Canadian Opera Company
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The Four Seasons Centre, home of the Canadian Opera Company
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| Address | 145 QUEEN ST W TORONTO ON M5H 4G1 |
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| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Type | Opera house |
| Genre(s) | Opera |
| Seating type | Reserved seating |
| Capacity | Variable, approx. 2000–2300 |
| Opened | June 14, 2006 |
| Website | |
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The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
History
For 40 years until April 2006, the COC had performed at the O'Keefe Centre (renamed to the Hummingbird and then the Sony). Nicholas Goldschmidt and Herman Geiger-Torel founded the organization in 1950 as the Royal Conservatory Opera Company. Geiger-Torel became the COC's artistic director in 1956 and its general director in 1960. The company was renamed the Canadian Opera Association in 1960, and the Canadian Opera Company in 1977. Geiger-Torel retired from the general directorship in 1976. Lotfi Mansouri was the COC's general director from 1976 to 1988. In 1983, the COC introduced surtitles (supertitles) to their productions, the first company to use them in an opera house. Productions included Joan Sutherland's first performance of Donizetti's Anna Bolena.[1]
Brian Dickie served as the COC's general director from 1988 to 1993. Dickie named Richard Bradshaw the COC's chief conductor and head of music in 1989. Elaine Calder was the COC's general director from 1994 to 1997. In 1998, Bradshaw was named general director.[2] During his tenure, Bradshaw secured funding for the COC's new permanent home, the Four Seasons Centre.[3]
In 2006, the COC opened its new opera house, The Four Seasons Centre of the Performing Arts, with an all-new production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Michael Levine was the designer, and there were four directors: Michael Levine (Das Rheingold), Atom Egoyan (Die Walküre), François Girard (Siegfried), and Tim Albery (Götterdämmerung).
In 2006 Bradshaw's contract as general director was renewed for another 10 years. Bradshaw died of sudden heart attack on August 15, 2007.[3]
In June 2008, Alexander Neef was named the COC's general director; he formally assumed the position in October 2008.[4] In October 2008, Johannes Debus made his debut with COC as a conductor in a production of Prokofiev's War and Peace, where he earned critical acclaim.[5] In January 2009, the COC announced the appointment of Johannes Debus as the company's music director.[6] Pianist and vocal coach Sandra Horst currently serves as the company's chorus master.[7]
Performances
- 2009 Antonín Dvořák Rusalka[8]
References
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