Alexander Neef News

For the first time in decades, a fully staged production of Richard Wagner's Parsifal will be presented in Canada, opening the Canadian Opera Company's monumental 2020/2021 season with a company premiere at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Cast with more than 100 singers, an orchestra of 110 musicians, and a nearly six-hour run-time, this journey of one knight's quest for the Holy Grail offers Canadian audiences a rare opportunity to experience Wagner's thrilling final masterpiece in Toronto, in a celebrated COC co-production directed by François Girard.

The International Opera Awards today announced the finalists for its 2020 Awards [Wednesday 5 February 2020]. The annual red-carpet event - which celebrates achievement in opera around the globe over the 2019 calendar year - recognises excellence in a wide range of categories that cover performance, design and direction as well as education and outreach.

The Canadian Opera Company and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts are toasting to a new partnership with Perrier-Jouët, naming the historic and distinctive French brand as official champagne partner. A trip to the opera house is always a special occasion and Perrier-Jouët creates a perfect pairing for elevating the experience.

The Canadian Opera Company has embarked on an ambitious long-term project called the Digital Stage to explore new and collaborative approaches to digital technology, in partnership with The National Ballet of Canada and Sheridan College and its Screen Industries Research and Training Centre.

Since his appointment as General Director the end of the 2018 season, Robert  Meya has provided the utmost in forward-looking executive leadership and strategic direction for Santa Fe Opera. Only the fourth General Director in the company's 62-year history, Meya succeeds Charles MacKay who followed General Director Richard Gaddes and Company Founder John Crosby. I spoke with Robert Meya at Santa Fe Opera.

Today, Canadian Opera Company General Director Alexander Neef was named the next General Director of Opéra national de Paris. The official announcement was made in Paris at a meeting of the French Cabinet. Neef's term will begin in the 2021/2022 season, succeeding Stéphane Lissner as current head of Opéra national de Paris; until then, the COC General Director will remain in Toronto, guiding the company through to the close of its 2020/2021 season.

The Canadian Opera Company is proud to partner with the National Arts Centre in co-commissioning new work to replace the music from the Kuyas aria that opens the third act of Louis Riel by composer Harry Somers and librettist Mavor Moore. Composer Ian Cusson, of M tis and French-Canadian descent, has been commissioned to create this new work for the opera, last performed at both the COC and NAC in 2017.

After a months-long series of auditions involving more than 1,000 singers at the district, regional, and national levels, a panel of expert judges named five singers as the winners of the 65th annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Each winner receives a $15,000 cash prize.

The Canadian Opera Company is bringing opera to new places and spaces with Opera for Toronto. The free programming initiative aims to introduce new audiences to the art form, with a special focus on opening up the COC's operations and rehearsal space, the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre at 227 Front Street E., to neighbouring communities.

The Canadian Opera Company offers three bold new productions in 2019/2020 that hone in on the stories and myths that shape our perceptions and the ones that offer escape from all things ordinary. This 69th season features new productions of Puccini's Turandot, Dvo k's Rusalka, and Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, as well as COC revivals of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Verdi's Aida, and Wagner's The Flying Dutchman.

The Canadian Opera Company announced today a new mainstage commission: The Old Fools by celebrated Montreal-based composer Ana Sokolovi? and seasoned British librettist Paul Bentley. La Reine-Garcon, first announced in 2015, is moving forward as a co-commission with the Opera de Montreal; it's the first mainstage collaboration of its kind between the two major Canadian opera companies and at its helm are two exceptional Canadian artists: Julien Bilodeau as composer and Michel Marc Bouchard as librettist.

The Canadian Opera Company Academy, a pioneering development program to foster young opera artists, creators and administrators, is piloting a new artistic development opportunity in 2019: the Composer-in-Residence program, for which Canadian composer Ian Cusson has been selected as the inaugural artist. Cusson begins his residency with the COC on August 19, 2019.

The Canadian Opera Company presents the Cinderella story with a magical middle school twist, when WOW Factor: A Cinderella Story premieres at the Imperial Oil Opera Theatre with four public performances on December 1 and 2, 2018. With a musical adaptation by Stephane Mayer, of the COC's Ensemble Studio, and a new English libretto by Against the Grain Theatre's Joel Ivany, this family-friendly opera brings Rossini's La Cenerentola into the 21st century.

Matthew Cairns of St. Catharines, ON took home First Prize at the Canadian Opera Company's annual Ensemble Studio Competitionon November 1, 2018 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

The Canadian Opera Company's 2017/2018 season marked a year in which the organization made significant progress on key goals of its COC365 Strategic Plan by presenting boundary-pushing productions; deepening its commitment to public engagement and relationship-building with diverse communities; and laying the foundation for the exciting revitalization of 227 Front St. E., as reported today at the COC's Annual General Meeting by COC Board Chair Justin Linden and COC General Director Alexander Neef.

On October 13, 2018, the Canadian Opera Company presents the highly anticipated world premiere of Hadrian by composer Rufus Wainwright and librettist Daniel MacIvor.

Eight young opera singers from across Canada have been selected to compete as finalists in the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio Competition, the feature event of the Centre Stage fundraising gala, taking place November 1, 2018 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Finalists are vying for a series of top prizes, as well as the coveted chance to be considered for a spot in the COC's prestigious Ensemble Studio training program for the 2019/2020 season.

The Canadian Opera Company opens its 20182019 season with a stunning new production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's timeless cautionary tale, Eugene Onegin. The opera is based on the classic Russian novel-in-verse by Alexander Pushkin and tells the story of one of literature's most iconic anti-heroes. Onegin is the cynical product of an aimless dilettante life who quickly dismisses a heartfelt love letter from romantic Tatyana. However his casual cruelty comes back to haunt him years later, when karma rears its head and a fateful reunion turns the tables on proud Onegin. Eugene Onegin runs for eight performances on September 30, October 4, 10, 18, 20, 26, 30, November 3, 2018.

Tickets are now available for Hearing Hadrian: An Opera for Our Time, a conference on Sunday, October 14, 2018.  Just one day after Rufus Wainwright's Hadrian, with libretto by Daniel MacIvor, receives its world premiere, the Canadian Opera Company will host a day-long series of panels and guest speakers dedicated to exploring the themes found in the opera and its broader operatic context.

On October 13, 2018, the Canadian Opera Company presents the highly anticipated world premiere of Hadrian by composer Rufus Wainwright and librettist Daniel MacIvor.