Berkshire Opera Festival

Pittsfield, MA — Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) has announced the appointment of Martin Mansfield as its new President and CEO, bringing extensive experience in arts leadership, fundraising, law, and opera to the organization.

Mansfield succeeds Natalie Johnsonius Neubert, who served as BOF’s first President and CEO and led the organization through a period of significant growth and development.

“Martin brings a wealth of leadership and fundraising experience to us at Berkshire Opera Festival, as well as a vast knowledge of the arts, and of opera in particular,” said Brian Garman, BOF’s William E. Briggs Artistic Director and Co-Founder. “As BOF remains poised to continue its growth, his thoughtful, strategic leadership will be essential for guiding the company into the future. I’m very excited for our work together.”

As BOF looks toward its next chapter, the organization’s Board of Directors sees Mansfield’s combination of arts leadership, development experience, and connection to opera as an important asset. Peter Graber-Lipperman, Chairman of BOF's Board of Directors, remarked, “We are very pleased to welcome Martin Mansfield as the new President and CEO of Berkshire Opera Festival. Martin is a seasoned performing arts executive and development professional who brings a deep commitment to the operatic art form and to BOF’s mission of producing world-class opera and engaging community programs that are widely accessible throughout the Berkshires.”

Mansfield joins BOF with a distinguished background spanning law, opera, and nonprofit arts leadership. He holds degrees from Columbia University and Fordham University School of Law and spent nearly 20 years practicing law in New York before transitioning to a career in the arts. He later studied voice at the Manhattan School of Music and performed with organizations including the Aspen Music Festival and Bronx Opera Company.

Since moving to the Berkshires, Mansfield has worked as an arts and development consultant and, beginning in 2015, held leadership roles at Barrington Stage Company, where he served as Interim Director of Development and Director of Institutional Giving. During his tenure, he oversaw a threefold increase in government, foundation, and corporate giving.

“I am thrilled and honored to lead Berkshire Opera Festival at this time of growth and opportunity,” Mansfield said. “I believe arts organizations should serve their communities, and I look forward to working with BOF co-founders Brian Garman and Jonathon Loy, along with the Board and the staff, to strengthen and deepen our ties to the local community.”

Founded in 2014 by Garman and Jonathon Loy, Berkshire Opera Festival presents fully staged opera in the Berkshires with the highest artistic standards while working to make performances and programs accessible and affordable to audiences throughout the region. In recent seasons, BOF has expanded its community engagement efforts and launched its Resident Artist Program, providing emerging professional singers and collaborative pianists with performance opportunities, professional development, and meaningful connections to the Berkshire community.

As President and CEO, Mansfield will work with BOF’s artistic leadership, staff, and Board of Directors to build on the organization’s artistic accomplishments and strengthen its relationships with audiences, donors, community organizations, and partners throughout the Berkshires.

“Berkshire Opera Festival has long been an organization I have admired,” Mansfield said. “I’m excited to help build on its commitment to excellent, accessible opera and to deepen its role as a resource and partner for communities throughout the Berkshires.”

About Martin Mansfield

After earning a B.A. from Columbia University and a J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law, Martin moved from the courtroom to the stage and then into the nonprofit arts world. During his nearly 20-year legal career, he worked in-house at New York Life Insurance Company and at several prominent New York City law firms, including Rogers & Wells, Clifford Chance, and Simpson Thacher, advising clients on insurance, environmental, antitrust, employment, and entertainment law matters. He also handled several pro bono cases for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Martin later studied voice on a presidential scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, where he sang the tenor lead in the American premiere of The Judgment of Paris, a baroque opera by John Eccles. Martin has performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, Symphony Space, the Kosciuszko Foundation Townhouse, and Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium. While balancing his legal career with singing, he apprenticed with the American Singers Opera Project, sang with the Bronx Opera Company, released a recording of Broadway and American songs with pianist Gayle Ashkenazy, and appeared in a public master class at the 92nd Street Y led by composer Richard Hundley. After moving to the Berkshires, Martin provided development and arts consulting for Close Encounters with Music and wrote liner notes for a critically acclaimed Naxos recording featuring renowned cellist Yehuda Hanani performing works by composer Eduard Franck.

Martin joined Barrington Stage Company in 2015, serving as Interim Director of Development and Director of Institutional Giving. At BSC, he oversaw a threefold increase in government, foundation, and corporate giving and organized several symposiums and public discussions on timely and thought-provoking themes raised by the Company’s varied productions. Martin is incredibly honored to assume this leadership role at Berkshire Opera Festival, an arts organization that he has long admired for its dedication to affordable, accessible, and artistically excellent operatic work for audiences in the Berkshires and beyond.

About Berkshire Opera Festival

Since its inception in 2014 by co-founders Brian Garman and Jonathon Loy, BOF has become an integral part of the Berkshire cultural landscape, producing world-class opera that is musically and dramatically compelling while remaining accessible and affordable. Each season includes at least one fully staged production alongside concerts, recitals, youth education programs, community engagement initiatives, and other audience enrichment activities. Through innovative direction, production design, and casting, BOF ensures that opera’s great works remain both relevant and inspiring for contemporary audiences. In 2026, BOF launched its Resident Artist Program, expanding opportunities for emerging artists and deepening the company’s investment in the future of opera. BOF’s recent mainstage productions include Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Verdi’s La Traviata, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Puccini’s La Bohème, and Gounod’s Faust.