The COC has just announced it’s 2024/25 season.  It’s a mixed bag.  There are some very welcome examples of operas not seen in Toronto for a long time and a new co-commission.  There’s a perhaps surprisingly earlier than expected remount of Eugene Onegin plus Madama Butterfly yet again but at least it’s a “new to Toronto” production.  There are no new/new productions and no COC Theatre production though there’s one performance of a concert version of Cavalleria Rusticana at the Four Seasons Centre.  It’s a bit light on star power too though there are plenty of opportunities for home grown favourites.

A scene from William Kentridge’s Wozzeck – photo: Ruth Walz

So, the fall season provides seven shows each for Verdi’s Nabucco, in a Chicago production directed by Katherine Carter and Gounod’s Faust in a production by Amy Lane.  The former features Roland Wood, Tammy Wilson, Rihab Chaieb and Matt Cairns with Paolo Carignani conducting.  The Faust cast includes Kyle Ketelsen as Méphistophélès.  Johanees Debus conducts.  A decent start to the season.

Winter brings Michael Grandage’s Houston production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (eight performances).  Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts.  Bums on seats I guess.  I can’t get excited.  The Opéra de Montréal/COC co-commission Bilodeau and Bouchard’s La Reine Garçon finally makes it to Toronto for seven shows.  It’s a very decent Canadian cast.  Johannes Debus conducts.

In the Spring there’s what is definitely the highlight of the season for me.  The COC co-pro of Berg’s Wozzeck finally appears! It’s a William Kentridge production with Michael Kupfer-Radecky in the title role and a mostly Canadian supporting cast including Ambur Braid as Marie and Matt Cairns as the Drum Major.  Michael Schade, Krisztina Szabó, Owen McCausland and Michael Colvin are also involved.  Johannes Debus conducts.  I guess it would be expecting too much for the Kentridge Lulu also to appear some day!  It’s paired with a revival of the Robert Carsen production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin last seen in the 2018/19 season.  The cast is OK but the real draw for this one is that Speranza Scapucci is conducting.  Seven performances each for these two.

Rounding things out there’s a single performance of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana on May 23rd with Russell Thomas as Turiddu.  Finally Centre Stage is back on October 30th.

All in all it’s a pretty respectable season but one that suggests that budgets are still tight and that maybe the glory days of the COC are gone for good.  43 main stage shows compares with 67 in 2009/10 and it’;s not as if Alexander Neef’s vision of cutting a production to allow one “grand opera” a year has survived him either.  There’s nothing “grand” to speak of here.  Casting too, while eminently decent, really no longer supports the “Home to the Best” slogan of a few years ago.  It’s the same story across North America so it would be unfair to single out the COC but it’s a bit depressing.