Canadian Opera Company announces new Director

A long awaited announcement of the directorship of the Canadian Opera Company will take place at 10:30 am this morning, from the stage of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. I will be attending the press conference. You can be there also since the event will be webcast!

Go to the COC website at http://www.coc.ca/ and follow the instructions on the homepage.

Update: Unanimous choice - casting director at the Paris opera under Mortier for the past four years. It is 34 year old Alexander Neef, a native of Ebersbach an der Fils near Stuttgart, Germany. He did his internship at Salzburg Festival. He has worked with many Canadians - Robert Lepage, Robert Carsen, Michael Levine, Russell Braun, Ben Heppner, Adrianne Pieczonka. He forsees more coproductions with other companies in North America. His English is impeccable. In response to questions about repertoire, he mentions looking at producing operas that has not been produced before, like Parsifal. Measha Brueggergosman was in attendance, as were a few other singers. Neef mentions he has a project with Measha and Mortier at NYCO - he did not elaborate. Could it be Measha singing her first Valentine in Les Huguenots?

> Official Press Release