2018/19 Season Announced
Mr. Bernheim has just announced his 2018/19 season, which brings him to La Scala, The Royal Opera House in London, and the Wiener Staatsoper among others. He opens his season at the Opernhaus Zürich with one of his signature roles, Rodolfo, in Puccini’s La bohème on September 29th. He reprises this beloved role later in the season at the Wiener Staatsoper, in November, in the famed Zeffirelli production. Alfredo in Verdi’s La traviata is a central part of his 2018/19 season, with productions at the La Scala and The Royal Opera House in London. Mr. Bernheim performs in two other Verdi pieces in this upcoming season: Verdi’s Requiem, and Nabucco. The Requiem will be performed just once, on October 23rd, conducted by Maestro Pappano, and Nabucco brings a close to Mr. Bernheim’s season at the Opernhaus Zürich in June and July 2019. After having made his house debut at the Wiener Staatsoper this past season, Mr. Bernheim returns for a total of three roles: Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Rodolfo in La bohème, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. While Mr. Bernheim returns to several of his most celebrated roles, he makes an exciting role debut as Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at the Opéra national de Bordeaux in the spring of 2019. Conducted by Marc Minkowski, the production is by Olivier Py. Mr. Bernheim's complete schedule, including additional details, is available here.
Mr. Bernheim's 2017/18 season began in Berlin at the Deutsche Oper with his role debut as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata, a role he would sing a total of three times during the season, including at the Staatsoper Berlin and Opernhaus Zürich. Rodolfo in La bohème was the next role he tackled, performing the role in two opera houses: first at the Royal Opera House in London, and next in Paris at the Opéra national de Paris. The Claus Guth production in Paris caused waves in the opera world, as it was set in space; Mr. Bernheim was universally praised for his stellar performance. Opera Online commented:
"Aujourd’hui, Benjamin Bernheim est assurément à l’aube d’une grande carrière : les plus grandes maisons s’intéressent à lui, son répertoire se diversifie sans s’alourdir prématurément, sa présence en scène s’affine, tout fait qu’on doit profiter de cette Bohème parisienne pour le découvrir (ou le retrouver) !”
Following the conclusion of this run in Paris, he sang a solo recital at Opéra national de Bordeaux, which was broadcast by Medici.tv. His house debut at the Wiener Staatsoper was next, with his role debut as Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore providing the vehicle for this occasion. Yet another debut was next, this time in North America at the Lyric Opera Chicago. There, he sang the title role in a new production of Faust. The Chicago Tribune enthused, "Bernheim sounded very much like the major French lyric tenor the opera world is longing for."
Returning to his native France, a recital at the Philharmonie de Paris was Mr. Bernheim's next engagement, as he performed in concert with soprano Olga Peretyatko. The 1859 version of Faust was another important engagement in Paris in Mr. Bernheim's 2017/18 season. This rarely performed version was met with great excitement when performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in June 2018.
