Rabbit season? Duck season?

Nope in a few weeks it will be opera season, and not just in Toronto. Thank goodness we don’t have to hear Elmer Fudd try to say “opera season”.

That’s right, they really will be shooting the opera..!

Not with guns.

But with video cameras. That’s how it will be possible to watch the COC from coast to coast, indeed anywhere in the world.

And yet, maybe it’s more accurate to call it election season. The Liberals are running for re-election. The news broadcasts are full of talking heads, politicians announcing new programs.

And that means there are also going to be the inevitable attack ads.

No wonder that I feel that the Canadian Opera Company’s fall opera season is caught in the crossfire.

Not literally I hope.

Perryn Leech is the new General Director of the COC, taking over in the midst of a pandemic that has devastated the lives of artists and performing arts companies all over the world.

If you read the press release from the COC announcing their fall seasons, you can’t help but notice how the role of General Director is political at this delicate time. On the one hand there’s the audience, especially the donors and subscribers. On the other, you have to literally reconcile this on a balance sheet. There are artists who have lost most or all of their fees since March 2020. The COC Orchestra, the backstage staff, the singers: all wonder about the future, how they can pay their bills. When the offerings are offered entirely free of charge you wonder: how much money will it cost?

As an opera fan, as a COC subscriber, I am enormously grateful for the choices made by the COC and by their new General Director.

Thank you, COC!

We live in challenging times.