Managed to appear in opera nightly (3)
I believe the answer is:
ran
'managed' is the definition.
(both can mean organised or was in charge of)
'appear in opera nightly' is the wordplay.
'appear in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (I've seen 'appearing in' mean this).
'RAN' is hidden in the letters of 'opera nightly'.
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for ran that I've seen before include "Sprinted" , "Administered" , "Tore" , "Operated; hurried" , "Flowed" .)