Jean Bonhomme

Jean Robert Gérard Joseph Bonhomme (February 14, 1937 – June 19, 1986) was a Canadian tenor who had an active international performance career during the 1960s and 1970s. According to Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens, Bonhomme was a spinto tenor who excelled in the role of Don José in Bizet's Carmen and in operas by Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi.

Before his training as a singer, Bonhomme worked as a janitor while studying pre-medicine and law at the University of Ottawa. For seven years he played the centre position on the Ottawa Gee-Gees football team. His interest in singing began at his Catholic church where he was often called upon to sing at weddings as a soloist. Without ever studying or learning to read music he won a classical vocal competition at the Ottawa Music Festival in 1960. After this, he trained for an opera career in private lessons with retired Metropolitan Opera tenor Raoul Jobin and at The Royal Conservatory of Music with George Lambert. He was a leading tenor at the Royal Opera House in London from 1965 through 1976. He also appeared in principal roles as a guest artist in theaters throughout Europe, North America, and in South Africa. After retiring from the stage in 1976 he worked as a police officer with the Correctional Service of Canada until his death in 1986.