http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=75fd1320-0a7a-4fe7-8c6c-938b1d474c40 New director brings German calm to Canadian Opera Company Neef, whose control won't be total until 2011-12, eschews unusual approaches ARTHUR KAPTAINIS, The Gazette Alexander Neef, 34, was 10 days into his new post as general director of the Canadian Opera Company and reflecting on the interesting if frustrating reality that the first vacant season over which he will have full artistic control is 2011-12. "For me, the crucial point is that I don't want a difference between working on my season or not my season," he explained. "If I am general director of the company, they are all my seasons, they are all our seasons. "I am here now. What we are doing we are doing together. I am the leader of the company and responsible for what we are doing." Alas, the opera world functions in future tense. The Toronto season that has just started with Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and Prokofiev's "War and Peace" is entirely the handiwork of Neef's hands-on predecessor, Richard Bradshaw. This Englishman, the motive force behind the splendid new Four Seasons Centre, died very much in office in August 2007. ... Janos Gereben www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask] *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html