VIRTUAL ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

On October 28, the COC held a virtual Annual General Meeting to report on the 2020/2021 season. More than 150 attended the event, which featured remarks from COC General Director Perryn Leech, Board Chair Jonathan Morgan, and other volunteer leaders of the COC community.


View the 20/21 AGM Press Release

View Financials at a Glance

View Year in Review Report, which details the company’s accomplishments in 20/21 and the strength and scope of the COC’s supporter community

View Media Coverage

THANK YOU TO OUR COMMUNITY

Thank you to the entire COC community, including our COC Board of Directors, our Corporate Sponsors and Foundation Supporters, generous public funders, union partners, and—most critically—our audience. Your inspiring support ensured that opera not only continued but flourished in the 2020/2021 season, uniting global audiences and paving the way for a vibrant future.

“After our previous season taught us all to think and adapt quickly, in the face of unprecedented circumstance, our focus in 20/21 shifted to the long-term realities of COVID-19, while continuing to find new ways to connect audiences with the art form we all love so much. Conscientious decision-making with an eye to the wider fiscal picture not only enabled us to successfully weather a full season without live opera, it has also placed us in an excellent position on the road to industry recovery ahead.

“We were also glad to officially welcome Perryn Leech as the COC’s new General Director in 2021. After an international search comprising over 100 candidates from Canada and beyond, the COC Succession Committee was most impressed with Perryn’s community-building initiatives, willingness to explore and experiment with new directions and ideas, and genuine desire to see more people love and experience opera. We’re already seeing a surge of fresh engagement with the company from all new audiences, and I’m looking forward to what comes next under his inspired leadership.”

— Jonathan Morgan, Chair of the COC Board of Directors

“I am so proud to join and be a part of this incredible company. From the moment I started, the COC and its community of passionate supporters have been overwhelming in their enthusiasm and their support. The company is an incredible core of brilliant singers, musicians, technicians and administrators—in the capable hands of this team, no idea is too small or too unattainable. It has been uplifting to collaborate on the ambitious fall season of free digital programming that’s being shared right now. The pandemic forced us all to rethink how we do what we do and I’m personally very excited about the new ideas we’re now moving forward with as a result.”

— Perryn Leech, COC General Director

MEDIA COVERAGE

Canadian Opera Company to Stream Rufus Wainwright’s ‘Hadrian,’ Starring Thomas Hampson & Karita Mattila | Opera Wire | July 20, 2020

Critical Response: writers evaluate Canadian opera’s pandemic response | Opera Canada | Lydia Perović | October 14, 2020

Need something fun for the kids to do? Learn how to create a melody from the Canadian Opera Company on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET | Toronto Star | July 16, 2020

As they cancel their opera seasons, the Met’s Peter Gelb and the COC’s Alexander Neef look to ‘build the new reality’ | Toronto Star | William Littler | October 19, 2020

The Canadian Opera Company reconnects audiences with “Opera Everywhere” | Classical FM | October 1, 2020

Perryn Leech named Canadian Opera Company’s next general director | The Globe and Mail | Jenna Simeonov | November 30, 2020

Canadian Opera Company Announces Solo Spotlight | Opera Wire | Francisco Salazar | December 4, 2020

Perryn Leech: Exclusive Interview with COC’s new General Director | Opera Canada | Catherine Kustanczy | January 5, 2021

Meet the upstart company working to disrupt the 'whitewashed' opera industry | CBC Radio | February 19, 2021