François Barbeau, the renowned costume designer from Montreal, has died at age 80.
Barbeau worked on more than 700 theatre, dance, film, television, opera, and circus productions in Quebec and abroad.
As a professor at the National Theatre School at the Université du Québec à Montréal for 25 years, Barbeau influenced a generation of costume designers.
Until his death, Barbeau had been perfecting the wardrobe for the Grands Ballets Canadiens’ annual production of the Nutcracker since 1987.
Barbeau was prolific as a costume designer from the early 1960s to his death,
He was the official costume designer for Théâtre du Rideau Vert in Montreal, where he worked on over 150 productions.
Barbeau also collaborated with many other theaters in Montreal, including the New World Theatre, New Theatre Company, The Threepenny, Centaur, Compagnie Jean-Duceppe, Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
In film, Barbeau designed the wardrobe for Kamouraska, Atlantic City, Léolo, New France and Laurence Anyways.
Including The Nutcracker, Barbeau collaborated on several productions with Grands Ballets Canadiens, and costume designed around 20 ballet productions in total.
Barbeau’s work extended into the circus, including two shows with the Cirque du Soleil — Dralion in 1999 and Wintuk in 2007.
Barbeau also worked with Robert Lepage on two European productions of La Célestine in 2005 and the opera A Rake’s Progress in 2007.
Barbeau’s received the Governor General’s Award in 1996 and the Order of Canada in 2000 for his lifetime achievement.
For his work in theatre, Barbeau’s talent and versatility have won him many awards, which culminated in an honourary Masque in 2000 from the now defunct Quebec Academy of Theatre.
In film, Barbeau won several Emmy awards, including one in 1971 for Claude Jutra’s feature film, Kamouraska, and another in 1999 for the Cirque du Soleil show Dralion.
{ SOURCE: CBC | http://goo.gl/joVfdn }
