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Theatres in Toronto will dim their lights this evening in honour of celebrated Canadian tenor Michael Burgess. The 70-year-old died Monday after a lengthy battle with cancer. Burgess is being remembered as much for his generous spirit, as his gifted voice.

Michael Burgess played Jean Valjean in over 1000 performances of Les Miserables at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra theatre and it was a role that helped define his career and Canadian theatre.

“He was very charismatic on stage. You could feel just as he was singing and talking and doing his acting it wasn’t over the top.” Longtime entertainment journalist Alex Reynolds interviewed Burgess many times over his career.

“He was very much comfortable. I felt that. And very warm, laughable. And he opened up.”

His reach extended beyond musical theatre, into the world of sport. He was the first person to sing “O Canada” at a World Series game when the Blue Jays played the Braves.