Early bird tickets for the Michael Burgess concert presented by the Oliver Community Arts Council sold out in three days and organizers expect similar results for regular advance ticket sales.
The renowned Canadian tenor is playing on Aug. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Oliver Community Bandshell. Les Miz himself will sing popular showstoppers he has made famous from Broadway hits and arias.
Burgess became an international celebrity performing the lead role of Jean Valjean in the long-running original Canadian staging of Les Misérables. He later continued his Broadway success in other productions such as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, and appeared in Blood Brothers, The Fantasticks, and Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.
Although without extensive opera training, his ringing vocals impressed North American audiences in works from La Bohème and HMS Pinafore to Messiah and The Beggar’s Opera. His signature song, Bring Him Home from Les Misérables, was made doubly famous when Kurt Browning used his version to perform in the 1990 World Figure Skating Championships.
No stranger to TV, he won a Gemini Award for CBC-TV special, Michael Burgess at Massey Hall.
Tickets to the concert are $25 in advance, $35 at the gate and are available at Beyond Bliss (Oliver), Polka Dot Door (Osoyoos) and Jardin Antiques (Okanagan Falls).
In Penticton tickets can be bought at Winemaster, S.O. Country Radio Station, Home Again, Home Again and Cherry Lane Shopping Centre.
A food court and wine garden will be open starting at 5:30 p.m. at the show and CDs will be available for sale.
