Benjamin Bernheim studied with Gary Magby at the conservatory in Lausanne. In 2008 he joined the opera studio of Zurich Opera, becoming a member of the company in 2010. In recent seasons, he has established himself as one of today’s leading tenors.
Highlights of his career to date include Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) at the Hamburg State Opera; the title role of Gounod’s Faust at the Paris Opéra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Latvian National Opera; Rodolfo (La bohème) in Paris, Zurich, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and at the Berlin and Vienna State Operas; Des Grieux (Manon) in Paris and in Bordeaux; Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) in Zurich and Vienna; the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and at the Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Lensky (Eugene Onegin) at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; the title role in Werther in Bordeaux; and Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) in Vienna. He has sung the role of Alfredo (La traviata) at La Scala, Milan, Covent Garden, in Zurich, at the Dresden Semperoper, in Bordeaux, and at the Deutsche Oper and State Opera in Berlin.
He has performed in concerts and recitals at the Salzburg Festival, in Bordeaux and Zurich, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the concert hall La Grange au Lac in Neuvecelle, the Philharmonie de Luxembourg, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, and as part of the concert series L’instant lyrique in Paris, among other appearances. His concert repertory extends from Mendelssohn’s Elijah to Verdi’s Requiem and on to Puccini’s Messa di Gloria.
In 2022/23 Benjamin Bernheim made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua, and his role debut as Roméo (Roméo et Juliette), first in concert with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and later in staged productions in Zurich and Paris. Other engagements in the season included the Duke and Rodolfo in Vienna, Lensky in Zurich, Des Grieux in Hamburg, his debut at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, where he was heard in Verdi’s Requiem, and a recital in the Prinzregententheater as part of the Munich Opera Festival.
In 2020 he was named Opera Singer of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique, Musical Personality of the Year by the French Critics’ Association and Best Singer at the Oper! Awards; he also received an Opus Klassik award as Newcomer of the Year.
Benjamin Bernheim is an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. In 2019 he released his debut album, which was awarded a Diapason d’Or. The solo album Boulevard des Italiens followed in 2022. He can also be heard as Faust in a recording of Gounod’s opera under Christophe Rousset, released by Palazzetto Bru Zane in 2019.
