““Alain Coulombe is flawless and disturbing as Sparafucile. His massively deep bass voice probes the theatre like the growl of a lion.”
Grania Litwin, Times Colonist, April 2006

“The star had to be Toronto-based Alain Coulombe, whose rich, commanding basso was tailor-made for the role of the King of Clubs.”
John Terauds, Toronto Star, February 2005

“With his lush, resonant voice…Alain Coulombe was as magisterial a Sarastro as one could wish. His bass plumbed the challenging depths of “In diesen heil’gen Hallen” with full security of tone.”
Christopher Hoile, Stage Door, December 2005

“From the pungent opening chords of L’Opéra de Montréal’s The Rape of Lucretia, one sensed immediately that this was going to be a performance of special merit…above all Alain Coulombe, a superb Collatinus, with a voice most Wotans would envy…”
Robert Markow, Opera News, April 2003

“The best work is by Alain Coulombe as the duplicitous King Créon. He’s a real singing actor who uses all the tools at hand to create a memorable character.”
Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine, November 2002

Praised for “his deep stentorian bass voice” and “his powerful presence”, bass Alain Coulombe is one of Canada’s rising stars. Well known and acclaimed for his musical versatility and his basso profundo quality, Mr. Coulombe has a repertoire ranging from Claudio Monteverdi to James Rolfe. An alumni member of both L’Opéra de Montréal and the Canadian Opera Company’s Young Artists Programs, he has worked with conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Andrew Parrott, Hervé Niquet, David Fallis, Jacques Lacombe, Daniel Lipton, Stephen White, Jonathan Darlington, Helmut Rilling, Joseph Rescigno, Mark Flint, Eduardo Müller, Richard Bradshaw and Bernard Labadie.

Over the last three seasons, on the operatic stage, he performed roles such as Sarastro in THE MAGIC FLUTE, The Priest in LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK, Doctor Grenvil in LA TRAVIATA, Superintendent Budd in ALBERT HERRING, Zuniga in CARMEN as well as understudying the roles of Wurm in LUISA MILLER and The Old Convict in LADY MACBETH OF MTSENSK at the Canadian Opera Company. He also was Collatinus in THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA with L’Opéra de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria, Sparafucile in RIGOLETTO and Oroveso in NORMA with Pacific Opera Victoria, Seneca in THE CORONATION OF POPPEA for Cleveland Opera, Count Horn in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA for Vancouver Opera, Colline in LA BOHÈME for Edmonton Opera and for L’Opéra de Québec, Créon in Charpentier’s MÉDÉE and Hidraot in Lully’s ARMIDE for Toronto Opera Atelier.

Over the last three seasons, on the concert stage, he performed Tiresias in OEDIPUS REX with L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Lord Valton in Bellini’s I PURITANI, Die Heremit in von Weber’s DER FREISCHÜTZ, Nourabad in Bizet’s LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES and Arkel in Debussy’s PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE for Festival Vancouver and Vancouver Opera, Le Roi de Trèfles in L’AMOUR DES TROIS ORANGES by Prokofiev with Toronto Opera In Concert, Christos Hatzis’ KYRIE for CBC Radio, Kurt Weill’s THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS and THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK for Calgary Opera Association, Tchaikovsky’s IOLANTA and a Bellini Gala with L’Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Schubert’s A FLAT MASS with The CBC Orchestra for Festival Vancouver, Mozart’s REQUIEM with The Elora Festival, Orchestra London and the Symphony Orchestras of Windsor, Thunder Bay, Victoria and Edmonton. He also performed at the opening ceremonies of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, new home of the Canadian Opera Company and in Berlioz’s L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST with the Boston Symphony and the Dresdner Philharmonie, Germany.

Other operatic credits include Pistola in Verdi’s FALSTAFF at the Tanglewood Music Festival, The Sacristan in TOSCA and Sparafucile in RIGOLETTO for L’Opéra de Québec, Ashby in Puccini’s LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST for Vancouver Opera, Colline in LA BOHÈME, Collatinus in THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, Masetto in DON GIOVANNI, Count Horn in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Lieutenant Ratcliffe in BILLY BUDD, Lodovico in OTELLO, Talpa in IL TABARRO and Don Prudenzio in IL VIAGGIO A REIMS at the Canadian Opera Company. He was The High Priest in NABUCCO and The Mayor in JENUFA with L’Opéra de Montréal, as well as Don Basilio in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA and Don Magnifico in LA CENERENTOLA for Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada. He also marked more acclaimed appearances as Cadmus in Handel’s SEMELE for Toronto Opera In Concert and as Seneca in Monteverdi’s L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA for Opera Atelier.

Mr. Coulombe appeared as Leporello with Dmitri Hvorostovsky as DON GIOVANNI in concert at the George Weston Recital Hall and was featured as Masetto in the Gemini winning Rhombus Media film DON GIOVANNI UNMASKED, again starring Hvorostovsky. He also sang the role of Phinée in the live DVD production of Lully’s PERSÉE under EuroArts with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Opera Atelier.
His recording credits include the roles of the Tree and the Chair in Ravel’s L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for Le Théâtre Sans Fil, Harry Somers’ SERINETTE, CHURA CHURAM and THE DEATH OF ENKIDU for Centrediscs Records, as well as the soundtrack of Rhombus Media’s movie DON GIOVANNI UNMASKED under CBC Records.

Upcoming performances include the bass solo in Mahler’s 8th SYMPHONY at Brott Music Festival, Lignière in Di Chiera’s World Premiere of CYRANO for Michigan Opera Theatre, Don Fernando in FIDELIO with Vancouver Opera, The Doctor and the understudy of Arkel in PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE with the Canadian Opera Company, as well as Il Bonzo in MADAMA BUTTERFLY and Raymond in LUCIE DE LAMMERMOOR with Cincinnati Opera.

June 2007

Click to download Biography in PDF | Word

Click to download Hi-Res Headshot [3.0 MB, 300 DPI]