GUY LESSARD

Tenor

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Guy Lessard holds a Master's degree in Music (Performance/Voice) from Université Laval and completed internships at the Wilfrid Laurier Conservatory. Second place winner at the Liederkranz Competition (Wagnerian category) in New York, he has also received grants from the Wagner Society of New York and the Canada Council for the Arts (Tristan and Tannhäuser). His expressive voice and stage presence allow him to interpret major dramatic roles such as Siegmund, Tannhäuser, Pollione, and Don José.

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He has performed several roles at the Opéra de Québec, including Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), a Man in Arms (The Magic Flute) in two productions (including Robert Lepage's), and the Prince of Persia (Turandot). With the Tempêtes et Passions company, he performed the first act of Die Walküre (Siegmund) and an abridged version of Tannhäuser (Tannhäuser). Among his performances with other companies are Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Abélard (Héloïse et Abélard, 2006), Levko (La nuit de mai, 2010), Don José (Carmen, 2006, 2010), and Du Sotin (Lucas et Cécile). A regular guest at the St-Eustache Opera Festival, he participated in the 2013 Wagner Gala. He has worked regularly as a professional chorister at the Quebec International Opera Festival. Guy has participated in Robert Lepage's opera workshops for various productions (Damnation de Faust, the tetralogy, and Le Rossignol et l'empereur).

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He has collaborated with several ensembles, including the Quebec Youth Orchestra, the Montreal Polyphonic Choir, the Les Rhapsodes Choir, the Montreal Russian Seasons, Quartango, the Charlevoix Polyphonic Choir, the New World Philharmonic Orchestra, the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean Symphony Orchestra, the Baie-Comeau String Ensemble, and the Trois-Rivières Clarinet Ensemble. His engagements in sacred music include the Requiem and the Great Mass in C, the Messa di Gloria, Lauda per la Natività del Signore, Misa y Tango, the Stabat Mater (Dvořák), The Creation, Dubois's Seven Last Words of Christ, and Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, and in 2015, the Missa de Gloria (Puccini).

His discography includes Canciónes del sol, a CD featuring Argentine tangos by Carlos Gardel and Zarzuela arias, as well as a recording of Christmas carols with the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Louis Lavigueur.

Founder of Tempêtes et Passions in 2001, he received the Opéra de Québec Foundation Award in 2015 for his influence in opera and his work with young professionals. The non-profit organization will celebrate its 25th anniversary this fall.

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A forestry engineer with a master's degree, he is an expert in sustainable forest management, forest ecology, and silviculture. His contributions include writing over one hundred scientific reports, implementing more than 60 experimental setups, training Quebec forestry engineers for over a decade, and publishing popular science articles and theses.