Bruno Pelletier

Early Career

Bruno Pelletier always had a passion for music and sports, and early on combined the two in his career choices. He was self-taught, began playing the drums when he was thirteen, and learned the guitar at age sixteen. Singing soon followed suit. Ambivalent about a career in music at first, Pelletier pursued his collegial studies in the humanities. He opened a martial arts school in the 1980s, performing as a drummer and singer after hours. He toured bars for several years as lead singer (in English) with two rock bands: Amanite and Sneak Preview. Music prevailed and he founded his own French rock band, Pëll (using the first letters of his last name), in 1989. A year later, Pelletier landed his first recording contract.

Success and Tours

1992 was a pivotal year for Bruno Pelletier’s career. Pelletier released his self-titled first album and landed parts in two musicals: Les fous du rock'n'roll, and La légende de Jimmy, a rock opera about James Dean written by Quebec lyricists Luc Plamondon and Michel Berger, which used Pelletier’s physical and vocal talents. In 1993, Luc Plamondon offered Pelletier the part of Johnny Rockfort in Lewis Furey's Parisian version of the rock opera Starmania, a role Pelletier performed over 400 times during the next two years while he prepared his second album, Défaire l'amour (1995).

In 1997, Bruno Pelletier made his television debut as the villain Michel Bergevin in the Quebec television series Omertà II – The Code of Silence and released a third album, Miserere. The CD went double platinum by the end of January 1999. In 1998, Pelletier was cast as Pierre Gringoire in Notre-Dame de Paris, Luc Plamondon and Riccardo Cocciante’s musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s famous novel. Gringoire’s song “Le temps des cathédrales” climbed francophone charts.

Bruno Pelletier released his fourth album D'autres rives in 1999 in Europe and in Quebec, followed by concerts in Paris at L'Olympia, La Cigale and Le Bataclan. He continued to perform in the Quebec and London (England) productions of Notre-Dame de Paris.

In 2001 Bruno Pelletier released a live album, Sur scène. In 2002 Pelletier released his sixth album, Un monde à l'envers, and began a two-year tour. In 2003, Pelletier and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) released an album of seasonal classics titled Concert de Noël. The performance took place at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal.

New Musical Roles

In 2004, Bruno Pelletier returned to the stage in the title role and as music director and co-producer of the Quebec musical Dracula - Entre l'amour et la mort. The show premiered in Montreal in 2006 and toured in France the following year. In 2007, Pelletier released a pop and jazz album titled Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre. The album won a Félix Award for Best album - Jazz performance in 2008.

Bruno Pelletier’s tenth album Microphonium (2009) marked his 25th anniversary as a singer. That same year, Pelletier toured Russia for the first time. He performed in Ukraine and Russia in 2010 and 2011, and his song "Dénaturé" became number one on Moscow radio. The singer also performed in the musical Les filles de Caleb (2011), based on the Arlette Cousture trilogy, a popular television series in Quebec.

In 2012 Bruno Pelletier became a volunteer spokesperson for the Quebec Cancer Foundation and released his eleventh album, Rendus Là, followed by Regarde autour in 2016. His second live album, Soirée intime au Théâtre Petit Champlain, was recorded in 2018 at a venue in the heart of Old Quebec.

Pelletier’s most recent albums are Sous influences (2019) and Car le temps est venu (2022). Pelletier also released the single “Dans ma tête” in August 2022. The same year the acclaimed musical Notre-Dame de Paris toured in Canada once again. Bruno Pelletier and Daniel Lavoie reprised their roles, performing as Pierre Gringoire and Claude Frollo, respectively.

Awards

Bruno Pelletier has won numerous Félix Awards at the ADISQ gala in addition to numerous certifications and nominations. He won Best male vocalist in 1997, 1999 and 2000. His album Miserere was Best pop-rock album and Best-selling album of 1998 and the concert based on this album was named best live performance. “Le temps des cathédrales” was Best song in 1999 and D'autres rives won Album of the year in 2000. Bruno Pelletier et le GrosZorchestre won album of the year in 2008.