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Toronto – For the first time ever, the Canadian Opera Company’s Fine Wine Auction will take place entirely online, in partnership with Iron Gate Auctions. From April 19 – 23, 2021, wine lovers from across the country will have the opportunity to bid on some of the world’s finest vintages, with all proceeds from the annual fundraiser going directly to the company’s Ensemble Studio training program for emerging artists. Through adaptations to virtual collaboration and coaching, the COC has continued to provide Canada’s top young talent with the mentorship, support, and creative opportunities needed to thrive, during the pandemic and beyond.

“This is one of the Canadian Opera Company’s most highly anticipated annual events,” says Graham Watchorn, Fine Wine Auction Chair and COC Board Member. “New this year, there are even more ways to support the next generation of homegrown artistry. Thanks to our partners at Andrew Peller Limited, the Cheese Boutique and Perrier-Jouët, a range of champagne, wine, cheese and charcuterie hampers will be available as a gift for additional donations made to the COC Ensemble Studio.”

The COC’s Fine Wine Auction is widely respected for the quality of wines on offer. This year auction specialist Stephen Ranger, of Ranger Wine, has curated an excellent selection that includes: classed growth Bordeaux and Burgundy, Italian Super Tuscans, great Californian wines, and outstanding wines from Spain, Portugal and Australia.

“As we move forward with this virtual and newly expanded edition of this much-loved COC fundraiser, we also pause in recognition and remembrance of Ken Lewis, our friend and long-time fine wine appraiser,” says COC Deputy General Director Christie Darville. “I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of working with Ken over many years and know that he will be greatly missed for his expertise, his professionalism, and his passion.”

For full details on the COC’s Fine Wine Auction, visit coc.ca/Wine.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BMO Financial Group: Season Sponsor
Perrier-Jouët: Official Champagne Partner of the Canadian Opera Company and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts

PRESENTING SPONSOR
Graywood Developments

EVENT PARTNER
Iron Gate Auctions
Ranger Wine

EVENT SUPPORTERS
The Geoffrey Pennal Advisory Group, CIBC Wood Gundy
Martin Simmons, Donnelley Financial Solutions
Helen Burstyn, Burstyn Inc.
Sarah Cohen

HOSPITALITY PARTNERS
Cheese Boutique
Perrier-Jouët Champagne
Trius Winery
Wayne Gretzky Craft Brewery

The COC Academy is underwritten by The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation.

Major support from Anne & Tony Arrell, Marjorie & Roy Linden, RBC Foundation, The Slaight Family Foundation, Government of Canada, with additional support from Keith Ambachtsheer & Virginia Atkin, ARIAS: Canadian Opera Student Development Fund, Marcia Lewis Brown, Margaret Harriett Cameron and the late Gary Smith, Catherine Fauquier, Ethel Harris & the late Milton E. Harris, Patrick and Barbara Keenan Foundation, Joy Levine, Patricia & Frank Mills, Sue Mortimer, C. M., in memory of Clive Bennett Mortimer, The Stratton Trust, Janet Stubbs, Brian Wilks, Nora Wilson.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY
Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America. General Director Perryn Leech joined the company in 2021, forming a leadership team with Music Director Johannes Debus and Deputy General Director Christie Darville. The COC enjoys a loyal audience, including a dedicated base of subscribers, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. Its diverse repertoire includes new commissions and productions, local and international collaborations with leading opera companies and festivals, and attracts the world’s foremost Canadian and international artists. The COC Academy is an incubator for the future of the art form, nurturing Canada’s new wave of opera creators with customized training and support. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, hailed internationally as one of the finest in the world. For more information, visit coc.ca.

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For more information or to request photographs, please contact:
Avril Sequeira, Director of Public Relations, email: [email protected]
Davin Leivonen-Fok, Public Relations Assistant, email: [email protected]