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Our cherished Boston Midsummer Opera (BMO) founder Ernest “Ernie” Klein passed away September 2020 in Eastham, MA at the age of 87.  Ernie founded BMO in 2005 with Pauline Ho Bynum and Drew Minter. His drive to make opera affordable, memorable and accessible as well as to support young professional talent was the foundation of our company’s values.  

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Ernie’s young life could have been the libretto of an opera.  He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1933, the first child of Maria Schick Klein and Frank Klein. With Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, the family fled to England. Surviving the German Luftwaffe’s bombing of London in the spring of 1940, the family made their way to Havana, Cuba and finally on to New York City in November of 1940.  

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Ernie graduated with honors from Brown University in 1954 and immediately enlisted in the United States Army .  He was quickly recognized for his German language skill. Ernie was posted to Berlin, Germany where he served in an Army intelligence unit gathering information on Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces at the height of the Cold War. 

After completing his military service, Ernie returned to the United States where he attended the Georgetown Law School on the GI Bill.  During his long career he became recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on mutual fund law. He completed his distinguished law career at WilmerHale, establishing and serving as Chairman of their Investment Management Group.

Ernie was a 60-year resident of Beacon Hill and loved the City of Boston. He also loved travel, reading, skiing and was an avid tennis player. He was a Founding Board Member of Tenacity, the Boston based organization that supports urban youth through tennis and academic programs and served as a board member for 16 years.

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Ernie’s first wife Leonora Daniels Klein passed away in 1988.  He is survived by his second wife Susan Williamson Klein and four children, Elizabeth, Hailey, Joshua and Olivia.