Despite the economic troubles, the appetite for opera in Toronto seems unabated, according to the Canadian Opera Company, which announced on Tuesday details of another stellar season.

For the third consecutive year (and the third inside its new opera house), the company had an average attendance of 99 per cent, organizers said.

The season "surpassed my expectations as I fully realized the satisfaction of leading a company of such great success and potential," general director Alexander Neef said in a statement.

"Even though this difficult economic climate has brought us unexpected challenges, our mainstage season finished [at 99.7 per cent] capacity, which must be the highest rate for an opera company in North America," he postulated.

About 132,000 patrons attended 64 performances of the COC's seven mainstage productions during the 2008-2009 season, which included an expanded run of the Puccini's beloved La Bohème, which was the year's final opera.

The COC also presented Mozart's Don Giovanni, Prokofiev's War and Peace, Beethoven's Fidelio, Dvorak's Rusalka, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Overall, ticket-related revenues grossed nearly $13.9 million, the company said.

The upcoming 2009-2010 season, marking the COC's 60th anniversary, will begin on Sept. 26 with Madama Butterfly. The offerings will also include a solo concert with Ben Heppner, Robert Lepage's Nightingale and productions of Carmen, Otello, The Flying Dutchman, Maria Stuarda and Idomeneo.