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French tenor Benjamin Bernheim has been honored with the prestigious award for Best Male Singer at the 2024 International Opera Awards, one of the most renowned ceremonies in the world of opera.
After delivering a spine-tingling performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic closing ceremony, French star tenor Benjamin Bernheim releases his first solo song album Douce France: Mélodies & Chansons. Inspired by his long study and experience of French song, Bernheim imaginatively couples the famous 19th-century melodies of Berlioz, Chausson and Duparc with the classic 20th-century chansons by Brel, Kosma and Trenet. While some of these cycles are nowadays associated with the female voice accompanied by orchestra, the tenor was determined to return to the deep intimacy that a keyboard accompaniment can conjure. Bernheim’s regular duo partner, pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson, transcribed the relevant orchestral scores into the more idiomatic versions for piano heard on this album.
French tenor Benjamin Bernheim sang a new arrangement of Fauré’s Hymne à Apollon (Hymn to Apollo), which was composed for the first Olympic congress in 1893.
On February 29th, Mr. Bernheim was honored as Artiste Lyrique de l’Année (Artist of the Year) at the Victoires de la musique classique. This marks the second time that he has received this honor, after his first win in 2020. The annual awards ceremony is considered the most prestigious classical music awards in France and was held in Montpellier this year.
Mr. Bernheim was not able to accept the award in person as he is rehearsing to perform Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera.
Le 29 février, M. Bernheim a reçu le prix de l’Artiste Lyrique de l’année aux Victoires de la musique classique. C’est la seconde fois qu’il est ainsi honoré, après sa première victoire en 2020. La cérémonie annuelle est considérée comme la plus prestigieuse remise de prix dans le monde de la musique classique en France et se déroule à Montpellier cette année.
Benjamin Bernheim était dans l’impossibilité d’accepter le prix lui-même, du fait des répétitions en cours pour les représentations de Roméo et Juliette au Metropolitan Opera de New-York, où il chantera le rôle-titre.
Hailed as a “lyric tenor who roars on top with genuinely thrilling, auditorium-filling sound” by the New York Times after his successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera last season, Benjamin Bernheim returns to New York this March to perform what has quickly become one of the tenor’s signature roles, Roméo in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” at the Metropolitan Opera, after performances in Paris, Genève and Zurich in 2023. Under the baton of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Mr. Bernheim, performs alongside Nadine Sierra as Juliette, Samantha Hankey as Stéphano, Will Liverman as Mercutio, Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent, Frederyck Ballentine as Tybalt and Eve Gigliotti as Gertrude in this Barlett Sher’s production.
Performances take place on March 7th, 10th, 15th, 19th, 23rd, 27th & 30th.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
Following his thrilling beginning of the season in Puccini’s “La Rondine” and his Roméo in the eponymous opera by Gounod last season, Benjamin returns to the Opernhaus Zürich to star in Werther by Jules Massenet.
Mr. Bernheim debuted the role to rave reviews in 2022, with Opéra Magazine hailing him as “among the most exceptional” Werthers in the history of the role. Opposite to Rihab Chaieb as Charlotte, Mr. Bernheim will perform in the Tatjana Gürbaca production, under the baton of Giedrė Šlekytė. Sandra Hamaoui performs Sophie, Audun Iversen is Albert, Valeriy Murga is Le Bailli, Martin Sysset is Schmidt, Andrew Moore is Johann, Samson Setu is Brühlmann and Flavia Stricker is Kätchen. Mr. Bernheim performs the role again this season in June at Teatro alla Scala.
Performances take place on January 19th, 23rd, 27th, 31st and February 4th.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
Following his success as Chevalier des Grieux in Manon by Massenet and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette by Gounod, Benjamin Bernheim returns to the stage of Opéra Bastille to sing the leading role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, under the baton of Eun Sun Kim.
In this revival of the iconic Robert Carsen production will see him opposite to Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains, Pretty Yende as Olympia, Rachel Willis-Sorensen as Antonia and Antoine Dennefeld as Giuletta, and Angela Brower as Nicklausse. Mr. Bernheim debuted the role in 2021 at the Staatsoper Hamburg, and the role was captured for a DVD, which is now available. Listen to him sing the aria from this production here.
Performances on November 30th; December 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 15th and 18th.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
After two concerts in Germany and Switzerland this summer, Benjamin Bernheim performs again with pianist Carie-Ann Matheson, this time, in Milan, at Teatro alla Scala where Benjamin makes his recital debut. They will be presenting their program of mélodie and Italian pieces, including works by Chausson, Duparc and Puccini. This is his first performance at La Scala this season, as he will be returning to Milan for Werther. At the end of the month, he will be going to Luxembourg, for a Gala concert, with Les Solistes Européens and Christopher König leading the orchestra, at the Philharmonie. This opera night will feature Donizetti, Puccini, Verdi, Gounod and Massenet.
More information and tickets for the La Scala concert, here.
More information and tickets for Luxembourg Gala concert, here.
Starting his season with a role debut as Ruggero Lastouc, Benjamin Bernheim stars in the new Christof Loy production of Puccini’s opera, opposite Ermonela Jaho as Magda. To complete the cast, the two deceived lovers will be joined by Sandra Hamaoui, Juan Fracisco Gatell, Vladimir Stoyanov and Andrew Moore. This is the first of two productions that Mr. Bernheim stars in this season at Opernhaus Zürich; in January and February he returns for Werther.
Performances on September 17th, 20th, 24th; October 1st, 8th, 13th, 18th, 21st, 28th.
Tickets and additional information can be found here.
This summer, Mr. Bernheim returns to his concert repertoire with a series of recitals in Germany and Switzerland. His first engagement of takes place on July 19th at the Prinzregententheater in Munich, as part of the Munich Opera Festival. He performs a programme of Schubert, Berlioz, Chausson and Duparc alongside his chamber music partner, pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson. The pair then reprise this programme at the Verbier Festival on 24th July, where Mr. Bernheim also partakes in the Gala concert later that evening. To conclude his summer engagements, Mr. Bernheim returns to the Salzburger Festspiele on 19th August to perform a recital with pianist Sarah Tysman.
For tickets and more information on the Prinzregententheater recital, click here.
For tickets and more information on the Verbier Festival recital, click here.
For tickets and more information on the Verbier Festival gala concert, click here.
For tickets and more information on the Salzburger Festspiele recital, click here.
This June at Opéra national de Paris, Mr. Bernheim performs in his second production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette this season, directly following his performances of the role at Opernhaus Zürich. Many critics claimed that he was the perfect fit for the role and Oper Aktuell went as far as to crown the tenor “THE Roméo of our time... His voice seems to know no limits, always remains supple, never narrows in height, and even spreads out. Everything always sounds unforced, sung with great breath, elegant, seamless - simply a dream.” On this occasion, Benjamin shares the stage with Elsa Dreisig as Juliette, Jean Teitgen as Friar Laurent, Maciej Kwaśnikowski as Tybalt, Huw Montague Rendall/Florian Sempey as Mercutio and Laurent Naouri as Count Capulet in this new production by Thomas Jolly, a director known for his daring reinterpretations of Shakespeare's works. Maestro Carlo Rizzi conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra national de Paris.
Mr. Bernhiem will be performing uniquely on June 17th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 29th; July 3rd, 6th, 9th, & 12th.
The opera will be broadcast on France Musique on July 8th at 20h.
For tickets and more information, click here
After a successful run of performances of Eugene Onegin at Opernhaus Zürich, Mr. Bernheim remains in Zürich to perform the role of Romeo in Gounod’s prolific Roméo et Juliette. His debut of this role earlier in the season in Geneva and Montreux was very well received, Forum Opera claimed: “...the role of Romeo is obviously made for this voice so luminous, limpid, elegant, and above all so natural.” In this new production by Ted Huffman, Mr. Bernheim performs alongside Julie Fuchs, who makes her role-debut as Juliette, Brent Michael Smith as Friar Laurent, Omer Kobiljak as Tybalt, Yuriy Hadzetskyy as Mercutio and David Soar as Count Capulet. Maestro Roberto Forés Veses conducts the Philharmonia Zürich and the Chor der Oper Zürich.
Performances take place on April 10th, 13th, 16th, 22nd, 25th, 28th; May 4th, 7th, 13th and 18th. The opening night will be broadcast on ARTE Opera. For more information, click here.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
In between his performances of Lensky in Eugene Onegin at Opernhaus Zürich, Mr. Bernheim returns to Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg for the second time this season to perform a song recital accompanied by Sarah Tysam. This programme, entitled Love and the Sea, features a collection of songs by Henri Duparc, Johannes Brahms and Ernest Chausson, including Chausson’s exceptional Poème de l'amour et de la mer.
The performance takes place on Tuesday 21st February. Tickets and more information can be found here.
This month, Mr. Bernheim returns to Opernhaus Zürich to perform the role of Lensky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Based on the classic Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin, this opera, which premiered in Moscow in 1878, tells a deeply moving tale of love and loss. Mr. Bernheim first sung the role alongside Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva at the Deutsche Oper in 2016. Opera Online praised his performance very highly: “The voice is sublimely warm, the homogeneity of the timbre flawless, but it is even more in the characterization of the character that Bernheim dazzles…” This time, under the baton of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, Mr. Bernheim is joined by Igor Golovatenko as the title role, Ekaterina Sannikova as Tatiana, Liliana Nikiteanu as Larina and Rachael Wilson as Olga. The singers are accompanied by the Philharmonia Zürich and the Chor der Oper Zürich.
The performances take place on February 10th, 16th, 19th, 24th & March 1st. Tickets and more information can be found here.
Following on from his successful debut as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in Switzerland, Mr. Bernheim makes a return to the Wiener Staatsoper to perform the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s esteemed opera, La bohème. His performance at Opéra national de Paris in 2017 was praised by Opera Online who claimed: “the timbre is beautiful, supple, warm but above all the vocal line is remarkably sustained, with an ideal projection, a permanent support which opens the voice towards its higher space and allows him to live in the great hall of the Opéra Bastille, and an intelligence of singing which greatly contributes to the construction of the character, both psychological and vocal.” On this occasion, he performs opposite Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Mimi, Anna Bondarenko as Musetta, Boris Pinkhasovich as Marcello, Peter Kellner as Colline and Stefan Astakhov as Schaunard. Maestra Eun Sun Kim conducts the Wiener Staatsoper’s chorus and orchestra in this Franco Zeffirelli production.
Performances take place on January 19th, 22nd, 25th, 28th and 31st. For tickets and more information, click here.
Listen to Bernheim sing the aria Che gelida manina at the Wiener Staatsoper here.
Benjamin enters into the new year with his highly anticipated role debut as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. This important addition to his French repertoire was originally programmed for the Met, but was cancelled due to Covid. He now makes his debut in two concert performances of the opera in Switzerland. Under the baton of Maestro Marc Leroy-Calatayud, the first concert is held on January 7th at the Auditorium Stravinski in Montreux and the second takes place at the Bâtiment des Forces in Geneva on January 10th. Mr. Bernheim shares the stage with an exceptional young cast, including Sandra Hamaoui as Juliette, Jean Teitgen as Friar Laurent, Thomas Atkins as Tybalt, Philippe-Nicolas Martin as Mercutio and Jean-Sébastien Bou as Count Capulet. The singers are accompanied by the Geneva Chamber Orchestra and the Vocal Ensemble of Lausanne. The production is in collaboration with the Haute école de musique de Genève-Neuchâtel. Mr. Bernheim performs the role later in the season at the Opernhaus Zürich and Opéra national de Paris in two fully staged productions.
Click here for tickets and information about the performance in Montreux on January 7th.
Click here for tickets and information about the performance in Geneva on January 10th.
Benjamin makes a return to Oper Frankfurt for his final performance of the year. Accompanied by pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson, the pair perform a recital of German Lieder and French Mélodie by Brahms, Schumann, Duparc, and Chausson.
The concert takes place on December 20th at the opera house.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
This month, Benjamin returns to Europe for a ‘Showcase Concert’ at the Saarländisches Staatstheater in Germany on December 17th. The programme includes arias and duets by Richard Wagner, Jules Massenet, Georges Bizet, Gaetano Donizetti, Charles Gounod, Peter Tchaikovsky and Giuseppe Verdi. Benjamin is joined by special guests soprano Olga Yelinkova and baritone Peter Schoene. Maestro Sébastien Rouland conducts the Saarländisches Staatsorchester.
The concert takes place at 7.30pm in the Großes Haus. Tickets and more information can be found here.
After a successful Rigoletto at the Wiener Staatsoper, Benjamin continues his performance of the Duke of Mantua, but this time at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, marking his house debut. His recent performance in Vienna was praised by Wiener Zeitung who claimed: ‘the 37-year-old Frenchman shines with inspiring, rich power and clarity during his role debut as a duke in the revival of Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto" at the State Opera.’ On this occasion, under the baton of Maestra Speranza Scappucci, Benjamin is joined by Rosa Feola as Gilda, Aigul Akhmetshina as Maddalena, Quinn Kelsey, as the title role, Rigoletto, and Andrea Mastroni as Sparafucile.
Performances are set for November 10th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 26th, 29th; December 3rd & 8th.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
Benjamin makes a return to the Wiener Staatsoper to perform the role of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto this autumn. His performance of the role last season at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, which marked his house debut, was praised by Opera Online:
“The French tenor’s voice is beautiful, and he possesses the appropriate level of squillo for the character, moving between the warmth of the lyric tenor and the transparency of the leggero tenor.”
This time, he shares the stage with Simon Keenlyside as Rigoletto, Erin Morley as Gilda, Evgeny Solodovnikov as Sparafucile, and Monika Bohinec as Maddalena. Maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts this tragic yet riveting opera. Performances will take place on October 1st, 4th, 8th, and 11th.
Tickets and more information can be found here.
The tenor returns to the Wiener Staatsoper later this season for Rodolfo in La Bohème in January.
After a successful concert at the Opera national du Rhin earlier in the month, Benjamin returns to the Staatsoper Hamburg, for the first time since his house debut last season, to perform the role of Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon. Mr. Bernheim’s interpretation of the role at Opéra national de Paris earlier this year was hailed by Concert Classic as “perfect”: “No fault, never, neither in his style, nor in his onsets, nor in his diction, nor in his acting: his singing is a lesson, a model, a moment of pure beauty.” Benjamin also recorded Des Grieux’s “ En fermant les yeux” from the opera on his debut album with Deutsche Grammophon. On this occasion, under the baton of Maestro Nicolas Andre, Mr. Bernheim shares the stage with young soprano Elbenita Kajtazi as Manon Lescaut, Alexey Bogdanchikov as Monsieur de Brétigny, William Schwinghammer as Le comte des Grieux, and Kartal Karagedik as Lescaut.
Listen to Bernheim sing the aria Instant charmant … En fermant les yeux (Le rêve) live at the Yellow Lounge in 2019 in Berlin here.
Click the link for tickets and more information.
On September 9th, Mr Bernheim commences his new season with a house debut at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. He performs Verdi’s Requiem alongside esteemed colleagues Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano), Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano), and Ain Anger (bass). Maestro Aziz Shokhakimov conducts the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, Chœur de l'Opéra national du Rhin, and the Chœur de la Philharmonie de Brno.
Benjamin performs the role of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor for the third time this season, this time at the Salzburger Festspiele. A role that he debuted at the Wiener Staatsoper in April, this season’s performances are the culmination of years of work on the role, including in the recording studio as he recorded Edgardo’s aria on his first solo album with Deutsche Grammophon 2019.
This month, Benjamin Bernheim hosts a special four episode radio show on France Musique: Profession : Ténor. As the title suggests, Benjamin speaks about what a career as a tenor is like, sharing personal anecdotes along with music that has impacted him as an artist. Listen to the episodes every Sunday at 16:00 on France Musique, or as a podcast (available now) here.
/ FR
Benjamin Bernheim nous dévoile les secrets et les coulisses du métier de chanteur. Bienvenue dans le monde de l'opéra au 21e siècle !
Tous les dimanches en août à 16:00 sur France Musique, ou en podcast ici.
After a successful run of performances as the title role in Faust at the Opéra national de Paris, Mr. Bernheim makes his debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, performing a recital entitled ‘The Poet’s Love’ on July 22nd.
Mr. Bernheim sings the title role in Gounod’s masterpiece, Faust at the Opéra national de Paris this June and July. The Tobias Kratzer production was created last season, and broadcast with an empty theater due to Covid restrictions. This season, he returns to sing the role - which was called his ‘best role’ by Operawire who claimed: “his ability to create the vocal and theatrical challenge together, constitutes an absolute success…a true miracle of emission and mixed emotion” - for a live audience. Maestro Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the Orchestre and Choeurs of the Opéra national de Paris, and Mr. Bernheim is joined by Angel Blue as Marguerite, Christian Van Horn as Méphistophélès and Florian Sempey as Valentin. Performances of this tragic love story expressed through Gounod’s soaring melodies will take place on June 28th and July 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, and 13th.
Listen to Benjamin's recording "Salut! demeure chaste et pure" on his debut album.
Watch the trailer for the production here.
Tickets and additional information can be found here.
Mr. Bernheim returns to the Opernhaus Zurich, where his international career began in the Zurich Opera Studio, to perform the role of Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor shortly after a successful debut of the role at the Wiener Staatsoper last month. Andrea Sanguineti conducts Zurich Philharmonia, accompanying this all-star cast, which includes; Lisetta Oropesa as Lucia, with whom Mr. Bernheim recently shared the stage in Vienna, Massimo Cavalletti as Enrico Ashton, Andrew Owens as Lord Arthur Bucklaw, Vitaliy Kovalyov as Raimondo Bidebent, Roswitha Christina Mueller as Alisa, and Iain Milne as Norman. Performances of this revival of Tatjana Gürbaca's production will take place on May 22nd, 26th, 29th, and June 4th and 12th.
After a successful role debut as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Wiener Staatsoper, Mr. Bernheim returns to Paris to perform a recital at the Amphithéâtre de Bastille, a hall located in Opéra Bastille. Accompanied by vocal coach in residence at the Paris Opera Academy, pianist, Felix Ramos, Benjamin performs pieces from his latest album 'Boulevard des Italiens' which was recorded with Deutsche Grammophon. Part of the initiative “Opéra pour tous,” this event is free, but requires a reservation. The recital, which takes place on 5th May, includes a commentary and discussion on the album with Alexandre Dratwicki, artistic director of the Palazzetto Bru Zane - a collaborator on the album.
For more information and tickets, click here.
You can listen to his album here.
© Edouard Brane
Mr. Bernheim makes his third role debut of the season as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at the Wiener Staatsoper. While this marks his role debut, the tenor has been praised for his ‘disarming sincerity’ (TheClassicReview) for his performance in another Donizetti role at the Wiener Staatsoper, Nemorino in Elisir d’Amore. Benjamin has been preparing for this debut for many years, as he worked privately and recorded Edgardo’s aria on his first solo album with Deutsche Grammophon 2019.
In Vienna, the opera is conducted by Maestro Evelino Pidò, and Mr. Bernheim is joined by George Petean as Enrico, Lisette Oropesa as Lucia, Josh Lovell as Arturo and Roberto Tagliavini as Raimondo. Performances of this tragic love story will take place on April 16th, 19th, 24th, and 29th.
Listen to Benjamin sing Tombe degli avi mie on his debut album.
Tickets and additional information can be found here.
On February 23rd, following a performance of Manon at Opéra national de Paris, Mr. Bernheim was honored as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. An honor given to those that have “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance,” Mr. Bernheim was officially selected to receive this honor at the end of 2021 by the Minister of Culture.
Upon receiving the honor, Mr. Bernheim commented:
“I am honored to receive this symbol of recognition for my work. Being able to sing French repertoire at operatic institutions like the Opéra national de Paris has not only been a dream come true, but an honor. I am grateful to be able to serve this music that I feel deserves to have a prominent place in the operatic repertoire today. Thank you to those that have helped or supported me, and to the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot.”
FR
Le 23 février, après une représentation de Manon à l’Opéra national de Paris, M. Bernheim a été décoré Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. Cet honneur est accordé à ceux qui ont « contribué de manière significative à l’enrichissement du patrimoine culturel français ». M. Bernheim a été officiellement sélectionné pour recevoir cette distinction à la fin de l’année 2021.
” C’est un honneur pour moi de recevoir ce symbole de reconnaissance de mon travail. Pouvoir chanter le répertoire français dans des institutions lyriques comme l’Opéra national de Paris est non seulement un rêve devenu réalité, mais aussi un honneur. Je suis reconnaissant de pouvoir servir cette musique qui, selon moi, mérite d’avoir une place de choix dans le répertoire lyrique d’aujourd’hui. Merci à ceux qui m’ont aidé ou soutenu, et à la ministre de la Culture, Roselyne Bachelot.”