Since his graduation from the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio, he has returned to the COC for over 50 mainstage productions, including The Magic Flute, La Traviata, Elektra, Luisa Miller, War and Peace, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, La Fanciulla del West, Idomeneo, Salome, Simon Boccanegra, Il tabarro, Il viaggio a Reims, Otello, Carmen (2005, 2010, 2016, 2022), Albert Herring, Aida, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Un ballo in Maschera, and Billy Budd. Alain was also honoured to perform at the inaugural gala celebrating the opening of the COC’s Four Seasons Centre for the Arts in June 2006. 

Alain has seamlessly juggled high profile concert engagements alongside his flourishing operatic stage career. Highlights include Verdi’s Requiem (Orchestres Symphoniques de  Québec and Trois-Rivières, Vancouver Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra), Mozart’s Requiem (Windsor, Victoria, Thunder Bay, Pasadena, Québec, and Edmonton Symphonies, Elora Festival, Orchestra London), Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal), and Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ (Orquesta Nacional de España, Pax Christi Chorale, Boston Symphony and Dresdner Philharmonie). Alain appeared as Leporello alongside Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Don Giovanni in concert (George Weston Recital Hall), as Zuniga in Carmen with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and as The Gravedigger in Schumann’s Der Rose Pilgerfahrt, Op. 112 with Le Festival de Musique de Lanaudière. A favourite of many conductors for his musicianship and consistency, he has collaborated with outstanding conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Kent Nagano, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Richard Bradshaw, Johannes Debus, Jacques Lacombe, Helmut Rilling, Bernard Labadie, Alain Altinoglu, Ingo Metzmacher, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Andrew Parrot, and Richard Bonynge. 

In recording, Coulombe was featured as Masetto in the Gemini winning Rhombus Media film Don Giovanni Unmasked, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky. His other recording credits include Robin de Raaff`s Waiting for Miss Monroe (Challenge Records International), Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (Prague Symphony Orchestra, Théâtre Sans Fil), Harry Somers’ Serinette, Chura Churam, and The Death of Enkidu (Centrediscs Records), the World Premiere of David DiChiera’s Cyrano (Michigan Opera Theatre), the soundtrack of Rhombus Media’s movie Don Giovanni Unmasked (CBC Records), as well as numerous live radio broadcasts of opera performances and concerts across North America and Europe. 

Noted for his continued artistic impact, Coulombe was honoured as an Ambassadeur de la Matanie in 2014, an honour shared by his teacher and mentor Joseph Rouleau, in recognition for the work he has done as a French-Canadian and in sharing his talents around the world. Alain has, on several occasions, been invited as a Peer Assessor for the Canada Council for the Arts, sharing his perspectives on the Canadian operatic and symphonic industries. 

Passionate about supporting Canadian work and talent, Coulombe now gives back to his community, following in the footsteps of his mentors. He has worked with the young artists of the Atelier Lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio and the Calgary Opera, sharing wisdom and insight with the young artists. In 2020, 2024 and 2025, he was invited to join the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto as a guest lecturer for French mélodie classes and as a voice instructor. At the University of Toronto’s Voice Studies, he has taught public masterclasses in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024, and he is looking forward to teaching masterclasses at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould Studio in 2026. 

Inspired by his continued passion for teaching and mentoring, Coulombe began teaching a private studio of artists in 2018, which has since grown and seen students enter elite conservatory and young artist programs across Canada. As Coulombe's career continues to evolve, he is thrilled to be a part of new premieres, dig into new roles and repertoire, and support the new generation of Canadian talents.