“Caring is the greatest thing. Caring matters most.”
Founded in 1965, San Diego Opera is known as one of the nation’s most creative opera companies. San Diego Opera is a leader in commissioning new works and introducing new talent to San Diego audiences. The Company’s education program is one of the most extensive and diverse opera education and outreach programs in North America, bringing music and arts to 100,000 school children annually in San Diego County and Northern Mexico.
Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo is a multifaceted professional whose career is defined by a lifelong commitment to both discipline and creativity. Her journey began in the late 1970s as a Hatha Yoga Instructor and graduate of the Harriman Institute of Yoga, establishing a foundation of mindfulness that would complement her later analytical pursuits. Sarah further expanded her expertise by earning a degree in Gemology from the Gemological Institute of America and a BA in Anthropology from UCSD, a unique combination of skills that she channeled into the successful operation of Rebelo Inc. for over two decades. Ever the perpetual student and artisan, she later transitioned into the literary world, earning her MA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University in 2011. Today, Sarah stands as a bridge between worlds, blending the precision of a gemologist, the insight of an anthropologist, and the expressive soul of a writer.
Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo, Chairwoman of San Diego Opera, is being honored along with her husband John Rebelo, at the 2026 Opera Ball for All.
#1 Where did you grow up?
Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo: London Town near Hampstead in England.
John Rebelo: Point Loma, San Diego.
#2 Do you have a Favorite Travel Destination and are there any places you have not been to that you would like to visit?
Sarah B: London, Cornwall, England, and Paris are my favorites. I would like to visit Tibet.
John: Cornwall, England is my favorite. I would like to visit Egypt.
#3 What are your Hobbies?
Sarah B: Hatha and Iyengar yoga (I stand on my head for four to five minutes, five days a week), long distance walking (especially in Cornwall), writing children’s books and poetry.
John: Sports, especially baseball.
#4 What is something that most people do not know about you?
Sarah B: I came to America as a Pan Am stewardess. I was a surfer in Hawaii in 1967 through the seventies when few women were out there. I surfed the North Shore.
John: I am an All-American Sportsman. And I started Peninsula Bank of San Diego in 1975.
#5 What is your Favorite Movie?
Sarah B: The King’s Speech and Dr. Zhivago.
John: The Count of Monte Cristo.
#6 Do you have any pets?
Two cats: Leopold Bloom and Tsai Wa.
#7 What is your Favorite Book?
Sarah B and John: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
#8 Do you have a Bucket List?
Sarah B: Sleep alone under the stars in an English woodland filled with bluebells in the springtime.
John: Getting back to walking four miles a day.
#9 What is the mission of San Diego Opera?
The mission of San Diego Opera is to deliver exceptional performances and exciting, accessible programs to diverse audiences, focusing on community partnerships and the transformative and expressive power of the human voice.
#10 How did you get involved with San Diego Opera?
Sarah B. Marsh-Rebelo: In 1982 just after I married John, Esther Burnham took me to the SDYC and asked me to serve on the Board. I have loved Opera since introduced to an Indian Opera at the Royal Festival Hall at age nine in London.
John: Esther Burnham
San Diego Opera Ball for All
Noche Sevillana, Ole!
May 2, 2026
Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa
www.sdopera.org/operaball
