Greg Carpenter wants to make two things clear. In a phone conversation Wednesday, Opera Colorado’s general and artistic director insisted that his announced departure from the company he has led since 2007 was not a retirement.

“I am stepping down,” he said.

And the other thing? That concerns the cancellation of Opera Colorado’s production of Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” scheduled for next season.

The sudden announcement came along with word of Carpenter’s departure. Coincidence? The loss of next season’s third production “had nothing to do with my stepping down,” he insisted, backing up his contention by recalling the words he had delivered at the opening night performance of last season’s “Samson and Delilah.” He spoke then of the rising costs of staging productions faced by major opera companies.

“San Francisco Opera reduced their season from 10 productions to six,” he reiterated on Wednesday. “Chicago Lyric made cuts along with other companies. Expenses went up 40 percent everywhere, while the average increase in fundraising only went up an average of three or three-and-a-half percent. We cut back so we can look to the future.”

He stressed that the planned three-production season, outlined two years ago, never anticipated the spike in costs. “We stepped up our fundraising, and did raise an extraordinary amount, but it just wasn’t enough,” he said.

Carpenter said that the company currently has no debt, but that it did finish the 2023-24 season with a deficit currently being audited. And yes, he admitted, that did contribute to the decision to cut next season’s offerings from three productions to two (the remaining operas are Donizetti’s “Daughter of the Regiment” and Puccini’s “La Bohème). He said that the budget for next season remains at $7.6 million. As of now, he said, no decisions are being considered on reducing staff.

“We are not failing. We are economizing in order to move forward.”

Meanwhile, plans are being made for a replacement for the vacated spring production. Carpenter said that “three different things will be announced later this month.”

He then replaced “things” with “opportunities,” without offering details, adding that “all of the singers” contracted to perform in the originally scheduled Verdi opera would be participating in the spring replacement. Ticket holders who’d subscribed to the original three-production season, or who’d purchased single tickets to “Trovatore,” are offered refunds or an option to acquire admission to the replacement, he said.

As for Carpenter, 62, “these are exciting, challenging times for me. I’m thinking about what’s next. Don’t read too much into this.” After his departure in May, he said, he plans to stay in metro Denver and “work in the opera world or something. I leave with bittersweet feelings. But it’s time for someone new to come in.”

A search committee has been formed, with no timetable set for an announcement to be made for Carpenter’s successor.