Janice Mancini Del Sesto combines her performance background with organizational management experience that has earned her a reputation for turning cultural institutions around. She was named General Director of Boston Lyric Opera in 1992. For several years of her tenure, BLO has been one of the fastest growing opera companies in North America expanding from nine performances of three operas per season in an 850-seat theatre to twenty-eight performances of four opera productions in the 1,500-seat Shubert Theatre. In addition, Opera New England, BLO's education and community programs division, produces an opera for children seen by thousands of students and families across New England annually. In the last decade the Company's budget has grown from 64th in size to 15th out of 115 U.S. opera companies. In the fall of 2002, BLO made history with the first ever fully staged opera performances on the Boston Common, which attracted 140,000 people over one weekend. BLO's strategic plan, The Balanced Scorecard, is taught as a best practice case study at the Harvard Business School.

In May 2003, Boston Magazine included Del Sesto in its list of the city's "100 Most Powerful Women." She also received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Curry College. In 1995, Del Sesto was honored by her alma mater, New England Conservatory of Music, with an Outstanding Alumna Award in recognition of her achievements. Prior to BLO, she was President of Sponsorship Consultants of Boston, a firm that identified, evaluated, and managed a wide range of arts sponsorships for corporations, public relations and advertising firms, and non-profit clients. Before that she was Director of Development and Communications for the New England Foundation for the Arts where she broadened its donor base beyond government support to include corporate and foundation dollars. After graduating from NEC with a degree in voice and music education, she began her career as a singer appearing in opera, recitals, festivals, and concerts throughout the country. A former member of the NEC faculty, Del Sesto taught voice and theory, and was conductor of the Preparatory Division's Youth Chorus, which performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also served as assistant conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus.

She has been a visiting faculty member, lecturer, and speaker at the New England Conservatory of Music, Harvard Business School, Radcliffe Seminar Program, Northeastern University, Boston University, Emmanuel College, and Rhode Island College. She is a frequent adjudicator of vocal competitions and has chaired and served on various panels for the National Endowment for the Arts as well as performing organizational and artistic evaluations for the NEA and private and community foundations. Del Sesto has been featured in articles and symposia on women and management.

She has served as both an Overseer and a Trustee of the New England Conservatory of Music and is a past president of its alumni association. She also served as a Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of OPERA America, the national service organization of professional opera companies.