Our Mission
Young Patronesses of the Opera is a nonprofit organization on a mission to cultivate, promote, foster, sponsor, educate and develop the taste, understanding and love of opera in our community.
We began in 1956 with a small group of volunteer women who believed in opera education— now we are a thriving volunteer organization offering many opera education programs to our community. Educating children has always been of paramount importance to the members of YPO. Our programs supplement the diminishing musical arts programs in schools and expose youth to opera and classical music to ensure the appreciation of these arts thrive in future generations.
How it All Began
In the mid-1950’s, Dr. Arturo di Filippi, the man responsible for bringing opera to Miami, Florida, approached a group of women and asked them to form an opera support organization. Thus was born the Young Patronesses of the Opera, a social volunteer organization comprised of over 100 women whose primary goal is to promote opera education. Today, our nonprofit organization provides the vital financial and personnel network to enable a variety of opera educational activities to prosper.
The Vision of Roberta Balfe
By the time of the official formation of YPO, community interest in opera education had already become quite active, thanks in part to the efforts of Miami’s grand opera enthusiast, Roberta Rymer Balfe. Roberta was a founding member of YPO, served as our second president and an educator, patron, musician and visionary who shared the joy of opera with everyone.
Roberta laid the foundation of many of YPO’s programs such as Opera Previews, Junior Opera Guild, Girl Scout Previews, Teachers’ Workshops and Opera Funtime. She conceived the idea of Greater Miami Opera’s Florida Family Opera program, which were full performances sung in English so to draw the attendance of local families.
Operatic Arts in South Florida
During the 1994 opera season, the Greater Miami Opera and the Opera Guild, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale formed the Florida Grand Opera, Inc., the tenth largest opera company in the United States at the time. The formation of FGO ensured the production of grand opera of exceptional artistic quality in two performing arts centers in South Florida.
As a long time supporter of the Florida Grand Opera, YPO was awarded the Roberta Balfe Leadership Golden Patron Award in 1993 for having made a lifetime contribution to FGO of over $1,000,000. Because of its many achievements, YPO continues to be one of the most active and successful volunteer groups in the arts community.