Blog

YW Boston sat down with Bradley Vernatter (LB’22), CEO of Boston Lyric Opera, to discuss his experience in LeadBoston and how it has shaped his career path.  
 

Can you tell us about your experience in LeadBoston and how it has impacted your career path? 

I participated in LeadBoston during my first year as the official CEO of Boston Lyric Opera (BLO), and the program served as an incredible launching pad for my leadership journey. It provided me with a broader understanding of leadership—not just as a role but as a dynamic process that integrates strategy, empathy, and collaboration. The connections I built with a diverse group of peers affirmed the power of networking as a way to achieve shared goals and foster innovation. Additionally, the program expanded my vision for leadership by emphasizing equity, inclusion, and systemic thinking, giving me the confidence and tools to navigate complex challenges and lead with impact and integrity. 

What are a few of your most meaningful milestones since you participated in LeadBoston? 

Since completing LeadBoston, several milestones stand out as particularly meaningful. The first is the opening of BLO’s new Opera & Community Studios, a vibrant arts and gathering space for Boston’s diverse cultural community. This initiative has been a transformative step toward making opera more accessible and fostering deeper connections with the city’s cultural fabric. It was especially significant for BLO to host the most recent LeadBoston cohort graduation ceremony at our Opera & Community Studios, where we also celebrated Lizabeth Malanga, our Senior Director of Administration, for completing the program. 

Another milestone is our advocacy alongside Fort Point community members and residents to promote greater investment in public arts and cultural spaces, such as a waterfront performing arts amphitheater, in our neighborhood. Collaborating with local stakeholders and the City of Boston to champion this vision has strengthened my belief in the power of community-driven solutions and the role of the arts in creating more inclusive and vibrant spaces. 

Finally, the appointment of an Artistic Director has been a pivotal achievement. Historically, artistic responsibilities were combined within my role as General Director & CEO. Expanding the artistic decision-making team to include a dedicated Artistic Director was a deliberate move to bring in new perspectives and ensure a stronger focus on supporting our artists and their work. This decision has fostered a balanced partnership, creating a system of shared leadership and responsibility. I’m thrilled to be working with Nina Yoshida Nelsen as BLO’s Artistic Director, and together, we are advancing the company’s artistic vision in exciting new ways. These achievements reflect the principles of equity, collaboration, and systemic impact that were integral to my LeadBoston experience. 

How do you think about equity and inclusion through your work at the Boston Lyric Opera? 

At Boston Lyric Opera, equity and inclusion are central to how we approach our art and engage with our community. The Butterfly Process demonstrated the power of opera as a lens for addressing complex and challenging issues. By re-examining Madama Butterfly through a contemporary and culturally sensitive perspective, we affirmed how opera can inspire reflection, foster meaningful conversations about representation, and center diverse voices. 

This commitment continues through initiatives like Rising Waters / Rising Voices, which explores climate justice and its impact on marginalized communities, and through our commissioning of works such as Omar and The Wanderer’s Tethering. These projects exemplify how we invest in narratives, social issues, and artists that are important to our community, ensuring they have a more equitable presence and voice. 

By grounding our work in the transformative power of opera and the principles of inclusion and equity, we aim not only to create beauty but also to challenge conventions, invite new audiences, and reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve. 

What aspects of your work most excite you? 

What excites me most about my work at BLO is that we’re redefining what it means to be an opera company in today’s world. BLO is bigger than opera—we’re demonstrating the transformative power of this art form, and the ripple effects it creates. Our Opera & Community Studios is not only a home for opera artists but also an incubator for creative collaborations, where artists from various disciplines come together to innovate and inspire one another. 

I’m also energized by BLO’s citywide collaborations, such as Noah’s Flood, a free community opera this spring performed by hundreds of schoolchildren and dozens of community organizations. This project highlights the power of partnerships to deepen community engagement and amplify impact. The very existence of BLO enriches the cultural ecosystem, positioning opera as a dynamic ecosystem for all art forms. 

When we make space for opera, we make space for creativity to thrive across disciplines. This ability to inspire and uplift artists and storytelling while connecting with our communities is what makes this work so deeply fulfilling.