The Dallas Opera is in the market for a new leader.
After 10 years with the company, including eight years as general director and CEO, Ian Derrer announced his departure.
Derrer will finish his contract in Dallas before taking over as general director of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto on July 1.
“I am truly proud of the work that we’ve accomplished here in Dallas, and I know that I leave this great company in a solid position for its future,” Derrer said in a press release.
During his tenure, Derrer navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, raised $54.5 million in six months and doubled the endowment, according to The Dallas Opera.
“I am so very fortunate to have been able to work with a board, staff, and community that deeply loves opera, especially our music director, Emmanuel Villaume.”
Derrer commissioned and staged multiple world premieres during his tenure.
The Wall Street Journal praised the opera’s 2023 world premiere of Talbot and Gene Scheer’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Heidi Waleson, who covers opera wrote, “ One of opera’s superpowers is its ability to speak inner thoughts aloud, and ‘Diving Bell’ fully embraces and explores that potential."
Board chair Quincy Roberts, described the transition as bittersweet in a statement.
“While we are thrilled for Ian and his new adventure, we’re sorry to lose such a creative and collaborative leader. His tenure with the company has been marked by great successes, including the recent fundraising campaign which has strengthened our fiscal position. We are grateful for his dedication to advancing opera in North Texas, and we wish him well.”
The Dallas Opera did not announce an interim leader.
This story is developing and may be updated.
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