Bélanger, Guy
(Joseph Gabriel) Guy Bélanger. Tenor, orchestra and choir conductor, b Quebec City 24 Nov 1946; B MUS (Laval) 1973. Son of Edwin Bélanger. He studied 1965-6 at the CMQ with Guy Lepage and 1966-72 at Laval University with Marthe Létourneau (singing) and Françoise Aubut (theory). He also studied privately with Rolande Dion. In 1968 he participated in the founding of the Société lyrique d'Aubigny of which he is artistic and musical director. With the society, he performed the title role in Faust (1969) and Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de perles (1974) and has also sung the roles of Prince Shouisky in Boris Godounov (1988) at the CBC and of Vladimir in Prince Igor (1989) at the Festival international de Lanaudière. He performed in concerts of sacred music in Quebec and in Europe, notably in the premiere of Anne Lauber's oratorio Jesus Christus at the Notre-Dame Church in Montreal (1986). As a conductor he led the MSO, the Quebec CBC Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestre métropolitain, among others. In 1984 he became artistic and musical director of the Opéra de Québec. The following year, he was invited by the Canada Opera Piccola to direct the Canadian premiere of Bizet's Don Procopio at the Victoria International Festival. In 1989 he was named choir director and assistant conductor of the Opéra de Montréal as well as co-director, with Irving Guttman, of its Atelier lyrique.
See also Marc Bélanger (his brother).