Acadian tenor Jacques Arsenault began his musical career as a virtuoso accordionist while growing up on Prince Edward Island before discovering his vocal talents. After receiving his Master of Music from University of Alberta, Jacques made his professional debut in 2015 as Pritschitsch in Edmonton Opera’s The Merry Widow. Jacques joined the cast as Kaspar in Opera Nuova’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, and starred as Archie in Archiebaldo, Cowtown Opera’s raunchy operatic cabaret for Calgary Opera’s summertime “Opera in the Village”.

Jacques starred as Freddy in Tapestry Opera’s 2017 premiere of Bandits in the Valley, based on local history of 1860s smugglers, earning nominations for two BroadwayWorld/Toronto Awards (Best Leading Actor in a Musical and Best Performance by a Male in a Featured Role) for his “standout performance…an impressive combination of powerful singing, solid accordion chops…and heartfelt acting” (Jenna Simeonov, Schmopera).

Jacques made his debut as Ambroise Lepine in Louis Riel (Somers) in the Canadian Opera Company’s acclaimed production at the National Arts Centre and displayed his comedic skills as Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Glenn Gould School in Toronto.

In Montreal, Jacques sang several roles in José Evangelista’s Le Manuscrit trouvé à Saragosse with la Société de Musique Contemporaine de Québec. Judy-Ann Desrosiers (L’Opéra) wrote of his performance : « L[a] brillant[e] interpréta[tion]… de Jacques Arsenault dans le génial numéro du géomètre mérit[e] d’être soulign[é] ».

In 2019, Jacques will portray Lui in his own project, a male adaptation of Poulenc’s La Voix humaine in collaboration with Against the Grain Theatre, and returns to National Arts Centre as Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro.