Opera Atelier and the Canadian Opera Company support the broader opera sector's call on the federal government to build on its current investments in arts and culture by increasing the base budget of the Canada Council for the Arts by $120 million over three years.
This would ensure, first, the sustainability and growth of this sector that is so vital to the overall economy and, second, the continued access of all Canadians to the arts. Even with the recent and much-appreciated increase in support for the Canada Council, federal investment has not kept pace with either the growth in cultural expression or the increasing cost of production.
The Canada Council currently funds Opera Atelier at 8% of its operating budget and the Canadian Opera Company at 6% of its operating budget. Nationally, the average support of the Canada Council for the Arts of the operations of opera companies in Canada has decreased 4% over the last decade, from an 11% average to the current average of 7%. In the same period, the consumer price index has increased by 23%.
Decreases in the proportional support of the Canada Council mean different things for different companies. Now in its 60th season, the Canadian Opera Company has a long history of producing opera of the highest artistic standards. We're recognized around the world for our new opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, and for the innovation and risks that we have historically been able to take. Our innovations include the introduction of surtitles designed by the Canadian Opera Company to increase accessibility and now used by opera houses around the world. We have taken artistic risks such as this season's highly acclaimed production of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables.
Yet our ability to take these artistic risks and develop further innovations in our field is often hindered as we seek to do more with less. Opera companies in Canada are sensitive to escalating ticket prices. Even though at the Canadian Opera Company, for example, box office revenues from entirely sold-out seasons cover only 40% of our annual costs, the Canadian Opera Company remains committed to maintaining accessibility by minimizing ticket price escalation. Increased investment in the Canada Council for the Arts by the federal government will allow us and other opera companies in Canada to maintain ticket prices at an affordable level.
As the largest producer of opera in the country, the Canadian Opera Company has a national leadership role to play in the development and sustainability of this art form and its accessibility for all Canadians. A significant increase to the grant by the Canada Council for the Arts would aid the company in fulfilling its national role through innovative programs such as cinecasting into theatres across Canada and providing smaller Canadian communities with access to Canadian Opera Company productions.