After a year-long, international search, the Canadian Opera Company (COC) has named Perryn Leech its next General Director in a press release on Nov. 30th.
Leech is currently Managing Director of Houston Grand Opera (HGO) and officially begins at the COC as of March 2021. In the interim, current COC General Director Alexander Neef, who is also GD of Paris Opera and Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Opera, will continue as company leader.
During his tenure, Leech led the HGO through the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, rallying performers, patrons, supporters, and the wider community in an city-wide effort to create an alternate performance venue, aptly named the “Resilience Theater.”
“I am so excited to be joining the Canadian Opera Company at this time of great challenge, but also great opportunity for opera,” Leech said in the release. “Throughout the search process it was clear that the board is fully engaged in the evolution and growth of this brilliant company. The COC is already highly respected on the world stage and I am eager to get started…”
The COC Succession Committee was assembled in fall 2019, following Neef’s appointment to Paris Opera. Over the next four months, Leech will work closely with Neef, as well as the COC’s executive management team led by Christie Darville.
