Benjamin Bernheim’s Royal Opera House Debut Met with Praise

Mr. Bernheim made his highly anticipated Royal Opera House debut on October 6th, staring as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème. The new production by Richard Jones was set it in the traditional time period and setting, yet a cast young stars on the cusp of major, international careers gave the show an updated, fresh appeal.

Coinciding with his debut, the International New York Times featured Mr. Bernheim, highlighting his current breakthrough season. Indeed, 2017/2018 is noteworthy for this young, French tenor: he makes his role debut as Alfredo in La Traviata, makes house debuts at the Royal Opera House and the Wiener Staatsoper, and sings at the Opéra National de Paris and Lyric Opera of Chicago, in addition to other prominent international houses.

Opera Traveller decided to post a full review of the production, and included this high praise in the online article:

“Bernheim gave us a glorious Rodolfo.  Right from his opening entry, his bright, well-placed tenor ringing out, it was immediately clear that we were in for something very special indeed.  His isn’t the biggest voice but it carries wonderfully, seemingly floating on air throughout the auditorium.  It is absolutely even from top to bottom – as he sang through ‘che gelida manina’ the voice took wing, drawing those ‘castelli in aria’, opening up in seemingly unlimited, unblemished beauty and rising to a fabulously full and even high C.  He found poetry in the text too – he made the text live, always using it as a starting point for his phrasing and used dynamics intelligently to create a rounded character.  The heartbreak he felt at the close wasepalpable.  Bernheim is a very major talent.”

You can read the full review here.

French Opera site Olyrix also reviewed the show, and appreciated Mr. Bernheim’s performance, commenting:

“Son timbre chaud transmet parfaitement les premiers élans amoureux de Rodolfo. Il tâtonne à la recherche des clés de la couturière mais sa voix reste assurée, sa ligne vocale constamment articulée. Les voix de Benjamin Bernheim et de la soprano Nicole Car se répondent harmonieusement au moment d’O Soave Fanciulla,il en est de même pour tous leurs duos, auxquels le public applaudit chaleureusement.”

You can read the full article here.

Mr. Bernheim's next engagement is a reprisal of the role of Rodolfo in another new production of La bohème, this time directed by Claus Guth at the Opéra de Paris. (Performances the 18th, 21st, 23rd, 26th, 29th, and 31st of December)