Esther Simplot

BY KAREN DAY

Esther Simplot sits in an Italian garden on Harrison Boulevard surrounded by roses echoing the bright florals of her sweater. A petite woman with a magnanimous smile, she is visiting this historic mansion, yet appears elegantly at home amidst its grandeur. “My voice is simply too small to fill a large stage,” she said, relating her youthful aspirations in New York City as an operatic soprano. It’s a surprising and humbly ironic statement considering the widow of the potato baron, J.R. Simplot, has served as the governing voice and philanthropic heart of Ballet Idaho, Opera Idaho, and the Boise Philharmonic for more than 30 years.

“My father had perfect pitch,” Simplot said. “Music was just part of my upbringing. One day, when I was a child, my older sister was cleaning the piano and as she played each key, I sang the note. I remember her saying, ‘Come on, Esther, you only have eight keys left in the entire keyboard!’” She shrugged. “I was like a little bird.” Indeed, a little bird with a beaming smile and big personality that may not have landed her on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera but still attracted the attention of Idaho’s richest man. “My husband always said he rescued me from starvation,” she said. “And it wasn’t far from the truth. This was the ‘60s and I was so poor I could only pay $2.00 for the cheapest ticket to the opera. I used to run five flights of stairs to stand behind chicken wire and look down on the performances. And that was in the old Met.” (In 1967, the original Metropolitan Opera House was demolished when the company moved to the Kennedy Center).

A love of music continued to be Simplot’s guiding passion when she moved to Boise as a new bride in the 1970s. “I immediately decided I wanted to do something to support the arts,” she said. And there was much to be done. The Boise Philharmonic has been around for more than 100 years, but in a myriad of permutations and locations. Ballet Idaho was rehearsing in a basement, borrowing office space. “I remember Opera Idaho singers rehearsing the Marriage of Figaro in a cold, dark space with a couple of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling,” Simplot said. “So, I started looking for a building.”

“My husband believed Idaho was the greatest state in America and he shared his good fortune with the community,” she explained. “He donated the first building, and we just kept expanding. Now, the three companies have grown into three buildings.” Again, she showed that smile and it was mischievous. “I say I’ve only had one good idea my whole life. But I couldn’t have made it happen if J.R. hadn’t supported my vision.”

Clearly, her “one good idea” continues to birth many more. Her generosity and resolve have thrown down the gauntlet for other local donors to support the arts in big ways, including the City of Boise. “Ten years from now, I can see a performing arts center here,” she said. “Not a small theater, but a sixty, seventy or one-hundred-million-dollar venue managed by the city but funded by private donations and grants. We’re not there yet, but it will happen.” She smiled, this time enigmatically.

Esther Simplot’s personal passion for the arts benefits everyone.