Bruno Pelletier’s repertoire has ranged from driving rock to Edith Piaf standards; his roles on stage have ranged from gang leader Johnny Rockfort to Dracula. In his early career, his flowing, shoulder-length hair and athletic build, combined with his talent and charisma, helped make the French Canadian singer a bona fide star. His rendition of “Le Temps des cathédrales,” from the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, became a smash hit and made him known throughout the French-speaking world.
Born in 1962, in Charlesbourg, a suburb of Quebec City, he was interested in both sports and music as a boy. Early on he performed as lead singer of the rock bands Amanite and Sneak Preview, then in 1989 formed his own Francophone band, Pëll. His first album came out in 1992, and shortly afterward Pelletier landed roles in Les fous du rock ’n’ roll and La légende de Jimmy, a rock musical about James Dean, the iconic film star who died at age twenty-four.
In 1993, Pelletier assumed the starring role of Johnny Rockfort in the Parisian production of Starmania, the hit rock opera by Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger. Pelletier played the gang leader of the Black Stars more than four hundred times. In 1997, he made his acting debut playing a villain in the television series “Omerta II.”
In 1998 Pelletier created the part of the poet Gringoire in the original Paris production of Notre-Dame de Paris, a hit musical by Riccardo Cocciante and Luc Plamondon, based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel. Gringoire became a signature role for Pelletier, who reprised it in the Quebec and London productions. His fame grew to a point where he could make a successful tour of Europe, playing in such venues as l’Olympia de Paris, La Cigale, and Le Bataclan.
In 2002, he began a two-year tour and also sang with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in a series of Christmas concerts at Montreal’s Basilique Notre-Dame.
Musical theater brought him back to its stage in 2006, when he played the title role in Dracula – Entre l’amour et la mort, with lyrics by Roger Tabra and music by Simon Leclerc; Bruno Pelletier and Richard Ouzounian are credited with the original idea. Pelletier also became involved as the musical director and co-producer of the show. The musical, which opened in Montreal, was another success, and soon the production traveled to Europe, with Pelletier starring in it for a total of three years.
In 2007, he broadened his scope further with a new venture, Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre, which offered a sophisticated mixture of pop and jazz influences.
Pelletier is a three-time Felix Award winner for Male Singer of the Year.
