Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre and Royal Alexandra Theatre will dim their marquee lights for two minutes on Tuesday evening in memory of Canadian musical theatre star Michael Burgess, the head of Mirvish Productions said in a statement on Monday.
"Michael created the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, which was one of the first international blockbusters to have its own production in Canada with a local cast, instead of a touring version," David Mirvish said. "He was magnificent in the role and led the all-Canadian cast to great heights."
A family friend, Bruce Bowser, said that Burgess died peacefully on Monday evening in a Toronto hospice, surrounded by his family.
The 70-year-old tenor had been battling cancer for a number of years.
Burgess played the role of Jean Valjean in more than 1,000 performances of Les Miserables at Toronto's Royal Alexandra theatre and on tour across Canada.
"He was a very talented performer with a spellbinding voice and a truly arresting stage presence," Mirvish added. "Canada has lost one of its major artists. He will be sorely missed."
Burgess also appeared in television productions of H.M.S. Pinafore, You Must Remember This and The Sandy Bottom Orchestra, as well as in TV series including Street Legal, Border Town, and E.N.G.
Burgess was known to hockey fans for singing the national anthem for many years at Toronto Maple Leafs home games and was the first person to sing O Canada at a World Series baseball game, in 1992.
In 2013, Burgess was inducted as an Honoured Member into the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound, Ont.
"Michael Burgess is one of those rare individuals ... [whose] presence transcends across sports, theatre and music seamlessly," the Hall of Fame's website says. "Michael shares his amazing voice each and every time we ask, without hesitation. His performance of 'Danny Boy' has often brought our audiences to tears."
Born in Regina, the eldest of seven children spent his formative years in Toronto, singing at St. Michael's Choir School. He would go on to attend the University of Ottawa.
Burgess first gained national attention in 1974 when he was specifically chosen for leading tenor in a production of La Boheme in Toronto because he'd never sung in a professional opera. Instead, he had spent the first years of his professional career performing in plays and musical comedies, including on the Stratford stage.
After other notable runs including in Twelfth Night at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Burgess told the Globe and Mail in 1991 that he was tiring of singing roles when the career-changing opportunity in Les Miserables was offered in the mid-1980s.
"I thought Jean Valjean was a wonderful role, but I wasn't sure I wanted to try out, I don't know why," he said.
Bowser, said funeral arrangements for Burgess were pending for Oct. 5, but were expected to be confirmed Tuesday.
From: www.cbc.ca 9:16pm
Photo: Michael Burgess.
2015-09-28
Toronto: Michael Burgess, Canadian star of "Les Misérables", dies at 70