equitable hiring practices among all artistic personnel.”
At the Santa Fe Opera, the Marineaus’ philanthropy directly supported the engagement of ten extraordinary female creators over the course of a decade, including La traviata Director Louisa Muller (2024); Pelléas et Mélisande Director and Designer Netia Jones (2023); Rusalka Conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya (2023); M. Butterfly Conductor Carolyn Kuan (2022); Carmen Director Mariame Clément (2022); A Midsummer Night’s Dream Director and Designer Netia Jones (2021); La bohème Director Mary Birnbaum (2019); The Pearl Fishers Director Shawna Lucey (2019); The Italian Girl in Algiers Director Shawna Lucey (2018); The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs Scenic Designer Victoria “Vita” Tzykun (2017); and La fanciulla del West Lighting Designer Mimi Jordan Sherin (2016) — an intentional and sustained commitment that advanced equity onstage and behind the scenes, even in the face of a cancelled season and a global pandemic. Through these gifts, Sue helped ensure that women directors, conductors and designers were not only invited into the room, but entrusted with shaping the artistic vision of the company.
Equally important to Sue was the cultivation of the next generation of technical artists. Through The Marineau Family Foundation Fund for Female BIPOC Apprentices and The Marineau Family Foundation Fund for Female Technical Apprentices, she and Phil expanded access, mentorship and professional pathways for emerging artists and technicians, ensuring that opportunity at the Opera would be broader, fairer and more inclusive.
Beyond her formidable accomplishments, Sue will be remembered for her clarity of purpose, moral conviction and generosity of spirit. She led with grace, listened deeply and believed unwaveringly in the responsibility of institutions to lead by example. Her impact on the Santa Fe Opera, and on the future of the larger art form itself, will be felt for generations to come.
She will be profoundly missed.
With heartfelt sympathy,
Robert K. Meya, General Director
Lynn Loacker, President
Eugene E. Stark, Jr., Chairman