Jan Rubes: A Man of Many Talents.

For over 50 years after emigrating from his native Czechoslovakia in 1949, Jan Rubes used his considerable talents as a singer and actor to bring music and theatre to Canadians. He left behind an established operatic career in Europe. To relaunch his career in his new homeland he seized every performance opportunity he could find, seeking out opera, musical theatre, and recital engagements and touring extensively throughout North America and farther afield for many years. The much-loved CBC radio series Songs of My People brought his voice and the warmth of his personality into Canadian homes. He was a founding member of the Canadian Opera Company and its leading bass for 25 years. The acting skills that made him such an expressive performer in operatic roles developed into a new career on stage, film, and television as he grew older, and he became one of Canada’s busiest working actors. Throughout Jan’s life he inspired, assisted, and encouraged his co-workers, especially young artists just beginning their careers.

Much of the personal material for this biography comes from interviews with people who worked with him professionally, and there are many well-known names among them. The other main sources are the Rubes fonds, located at the University of Toronto; the archives of CBC Radio, the Stratford Festival, and the Canadian Opera Company; and Rubes’s family members, especially his wife, actress Susan Douglas Rubes. Endnotes provide the documentation and bibliographical references. The author has known Jan Rubes for over 50 years, and presents a sensitive, well-rounded picture of his personal and professional lives.