Breaking: New Canadian Opera chief is Texan
mainHeads were scratched when Perryn Leech quit Houston Grand Opera last week after 13 years as managing director.
Now all can be revealed.
Perryn has been headhunted as the new boss of Canadian Opera Company, succeeding Alexander Neef who has flitted off to Paris. The new guy started his career at English National Opera, followed by the Edinburgh Festival and Glyndebourne.
Well, he’s a Brit in Texas. Ex-lighting designer, and back stage chief done good! Big shows to fill in Toronto. So happy for him. But sad for David Devan who must have been in consideration
He is not Texan, Perryn was born and brought up in the UK. Sure he has worked in Houston for a while but basically from Opera 80, Opera North, English National Opera and Welsh National Opera then Houston – and now Canada.
How fantastic! There is no one more deserving of this position than Perryn. COC has made the right choice!
I like the sound of him — Neef never seemed a good fir for the COC. Look forward to seeing how he gets on.
Hopefully no more Neef eurotrash.
Either job is iffy in the era of Covid, so with possible unemployment on the horizon for anyone in the music world, he probably decided to work in a country where he wouldn’t be left without actual health care…