Opera Singer Bernard Turgeon Dies at 85

BERNARD TURGEON | IMAGE: TIMES COLONIST

Opera singer Bernard Turgeon died at 85. Turgeon's death was announced November 1 via an obituary in the Times Colonist.

Turgeon enjoyed a long and acclaimed career which began in 1952 with the Canadian Opera Company. In his career as a baritone, he appeared in productions by the Vancouver Opera, the Welsh National Opera, the Opéra du Québec, Pacific Opera Victoria and Calgary Opera. As a concert soloist, he appeared with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and others.

Turgeon was also a teacher and administrator at various Canadian universities. Among his accomplishments as an educator were developing the voice and opera division at the University of Victoria’s school of music, as well as creating opera programs at McGill University. He led the voice and opera departments at the University of Alberta and ran a program in voice and opera at what was then known as the Banff School of Fine Arts.

He was inducted into the Canadian Opera Hall of Fame in 2012.