Benjamin Bernheim is a young French tenor who was raised in Geneva and trained at the Lausanne Conservatory. He joined the Young Artists Program at the Zurich Opera and recently has made Debuts in London, Milan, and Chicago. He has a beautiful lyric tenor that seems ideal for the great French tenor roles – the lyric ones like Romeo and Des Grieux, not Don Jose which would be a real stretch for him at this point in his burgeoning career, though he performs the final duet from Carmen very well in concert. The mezzo is Aude Extrémo. In the Italian repertory Rodolfo in Boheme and Alfredo in Traviata seem very well suited for his lyric instrument.
There aren’t a lot of examples of his singing available right now, but given the ascendent slope of his career arc there will doubtless be many more in the near future.
He recently sang Rodolfo at the Royal Opera House and has another performance as Puccini’s impoverished poet coming up this month at the same venue. This performance of Che gelida manina is from his first go at the opera in Zurich.
The Italian Tenor’s Aria is from a run of Der Rosenkavalier at La Scala in 2016. Ah! fuyez, douce image is from the same recital as the Carmen duet linked above. It’s a very sensitive and refined reading that is almost impossible for a non native Francophone to achieve. Finally, Ah, lève toi soleil from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette is equally lovely and idiomatic.
A tenor on the rise. Keep your eyes and ears out for this young man and as with all tenors fingers crossed.
Gorgeous voice. Fine phrasing and control. I can think of so many roles I’d like to hear him sing.
How could this be better??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJk335lTESs
Bernheim also had some advice by Nello Santi, a conductor who has worked with some of the greatest singers of all time.