Canadian Opera appoints German casting director as head
TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - German arts administrator and casting director Alexander Neef was named on Wednesday as the new head of the Canadian Opera Company, almost a year after the sudden death of former General Director Richard Bradshaw.
Neef, 34, comes from the Paris Opera and will take over on October 1. , the president of the Canadian Opera Company, David Ferguson, said in a statement.
"He has the most astounding amount of experience in his career so far, and we are absolutely certain he will make a huge, positive impact on the COC," said Ferguson, adding the choice was unanimous.
He said Neef has worked with the Salzburg Festival, the German music festival RuhrTriennale, and was currently director of casting for Opera National de Paris.
The statement said that Neef, his wife Eloise Bellemont-Neef and their infant daughter Marnie would move to Toronto in late September.
The search for a new general director was launched last September after British-born Bradshaw's unexpected death at the age of 63 after collapsing from an apparent heart attack.
Bradshaw was named general director of the company in 1998 and was the first musician to lead the group since Ettore Mazzoleni in the late 1950s.
His greatest achievement was the opening in 2006 of the Canadian Opera Company's new opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, in Toronto.
(Writing by Claire Sibonney, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at blogs.reuters.com/fanfare)
