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Canadian tenor Michael Burgess dies at age 70 after cancer battle: friend
TORONTO – Theatre star Michael Burgess — who dazzled Toronto audiences as Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” and was well-known to sports fans for his stirring rendition of “O Canada” — died Monday at age 70.
The famed tenor passed away in a Toronto hospice Monday evening surrounded by members of his family, said Bruce Bowser, a family friend. Burgess had been battling cancer for a number of years.
In a statement Monday night, theatre impresario David Mirvish said Burgess “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.”
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“He was magnificent in the role and led the all-Canadian cast to great heights,” Mirvish said.
“He will be sorely missed.”
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The Regina-born Burgess played
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Some superstars are divas. They carry themselves in a way that says, I’m better than you. Some are down-to-earth, humble and warm. That’s how I’d describe Michael Burgess.
I had heard the tenor was ill but it was still a shock to learn that he had died on Monday night, in a hospice, at the age of 70. When I met him, I assumed we were close in age. He was youthful and casual, wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He looked nothing like a stereotype of a theatre star.
Burgess was known for a few things. He played Jean Valjean in Les Miserables in Toronto for more than 1,000 performances at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. (I saw two of them.) He played the role in a production that toured Canada. He also loved hockey and sang the national anthem before games at Maple Leaf Gardens for years. In 1992, he became the first person to sing O Canada at a major league baseball game.
Opera isn’t a warm and fuzzy genre of performing. The players seem distant. The songs, beautiful, but often unrelatable. Michael Burgess was that rare performer who had a world class voice, a commanding stage presence and the ability to make you believe that he was singing to your soul. He performed at Stratford, at other theatre companies across the country, acted on TV and had a rep