Jules Bruyère

Bruyère, Jules
Jules Bruyère. Baritone, b Murray Bay, near Quebec City, 18 Apr 1928. After studying voice 1946-7 with Louis Gravel in Quebec City he went to Montreal to work 1947-50 with Albert Cornellier. He also studied with Martial Singher in the summer of 1948 in Aspen, Col, and 1948-51 at the CMM. He continued with Singher 1952-7 at the Mannes College in New York. He took stage training 1957-8 with Paul Cabanel at the Paris Cons, and in 1959 received honourable mention at the International Competition for Musical Performers. Returning to Canada, he made two JMC tours, performing in Blackburn's Silent Measures and Pirouette (1960-1), Debussy's L'Enfant prodigue, and Vallerand's Le Magicien. He gave recitals on CBC radio and TV and in 1962 was awarded the Grand Prix d'excellence at the 6th Concours international de la mélodie française in Paris. At Covent Garden 1963-7 he sang in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride and Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini, appeared in Stravinsky's Les Noces, and in Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment (Hortensius) with Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. In 1967 Bruyère toured Quebec with the Théâtre lyrique de Nouvelle-France, singing the title role in The Barber of Seville. With Charles Reiner at the piano he made an LP (1963, RCA LSC 2658). While he was with Covent Garden he sang Hortensius for the recording of The Daughter of the Regiment (2-Decca SET 372-373/Lon OSA 1273) which appeared in 1968. He can be heard on the LP La Bonne Chanson présente chansons d'hier... chansons d'aujourd'hui... (RCA Victor LCP-1021). After 1968 he gave up his career to devote himself to business.

Author Denise Ménard