VO Launches 10,000-hour Community Connections volunteer service program

Vancouver Opera Launches ’ÄúCommunity Connections’Äù

Volunteer Service Program

Sponsored by Goldcorp Inc., VO commits 10,000 volunteer service hours to B.C. communities in celebration of VO’Äôs Golden Anniversary

Vancouver, BC ~ Starting this month, Vancouver Opera embarks on Community Connections, a ground-breaking program to give back to the communities that have supported it for the past fifty years.

From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, VO artists, staff, volunteers, supporters and board members will provide a prodigious 10,000 hours of volunteer service to a variety of charities, in celebration of VO’Äôs Golden Anniversary. Also participating in the Community Connections program are the staff of Vancouver-based resource leader Goldcorp Inc. Goldcorp has made a major gift to Vancouver Opera through a three-year sponsorship, beginning with the 2009-2010 Golden Anniversary season. This first-ever multi-season sponsorship makes VO’Äôs Community Connections program possible.

’ÄúThe Community Connections program allows us to celebrate our Golden Anniversary in a unique way,’Äù says James W. Wright, General Director of Vancouver Opera. ’ÄúWe're thrilled to be working with Goldcorp, whose generous gift, secured through the hard work of VO’Äôs Board of Directors, will help VO to continue to maintain the highest artistic standards in all that we present. It’Äôs an extraordinary sponsorship, and fitting for our milestone Golden Anniversary.’Äù

’ÄúGoldcorp is proud to sponsor Vancouver Opera’Äôs Golden Anniversary and the innovative Community Connections program. For fifty years Vancouver Opera has presented world-class creative productions to diverse audiences, providing inspiration and enriching the lives of so many people,’Äù said Chuck Jeannes, President & Chief Executive Officer of Goldcorp. ’ÄúWe are excited to be a part of the Community Connections program as we recognize the importance of giving back to our local communities. Together, through volunteer service, Goldcorp employees will endeavour to positively affect the lives of others within our community. Jointly with Vancouver Opera, we look forward to reaching the goal of 10,000 hours of community service over the coming year.’Äù

Organizations that will benefit from this landmark commitment include the Powell Street Festival, Habitat for Humanity, Run 4 the Cure, Vancouver Food Bank and Power To Be Adventure Therapy. A full list of participating organizations is available at www.vancouveropera.ca. In addition, any other volunteer service performed by VO supporters for organizations beyond this list will be recognized under the Community Connections program.

’ÄúDuring the company's fifty years, audiences of all ages have embraced the work that we have presented,’Äù says Doug Tuck, VO's Director of Marketing and Community Programs. ’ÄúOur mainstage productions, education programs, touring performances and community engagement events reach widely and deeply into communities throughout B.C. It is only fitting that we honour the support of those communities by connecting with them in new ways through our volunteer work.’Äù

Community Connections will touch communities in B.C. where VO and Goldcorp are active, recognizing and reinforcing the strong connections VO and Goldcorp enjoy with the communities they serve.

VO began as a small group of determined people seeking to build an opera company for their community. Fifty years later, VO has become an internationally respected producer of opera and a vital artistic and educational force in B.C. VO’Äôs extraordinary record of community engagement includes touring education programs and outreach to diverse communities through concerts and forums.

VO’Äôs Golden Anniversary season includes a long-awaited production of Bellini’Äôs Norma (November 28 ’Äì December 5, 2009), John Adams’Äôs stunning 1987 opera Nixon in China (March 13 ’Äì 20, 2010); Mozart’Äôs beloved The Marriage of Figaro (April 24 ’Äì May 4, 2010); and Puccini’Äôs Madama Butterfly (May 29 ’Äì June 10, 2010). A Golden Anniversary Gala Concert will be held on November 6, 2009.

Throughout the Golden Anniversary season, Vancouver Opera In Schools (VOIS) will continue to present Jack Pine, VO’Äôs new commissioned opera for young audiences by Vancouver composer Veda Hille, in schools and community venues across the province. The Golden Anniversary celebrations will culminate in the November 2010 world premiˆ®re of Lillian Alling, by acclaimed composer John Estacio with libretto by award-winning playwright John Murrell.

Goldcorp, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. In 2008, the company achieved very strong operating results, growing revenues by 10% and gold reserves by 7%. Goldcorp was able to share its success by investing over $90 million in community development initiatives throughout the Americas. For Goldcorp, the true measure of a company is not only in achieving success but also in sustaining it and the company cannot achieve long-term sustainable growth without the support of the communities in which it works.

VO and Goldcorp invite all supporters of Vancouver Opera to participate in Community Connections. For more information, and to sign up, visit www.vancouveropera.ca.

About Vancouver Opera and Goldcorp

Vancouver Opera is the second largest opera company in Canada. It is regarded worldwide for its fine mainstage productions; for its country-leading education programs, which have reached more than 1.6 million children and their families in 35 years; for its innovative and award-winning community programs; and for forging groundbreaking cross-cultural creative partnerships that have brought opera to new generations of Canadians. Visit www.vancouveropera.ca for more information.

Goldcorp is North America’Äôs lowest-cost and fastest growing senior gold producer with operations in safe jurisdictions throughout the Americas. Goldcorp’Äôs aim is to deliver value to shareholders by providing them the best possible return on their investment. This is accomplished through our many valued partnerships with employees, shareholders, vendors and local communities. Visit www.goldcorp.com for more information.