André Barbe has designed many productions for Pacific Opera Victoria, beginning with the sets for The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1992. He returned to design sets for The Daughter of the Regiment (1994), Carmen, (1996), Werther (1998), and Ariadne auf Naxos (1999). He designed the sets and costumes for POV's 2004 production of Lee Hoiby's The Tempest, which was directed by his partner Renaud Doucet. In 2008 Barbe and Doucet's conception of Massenet's Thaïs will be presented by POV.
Based in Montreal, André Barbe received a bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Concordia University then studied at the National Theatre School of Canada under the tutelage of designer François Barbeau. He has designed over 200 productions for Theatre, Television and Opera. He received the 2005 Irish Times Irish Theater Award for best designer for the production of Pénélope at Wexford Festival Opera. Opera America, the national service organization for opera, presented an exhibition of his production designs in New York in 2008.
In Montreal he has designed sets for L'Opéra de Montréal, Le Rideau Vert, Compagnie Jean Duceppe, Just for Laughs Festival, the Jazz Festival, the Francofolies and numerous television shows for all major networks. He also designed the 30th anniversary of Les Belles Sœurs by Michel Tremblay) for the Canadian Stage in Toronto.
He was nominated for Television Gemini Awards in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.
In 2000 M. Barbe joined forces with director and choreographer Renaud Doucet after they met at the Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy. Since then they have collaborated on a number of productions, including Lee Hoiby's The Tempest (2004) for Pacific Opera Victoria. In October 2008 their production of Thaïs will be presented by Pacific Opera Victoria. Barbe and Doucet first created Thaïs as a co-production between Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (June 2003) and l'Opéra de Montréal (November 2003). For its production, Pacific Opera Victoria is building M. Barbe's stunning sets on a scale to fit Victoria's Royal Theatre and introducing a brilliant young cast, all of whom are making their role debuts.
Other Barbe-Doucet collaborations include Adam's Si J'étais Roi for Wexford Festival Opera; Pelléas et Mélisande for L'Opéra de Montréal; The Rape of Lucretia for l'Opéra de Montréal, Florida Grand Opera and the Opera Festival of New Jersey; La Traviata at the Opera Festival of New Jersey; Massenet's Thaïs at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and l'Opéra de Montréal; the North American premiere of Szulamit by Ede Donath at Florida Grand Opera; Massenet's Cendrillon at l'Opéra national du Rhin, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera and l'Opéra de Montréal; the Viennese premiere of The Sound of Music at the Vienna Volksoper; Grétry's Zemire & Azor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Fauré's Pénélope at the Wexford Festival Opera; Benvenuto Cellini at l'Opéra National du Rhin; La Traviata at Opera Festival of New Jersey, Arizona Opera and Florida Grand Opera; Turandot at the Volksoper Wien and Palm Beach Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia for Florida Grand Opera and Omaha Opera.
The 2007-8 season included their production of Gluck's Iphigénie en Aulide for l'Opéra National du Rhin, Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Boston Lyric Opera, and Emmerich Kalman's operetta Die Csardasfürstin (The Gypsy Princess) for Austria's Kufstein Festival. 2008-2009 sees a new production of Samson et Dalila at the Royal Opera Stockholm along with their debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in a new Turandot.