Camille BernardCM (February 25, 1898 – July 16, 1984) was aCanadian opera singer, actress and music educator fromQuebec.[1] She was most noted as the founder of the Institut Camille-Bernard, a prominent theatre and music school inMontreal.[1]
Trained underBéatrice La Palme and Salvator Issaurel, she was a regular performer in Quebec until being invited in 1924 to study inParis. Completing her training underPauline Donalda andYvette Guilbert, and regularly performed in both France[1] and Canada[2] for a number of years thereafter.
In 1929 she founded the Théâtre des petits, a children's school of diction, and later founded the École nouvelle, a school for children with language difficulties; the two institutions later merged into the Institut Camille-Bernard.[1] The Théâtre des petits also had a regular radio program on Montreal'sCKAC.[1]
In 1973, she had her only major acting role, inClaude Jutra's filmKamouraska.[3] She won theCanadian Film Award forBest Supporting Actress.[4]
She was inducted into theOrder of Canada in 1981.[5]
