Alexander Neef News

The Canadian Opera Company opens its 2018/2019 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.

The city's best all-access cultural programming returns this fall when the Canadian Opera Company's Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre kicks off its 13th season on September 25, 2018. Over 400 emerging and established artists, spanning a broad spectrum of artistic and cultural traditions, will perform in 72 concerts from September to May.

Santa Fe Opera's General Director Charles MacKay and General Director Designate Robert Meya announced today the repertory, principal singers, conductors, directors, and designers for the company's 63rd season in 2019, along with updates to the 2018 season, which opens June 29. Joining MacKay and Meya were Santa Fe Opera Board of Directors President Susan G. Marineau, and Director of Education and Community Programs Andrea Fellows Walters.

Some of Canada's most impressive young voices will take over the mainstage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on May 25, 2018 for An Evening with the Ensemble Studio. That night, artists of the Canadian Opera Company's prestigious training program for young opera professionals will join together for a one-night-only performance, featuring scenes from Mozart's satirical look at love and fidelity, Cosi fan tutte, and a full concert staging of Purcell's supernatural epic, Dido and Aeneas.

The Canadian Opera Company has added a 10th performance to its much-anticipated revival of Stravinsky's The Nightingale and Other Short Fables. Tickets are now available for May 15, in addition to April 13, 14, 22, May 1, 2, 10, 12, 13, 19, 2018.

Hailed as a masterpiece at its sold-out 2009 world premiere in Toronto and subsequent 2011 tour to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Canadian Opera Companypresents the revival of Robert Lepage's theatrically transcendent production of Stravinsky's The Nightingale and Other Short Fables. Nine performances take place on April 13, 14, 22, May 1, 2, 10, 12, 13, 19, 2018.

Opera's reigning queen of bel canto, Canadian-American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, returns to the Canadian Opera Company this spring to close its 2017/2018 season with Donizetti's Tudor drama, Anna Bolena. Last performed at the COC in 1984, the opera captures the tumultuous final days of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, as she fights for her honour and her life. Anna Bolenaruns for nine performances on April 28, May 3, 5, 8, 11, 16, 20, 24, 26, 2018.

Today, Canadian Opera Company General Director Alexander Neef was named Artistic Director of Santa Fe Opera by incoming SFO General Director Robert K. Meya, effective October 1, 2018. The announcement followed Meya's own appointment this morning by the SFO Board of Directors, along with English conductor Harry Bicket as Music Director. Neef will continue in his position as COC General Director, in addition to this new seasonal role.

The Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, Canada's premier training program for young opera professionals, welcomes four new artists for the 2018/2019 season: bass-baritone Joel Allison, mezzo-soprano Simona Genga, and sopranos Lauren Margison and Anna-Sophie Neher. The four singers join the Ensemble Studio in August 2018 and become part of a program that, since its inception in 1980, has launched the careers of over 230 Canadian singers, opera coaches, mainstage directors and conductors.

The Canadian Opera Company's 2018/2019 season presents the world premiere of Hadrian, a new opera from composer Rufus Wainwright and librettist Daniel MacIvor, which features the highly anticipated COC debuts of international opera stars Thomas Hampson and Karita Mattila.

The Canadian Opera Company Orchestra Academy welcomes five student musicians to join its fifth annual training intensive, taking place January 7 26, 2018. Led by COC Music Director Johannes Debus, and in collaboration with The Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Schulich School of Music at McGill University and the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, the program offers its student musicians one-on-one mentorship and practical experience in their pursuit of a career in an opera orchestra.

Returning to the COC stage after an absence of nearly 40 years is Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entf hrung aus dem Serail) in a new COC production from Lebanese-Canadian Wajdi Mouawad, a playwright and director whose work is internationally recognized for its moral impulse. His reinterpretation of Mozart's opera a piece about relations between Enlightenment-era Europeans and Muslim Turks was first presented in 2016 at Op ra de Lyon, where the New York Times suggested Mouawad's artistic vision could be an example of opera becoming an agent of change. Seven performances take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on February 7, 13, 16, 18, 22, and 24, 2018.

Verdi's Rigoletto, a searing exploration of patriarchy, power, and commerce, returns to the Canadian Opera Company this winter with a production from acclaimed American director Christopher Alden. A tragedy on a Shakespearean scale, the opera is brought to life by an all-star cast and conducted by pre-eminent American maestro Stephen Lord. Ten performances take place at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on January 20, 27, February 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 17, 21, and 23, 2018.

This December, opera's youngest fans can experience a production created just for them with the Canadian Opera Company's new, family-friendly presentation of The Magic Victrola.

This December, opera's youngest fans can experience a production created just for them with the Canadian Opera Company's new, family-friendly presentation of The Magic Victrola.

Simona Genga of Woodbridge, Ont. took home First Prize (the Chair's Prize) at the Canadian Opera Company's annual Ensemble Studio Competition on November 1, 2017 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Canada is a country known for its musical talent. The Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio Competition, CENTRE STAGE, showcased a curated selection of that talent last night. The competition auditions singers from across the country and selects a few lucky artists to compete for an invitation to the intensive COC Ensemble Studio training program.

The Canadian Opera Company has selected seven finalists from across the country to showcase in this year's exhilarating vocal competition at its fifth annual gala fundraiser, Centre Stage, on November 1, 2017.

Canadian Opera Company General Director Alexander Neef has signed a new contract with the COC that extends his tenure as General Director through the 2025/2026 season.

The Canadian Opera Company has selected seven finalists from across the country to showcase in this year's exhilarating vocal competition at its fifth annual gala fundraiser, Centre Stage, on November 1, 2017.