Dear Friend of Boston Lyric Opera,
As we celebrate the festive season, I find myself reflecting on the year gone by and hoping it has brought you joy, successes, and cherished moments. At Boston Lyric Opera, we are deeply grateful for your unwavering generosity and partnership, which enables us to continue our mission of creating transformative opera experiences with our community.
Together, we’ve fostered creativity, innovation, and community connection this year and built a foundation for a vibrant future as we approach BLO’s 50th anniversary in a few short years for the 2026/27 Season.
At the heart of all we accomplish is you. Your generosity enables us to fulfill our mission and directly supports the work of over 800 BLO artists and creative professionals who bring opera to life through more than 150 performances and programs each year — on our main stages, in schools, and throughout the community. I extend my heartfelt thanks for your continued partnership.
Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a new year filled with promise and harmony!
With gratitude,
Bradley Vernatter
Stanford Calderwood General Director & CEO
Rave Reviews and Year-End Shoutouts
2024 has been nothing short of extraordinary for BLO. We’ve celebrated remarkable artistic achievements and earned rave reviews, from a front-page feature in The Boston Globe on last spring’s Eurydice to our first appearance on the cover of the international Opera Magazine this month. Most recently, The Boston Globe 2024 Classical Music Yearbook named Angela Yam, a 2024/25 Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist, “this year’s breakout performance.” Additionally, the Globe named Aida this year’s best opera cast, declaring that “together, they made magic.”
Creating Space
This year, BLO expanded into a 16,000-sq-ft creative and artistic center that is transforming our work and adds much-needed cultural space to Boston’s arts community— a historic milestone for Boston. Since its opening, our new Opera + Community Studios has already lit up with activity, including BLO rehearsals, family programs, and events like the launch of our Rising Waters / Rising Voices climate change initiative, as well as community partnership programs Waveforms, a collaboration with the Museum of Science, MIT, MASARY, and more We were also thrilled to host 200 artists at the Studios for our Aida rehearsals! Our expanded space has already become an invaluable resource for both our own artists and the community, and this first year of operations in will inform future design and business decisions for the Studios.
Coming Next
Our 2024/25 Season continues next month with Korngold’s Die tote Stadt in collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, featuring the BLO Chorus in partnership with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Christine Goerke, a newly elected BLO Trustee, and tenor Brandon Jovanovich, who returns to our stages following his performance in our most recent Ariadne auf Naxos.
In March, we present our world-premiere opera The Seasons, a new BLO production inspired by Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, featuring Anthony Roth Costanzo and conducted by Stephen Stubbs.
In April, we celebrate the 80th anniversary of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel with a new production at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, where it premiered before its Broadway debut. Directed by BLO Artistic Associate Anne Bogart, this American classic stars Jamie Barton performing the beloved anthem – our season’s theme – “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
We close our season in May with Britten’s Noah’s Flood, a community opera. BLO will be joined by hundreds of youths and dozens of community and music organizations from across Greater Boston to take the stage at Symphony Hall for this unforgettable, free-for-the-city performance.
BLO in the Community
Beginning this February, BLO will be in 25 classrooms across Greater Boston for our Create Your Own Opera school partnership program, now in its 15th year! Inspiring the next generation of artists and leaders, this program invites students to tap into their creativity by composing and performing their own original operas. We also continue our popular Opera Stories series, featuring over 20 youth-focused performances at public schools and Boston Public Library branches across the city. Our youth and education programs are supported in part by The Poduska Family Foundation.
With the support of David & Janet McCue, we launched our third annual Opera Innovators series, in partnership with Boston Conservatory at Berklee, featuring masterclasses with world class artists from our stages offering training and career advice to BLO Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artists and BCB students. The series continues this spring with Anthony Roth Costanzo on March 9 at BLO’s Opera + Community Studios and Jamie Barton on April 8 at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.
Coming next in our public programming is a return to Works & Process at the Guggenheim in NYC on January 14, featuring a preview of our upcoming production of The Seasons, in addition to programming that partners us with the Boston Public Library, ArtsEmerson, and more. Learn More:
The Gerry & Sherry Cohen: Walking Together Match
Gerry and Sherry Cohen, long-time friends of BLO, recently announced that they will offer a $200,000 match to help inspire giving from both new and current donors. Thanks to their generosity, your gifts will be doubled through January 31, 2025! For new donors, up to $1,000 of gifts over $250 are doubled. For current donors, any increased gifts will be doubled (the amount in excess of your most recent gift, up to $25,000). Thank you to Gerry and Sherry Cohen for their continued dedication to BLO. We hope that their support will ignite yours.