Benjamin Bernheim


Benjamin Bernheim is a lyric French tenor known for his interpretation of Italian and French roles.

Education

Born in Paris, Benjamin Bernheim grew up in Geneva, where he studied violin and piano, before starting singing lessons at age 10 at the local conservatory. At age 18, he began his studies at the HEM Lausanne Conservatory, under the tutelage of Gary Magby. Following the completion of his studies, he was accepted into the Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich for the 2008/2009 season.

Career

Bernheim joined the Opernhaus Zürich troupe in 2010, where he was engaged to perform in myriad productions, including: Emmanuele in the world premiere of  Marc-André Dalbavie's Gesualdo, directed by Patrice Caurier et Moshe Leiser.
In 2012, he made his Salzburg Festival debut as Agenore in Il re pastore by Mozart in the concert version of the opera, conducted by William Christie. Between 2012 and 2015 he added multiple roles to his repertoire, most notedly: Cassio , Narraboth, Tebaldo, Matteo, Tamino, Spakos, and Eginhard. He also made his debut at the Opéra national de Bordeaux, Semperoper Dresden and the Whitsun and Summer Festival in Salzburg.
The 2015/16 season marked a turning point in his career, as he began making his debut in leading tenor roles at opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. His repertoire now includes: Rodolfo in La Bohème, Des Grieux , Alfredo in La traviata, title role in Faust, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Verdi's Requiem, Puccini's Messa di Gloria, and Lenski in Eugene Onegin. He is now a frequent guest of the Opernhaus Zürich, the Royal Opera House in London, the Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper, the Semperoper Dresden, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Opéra national de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opera national de Bordeaux, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Whitsun Festival in Salzburg and Salzburger Festspiele.
Bernheim's 2018/2019 season began with La Boheme at the Zurich Opera House where he sang Rofolfo, a role he reprised at the Vienna State Opera. This was followed by Tamino in The Magic Flute directly afterwards. Other performances included La Traviata at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan and the Opéra national de Paris. He also made his role debut as Des Grieux in Manon at the Opéra national de Bordeaux. His second role debut of the season was Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco at the Zurich Opera House. In concert Bernheim performed Puccini's Messa di Gloria with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano and at the Wiener Staatsoper celebration commemorating 150 Years Vienna State Opera being on the Ring.
In his 2019/20 season, he makes his role debut as Il Duca di Mantova at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Rodolfo at the Staatsoper Berlin, Opéra national de Paris and Bayerische Staatsoper, Alfredo at the Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin and Opéra national de Paris , Des Grieux at the Opéra national de Paris and concerts at the Opéra national de Bordeaux, La Grange au Lac and Opernhaus Zürich.
He signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2018, and his debut album, recorded with the PKF prague philharmonia, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume was released on November 8th, 2019.
In 2020 he was named "Artiste Lyrique de l'année" at Les Victoires de la Musique Classique in France.

Recordings