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Stephen Costello as Edgardo and Anna Christy as Lucia in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor.MICHAEL COOPER

The Canadian Opera Company has announced two major appointments. As of next week, Peter Lamb will join the company as director of production, and Christie Darville, currently director of development, will take up the position of chief advancement officer – essentially head of fundraising.

With the costs of presenting operas skyrocketing, it has become more common for the COC to co-present its productions with international opera houses (as it's doing with the current production of Lucia di Lammermoor). Lamb's job will be, among other things, to connect the COC to the wider world of operatic production – to scout out possible co-operative ventures and to ensure that the production capabilities of the COC match those of other, internationally renowned houses. Lamb comes to the job with experience in New York, Paris, Stratford, Ont., and Toronto's Dancap Productions. Lamb takes up his post with the COC on April 29.

Darville's promotion is a nod to the same financial realities as the need for co-production. "Our artistic plans reach far into the future and our fundraising plans are essential in order to realize them," COC general director Alexander Neef said in a statement.

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