The Opera.ca offices will be closed beginning Thursday December 22 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2012. We hope you have a happy and restful holiday!
Opera.ca Awards $150,500 for New Canadian Operas
Opera.ca, through its Canadian Opera Creation Fund, has awarded a total of $150,500 for the exploration, development and production of seven new Canadian opera projects:
Partnership/Exploration Awards
• Soundstreams Canada for a new work
• Tapestry new opera for Shelter
Development Awards
• Chants Libres for Le rêve de Grégoire
• Opéra de Montréal for Les Feluettes
• Soundstreams Canada for The Childrens' Crusade
• Tapestry new opera for The Enslavement & Liberation of Oksana G.
Production Awards
• Calgary Opera for The Untimely Death of Whatsisname
The COCF Awards are presented annually by Opera.ca, in conjunction with OPERA America and its Opera Fund. Funding decisions are made by an independent panel consisting primarily of Canadians; the most recent panel met in Toronto 7 and 8 November to allocate awards for the 2011-12 year. This year’s panel consisted of Denis Gougeon, composer and professor at l’Université de Montréal; Jillian Keiley, Artistic Director of Newfoundland’s Artistic Fraud; David Pay, Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Music on Main; and Stephen Andrew Taylor, composer and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
For more information, click here.
Opera.ca Announces Recipient of the 2011/12 National Opera Directors Recognition Award
Opera.ca is proud to announce the 2011/12 recipient of the Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition Award – Peter George, Past Chair of the Board of Trustees for Manitoba Opera (MO). Now in its fourth year, the National Opera Directors Recognition Award, sponsored by BMO Financial Group, highlights the tenets of good governance, celebrates models of volunteer excellence, and raises the bar for board director commitment.
The following excerpt from Mr. George’s nomination encapsulates the accomplishments of this year’s honouree:
Peter George is the embodiment of what Kay Sprinkel Grace calls the “The AAA Board Member” – Advocate, Ambassador, and Asker. Peter is a strong advocate, a passionate ambassador, and a skilled asker. He is dedicated to the cause and serves the organization selflessly. He has been a true partner in the leadership of the company.
To read more about Peter George and the National Opera Directors Recognition Award, click here.
Mark Robinson Blogs About BOC 2011
I’m not sure how my “eagle eyes” missed this one, but Mark Robinson had some post-Colloquium thoughts that he shared on his blog in September 2011. What stood out to me the most about this post is how mutually beneficial the whole experience was. Opera.ca members gained an effective framework in assessing and measuring resilience, while Mark was surprised to learn how transferable his research was. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his comments about how, in Canada, the role of board members and executives in fundraising was just a given. He writes “the role of board members and executives in raising funds was both taken as read and informed much of the discussion, in a way it rarely is in the UK.” I found this to be a fine example of cultural diplomacy in action, a true exchange of ideas between countries. I was quite proud to read that we can now add the quality of our governance in Canada to the list of our fine cultural exports. Now, how can we bottle it…?
(Mark Robinson also goes on to mention the Banff Opera Colloquium in his year-end round up of 2011 here.)
OPERA America News
OPERA America Announces Leadership Intensive to Develop Future Leaders and Strengthen Opera Companies
New York, NY—OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, is pleased to announce the 2012 Leadership Intensive as part of its firm commitment to develop leaders who will advance the creation, presentation and enjoyment of opera for years to come. The Leadership Intensive will identify the most promising emerging leaders in a range of opera administration fields and provide them with the skills and contacts needed to advance to an executive level position.
Participants will be chosen for one of 10 places through a competitive application and interview process. As part of the Leadership Intensive, they will then attend seminars and workshops during Opera Conference 2012 in Philadelphia in June, where leaders from across the opera industry will come together to hone their craft and learn from one another. This experience will put the emerging leaders into direct contact with industry experts and current practitioners, who can provide guidance and help open doors in the future. Topics to be addressed during these Leadership Intensive sessions include marketing, development, communications and strategic planning.
To apply, visit operaamerica.org/leadership.
Opera.ca Welcomes a New Educational Producing Affiliate Member
Opera.ca is very pleased to announce that the University of Toronto has joined our ranks as an Educational Producing Affiliate. The U of T opera programme is one of the strongest in the country, and upcoming presentations will include Mozart’s Così fan tutte. More information on the University of Toronto Faculty of Music (including the opera programme) can be found here.
Montreal’s Sasha Djihanian Wins Inaugural COC Ensemble Studio Competition
Soprano Sasha Djihanian, a native of Montreal, claimed the top prize at the inaugural Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio Competition at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts held on November 28, 2011. She was selected from 10 finalists to receive the $5,000 award. Soprano Claire de Sévigné, also from Montreal, won the second prize of $3,000 and tenor Owen McCausland from Saint John, New Brunswick was awarded the third prize of $1,500. In addition, Sudbury soprano Lindsay Barrett was selected by the audience as the winner of the Audience Choice Award, worth $1,500.
To read the full release, click here.
2011 Québec Opera Foundation Award Goes To La Brigade Lyrique
The Québec Opera Foundation (la Fondation de l’Opéra de Québec) has just participated, for the 23rd year in a row, in the Québec region’s Arts and Culture Awards.
The Québec Opera Foundation Award rewards an exceptional performance in an operatic production by a singer or an ensemble in the Québec region within the last season, or honours a person who, through exemplary dedication, has contributed in a tangible way to the opera scene in the city of Quebec.
This year’s Québec Opera Foundation Award goes to the members of La Brigade Lyrique, who distinguished themselves through 15 successful performances during the first ever Québec Opera Festival, held from July 26 to August 6, 2011.
For more information, click here (in French only).
Don’t forget that Opera.ca provides free job listings in High Notes as a service to our members! Just send any employment opportunities or audition announcements to krista@opera.ca.
General Manager, Opera Atelier
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the General Manager will provide leadership on all administrative matters, including budgeting and fiscal management, contracts, operations, human resources, marketing, and development.
Please send resume and cover letter with salary requirements and a list of references by Wednesday, January 11, 2012 to:
Margaret Genovese, Senior Partner
Genovese, Vanderhoof & Associates
77 Carlton Street, Suite 1103
Toronto, ON
Canada M5B 2J7
E-mail: gvasearch@gmail.com
For more information, click here.