Boston Lyric Opera Announces Key Senior Staff Appointments
Ryan A. Jimenez Named Managing Director of
Operations & Marketing Communications
Bradley Vernatter Appointed Director of Production
BOSTON (July 16, 2013)—Boston Lyric Opera (BLO), New England’s largest opera company, today announced two key appointments to the company’s senior staff according to Esther Nelson, BLO General & Artistic Director.
Ryan A. Jimenez has been appointed Managing Director of Operations & Marketing Communications and Bradley Vernatter has been named Director of Production, both reporting directly to Nelson. Jimenez will serve as senior advisor for the Opera’s long-term strategic planning and oversee operations of key departments including marketing and public relations, audience services, community relations, box office and information technology; Vernatter will head company-wide production including oversight of BLO’s performances at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre and Opera Annex productions.
“These appointments are the result of long and thoughtful searches to fill the important roles Dan Duro has played over his remarkable five years with BLO,” said Nelson. “As Dan prepares to step down as Managing Director & Producing Director in August, these appointments will be instrumental in furthering all Dan has accomplished during his tenure as we continue to engage audiences of all ages in the living art of opera.”
“After five good years with the company, during which we made significant progress in strategic planning and long term growth, I’m pleased to hand the reins to our new colleagues as I pursue independent projects from my home in upstate New York,” said Duro. “I look forward to remaining involved with key long-term BLO initiatives and watching the company continue to flourish.”
Ryan A. Jimenez
Managing Director of Operations & Marketing Communications
A classical music and opera aficionado, Jimenez has served in senior marketing communications and planning roles for organizations in the performing arts, non-profit, education and political sectors. Previous positions include founding board member and consulting Chief Marketing Officer for the Pacific Shores Philharmonic Foundation, a start-up non-profit in California; Producer and Communications Director for CNN’s Larry King Live; Communications Director & Press Secretary for First Lady Maria Shriver in the office of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; Communications Director for the Geffen Playhouse at UCLA; Public Relations Officer for the MIT Museum in Cambridge; and publicist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where Jimenez was a member of the communications team responsible for the launch of the world renowned Walt Disney Concert Hall at the Music Center of Los Angeles County, and the renovated 18,000 seat Hollywood Bowl.
A California native, Jimenez is an orchestral percussionist and timpanist and has served as Principal Timpanist for the Pacific Shores Chorale and Ventura College Opera Workshop; Principal Percussionist for the Master Chorale of Ventura County; and percussionist for the Pacific Shores Philharmonic Orchestra. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations from the Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, with a minor in marketing from the USC Marshall School of Business, where he has guest lectured on management communication topics for the school’s MBA and Executive MBA programs. Jimenez studied ethics at Harvard Divinity School and earned his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.
Bradley Vernatter
Director of Production
Over the last decade, Bradley Vernatter has produced and managed opera for leading organizations and festivals throughout the United States and Europe. He currently serves as Production Manager for the renowned Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland and Company Manager for Maestro Lorin Maazel’s celebrated Castleton Festival in Virginia.
Vernatter served as Production Manager for the Chicago Opera Theater under the direction of Brian Dickie, and has stage managed productions for the New York City Opera, Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival, South Carolina’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival, New Jersey Opera Theater, North Carolina’s Brevard Music Center, Toledo Opera, Indiana University and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts degree from Otterbein College in Ohio.
