Calgary Opera reveals ninth consecutive surplus at Annual General Meeting

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Calgary Opera reveals ninth consecutive surplus at Annual General Meeting
9th May, 2008

Calgary, AB… On Monday, September 10, 2007 at the Arrata Opera Centre, Calgary Opera hosted its Annual General Meeting, reporting a healthy surplus and introducing a new Chair of the Board of Directors.

“The 2006-2007 season was a tremendous success on many levels,” says W.R. (Bob) McPhee, General Director & CEO. “From a financial perspective we achieved a surplus for the ninth consecutive season, attained an overall attendance of 96% capacity, and received the largest single individual gift ever given to our company from naming benefactor Said Arrata. From an artistic standpoint we presented the sold-out world premiere of Frobisher, built a magical new production of Cinderella, and were thrilled to present one of the leading Sopranos of our generation, Renée Fleming, in Concert.”

Community outreach played an important part of the 2006-2007 season, as the first full-scale year of the Emerging Artist Development Program was an unequivocal success. The Emerging Artists took the one-act opera for young audiences, The Brothers Grimm, on tour across Calgary and Southern Alberta. Community Outreach activities reached as far as Frobisher Bay, Iqaluit, as the Emerging Artists took excerpts of the world premiere opera, Frobisher, to communities and schools in the far north, marking the first time an opera company has visited some of those communities. The Let’s Create an Opera program added another first for the company, as it included a school outside of Calgary - Elizabeth Rummel Elementary in Canmore.

Bob McPhee welcomed the new Chair of the Board of Directors, Evan Hazell. Evan Hazell is a Managing Director within Citi's Energy Investment Banking group. From 1992 until 2004, he was involved in the Canadian investment banking industry, latterly as a Managing Director with RBC Capital Markets, where he focused on serving oil and gas clients in both Canada and the US. From 1981 until 1990, Mr. Hazell served as a petroleum engineer with several upstream Canadian oil and gas firms, including Norcen and Canadian Occidental. He holds engineering degrees from Queen's University and the University of Calgary, as well as an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Mr. McPhee and the entire Board of Directors and Administration of Calgary Opera praised outgoing Chair Beverley Foy for three seasons of strong leadership. “Beverley has served this board and company faithfully for several years, and we are thrilled that she will continue to sit on the Board of Directors as Past Chair,” adds McPhee.

Subscriptions for the 2007 - 2008 Season and single tickets to Kiri Te Kanawa in Recital are now on sale. Single event tickets go on sale to the public September 24. For more information call Calgary Opera at 262-7286, or visit www.calgaryopera.com.

Release link: http://www.calgaryopera.com/media/news/2008/09-10-07.php