Delaware Valley Opera founder retires

Endowment for young musicians to be in her honor

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG, NY — After 23 years and a string of artistic successes, Gloria Krause, the founding general manager of the Delaware Valley Opera (DVO), is retiring.

Krause was honored at the first annual tailgate party that concluded the company’s outstandingly successful season. The party that was held at the Lander’s Boat Launch on the Delaware River in Narrowsburg attracted many of Krause’s veterans of past operatic performances.

There were three of the company’s founding members who, 23 years ago with Krause, started the company with the production of Donezetti’s “Don Pasquale,” which also ended this year’s season.

Baritone George Strauser and his soprano wife Susan Parkyn attended, wishing good luck to their former director. The third founding member was the company board president, mezzo-soprano Carol Diefenbach.

“This is also the occasion to announce the creation of an endowment fund in Gloria’s honor that will fund the training of young musicians—singers and instrumentalists—who will participate in the company’s future productions,” Diefenbach said.

This summer, DVO enlisted a number of young musicians who participated in the first training session the company sponsored. “The endowment fund will help finance students in future years who may have difficulty paying for the training,” said Jim Blanton, DVO’s musical director.

This year, that training was conducted at Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, NY where for one week the students were instructed in voice, drama and movement on stage. During the summer, the trainees participated in several of the company’s productions, principally the production “Divas on the Delaware.”

“Eric Barsness, a veteran DVO performer, trained the students in stage movement, helping them to move on stage with meaning,” Diefenbach said. “I taught them acting, and voice was shared by DVO soprano Julie Ziavras, tenor Marshall Cooper and director Jim Blanton. We think they got a good foundation before they started appearing on stage in productions.”

Krause received a great deal of attention at the event.

“It’s only right that we honor this extraordinary woman who was the life of this opera company and kept it going so successfully all these years,” said Diefenbach.

Beside the opera company, Krause created and ran the DVO Chorus, which performed on its own apart from DVO productions. Often, however, members of this chorus played a chorus role in DVO productions. Another group that Krause created and ran was the Delaware Valley Chamber Orchestra, formerly known as The Ill Winds. This group played at the Tusten Theatre in various concerts and in other venues in the area. Each year, the orchestra produced a concert that highlighted local composers and played their original work.

“The wonderful thing is that Gloria prepared for the day that she would retire and made sure that the opera company would continue despite her absence,” said DVO board member Mike Uretsky, the former president of the board. “She did this by building a strong, steady audience over the years and producing outstanding performances. This was the best season we had in years as far as attendance and reviews are concerned, and it proved the effectiveness of her efforts.”

Uretsky emphasized that the company was a community-based organization because of the attendance of high school students among the young trainees and the choruses. “Jim Blanton is from Port Jervis and is a local musician and director,” he said. “We intend to concentrate on communities like Port Jervis and build there as well. Stay with your roots and things will pay off eventually, as they have this year.”

Krause first taught K-12 music voice and instruments at Livingston Manor High School for 13 years, and the same program for 13 years at Narrowsburg High School. After Narrowsburg, she taught music at Monticello High School for two years.

Krause lives with her husband George in Narrowsburg. “I was important to the company because I had a truck and could move scenery,” George said.

“Everyone did their part to make this company work,” Diefenbach said. “That’s really the secret to the company’s success.”