A SALUTE TO
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Virginia Browning
n the early years of Opera Theatre, there was always one person you would call if you needed help. Whether the job at hand was throwing a company pool party or chasing down the last donations needed to balance the budget, Virginia Browning — better known as “Jinny” to her family and friends — was always there to answer the call.
Jinny’s heart has always been in the performing arts. When she was a child in upstate New York, her parents established a local theater called The Aurora Players. She loved performing in plays there, but pursued microbiology as a Cornell undergraduate. It was there that she met fellow student Laurance (Larry) Browning. Soon after Jinny graduated, they married and moved to Maysville, Kentucky, the home of Larry’s family business: Browning Manufacturing. Jinny quickly decided to start her own theater company there. The Maysville Players still operate to this day in a beautiful Beaux Arts theater named in her honor: the Virginia Jackson Browning Auditorium. Jinny and Larry moved to St. Louis in 1973, when Larry was named Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer of Emerson. Jinny and Larry’s philanthropy is legendary in this community, transforming organizations such as Grand Center, The Sheldon Concert Hall, the St. Louis Science Center, the St. Louis Symphony, and Webster University, whose theater — and Opera Theatre’s home — is also named after Jinny. In 1975, Larry was approached by Leigh Gerdine regarding a new opera company; they became two of OTSL’s three principal founders, along with James Van Sant. Less well known is how much Jinny did behind the scenes to help the fledgling company get started. From the very first season, Jinny volunteered as an office administrator, setting up a filing system for artist records along with the general director’s assistant, Georgea Coleman, and maintaining ledgers of ticket buyers and donors. Jinny was also instrumental in creating the Opera Buffs — the predecessor of today’s Opera Theatre Guild. Her work has always been characterized by thoughtfulness and integrity; when Larry became the second Chairman of the Board in 1979, Jinny stepped away from the Opera Buffs to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Before recusing herself entirely, though, she helped thenPresident Robert Feibel to transform the group into the Opera Theatre Guild and to establish an ex-officio position for the Guild President on the Board of Directors. To this day, volunteers from committees first established by the Opera Buffs provide crucial support for Opera Theatre, in the form of artist housing, transportation, and more. Together with Larry, Jinny has worked tirelessly to ensure that Opera Theatre’s financial strength matches its artistic excellence. Their gift of $110,000 in 1992 encouraged other Opera Theatre patrons to support the company’s fledgling endowment, which is valued today at more than $32 million. They have also passionately supported Webster University, donating $1 million in 2001 to support the expansion and renovation of the Loretto-Hilton Center’s backstage facilities. In 2013, to commemorate the passing of her husband, Jinny and her family made a gift of $1 million to endow the Larry & Jinny Browning Fund for Technical Fellowships. Combined, Larry and Jinny have contributed millions of dollars to this company, along with untold amounts of time, wisdom, and leadership. For their impact on Opera Theatre’s art, mission, structure, and financial success, we at Opera Theatre can never thank Jinny and Larry enough.
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