(Photo Credit: Julia Wesely)

On April 21, Benjamin Bernheim makes his return to New York City. The famed tenor, who last performed in the Big Apple in the September 2024 production of “Les Contes d’Hoffmann,” will take to the stage at Alice Tully Hall alongside long-time collaborator Carrie-Ann Matheson to present a recital program featuring works by Duparc, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Gounod, Donizetti, Pizzetti, Puccini, Trenet, Kosma, and Jacques Brel. The program has already made stops in Washington D.C., Princeton, and Saint Guillaume.

Bernheim, who has performed at the major opera stages around the world including Opéra national de Paris, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Wiener Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Opera House in London, spoke with OperaWire about the recital and his upcoming projects including his upcoming Verdi Requiem tour alongside a cast of superstars conductor Daniele Gatti.

OperaWire: This is your New York City recital debut. What does this event mean for you? What excites you most about performing in New York? 

Benjamin Bernheim: First of all, I love NY and I’ve had a great time in this amazing city over the past years. There were some very special debuts at the Met that truly marked me artistically, but there is also something in NY like no other place in the world: the energy and the intensity of this city makes one feel like they are in the center of the world. A first recital in this city is really special, really unique. There’s no other place like it – it’s the meeting point of every performing art form imaginable !

OW: Tell me about the recital program and the overall thematic / narrative experience you want audiences to take away from it. 

BB: We wanted the program to bring as many colors and facets as possible for the audience. A strictly melodies-and-lieder program would have missed that sense of “grandiose” of the opera repertoire, and an only-opera-arias version would have left out the magic and intimacy that melodies and songs bring. Therefore we built a journey through both worlds of melodies and arias in French, Italian, a bit of Russian, and even three more popular songs that Carrie-Ann and I recorded on our album ”Douce France” with Deutsche Grammophon. I know its a daunting task today, but I hope that we all fight to bring back the simplicity of the music and voice as something that inspires people in its own right.

OW: You have already performed this program in Princeton, Washington D.C., and Saint Guillaume. How did those individual experiences shape the program, and will those experiences provide you with as you bring it to New York?

BB: All were really special experiences, but Princeton was very unique. Singing in the beautiful hall where scholars give lectures felt like I was singing at the crossroads between the world of science and the world of the arts. Washington was a bit more chaotic due to the last minute change of venue, so I hope to comeback in the future to meet the audience again in a more peaceful setting. And the church Saint-Guillaume in Strasbourg was a beautiful discovery of the company ”Passions Croisées,” led by two passionate men who bring art there in all its forms to life. They perform full operas with organ and clavecin, recitals with incredible artists, full symphonies with choir and orchestras. Performing there with Carrie-Ann was pure joy.

OW: You have a long-standing partnership with Carrie-Anne Matheson. What makes her the ideal partner? How has your musical relationship with her helped you develop and grow as an artist?

BB: Carrie-Ann and I met in Zurich 12 years ago. I was beginning my last year in the ensemble at the Opernhaus Zürich when we all heard that a new vocal coach and pianist was coming from the Met. We had a first coaching to prepare a concert with orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi on Bernstein and Gerschwin music. The first contact was hilarious because we both realized that her coming from North America and me being European had totally opposite ways of communicating and working. We still laugh about it, but this difference has actually become one of our strengths, and its led to a trusting collaboration along the years. Carrie-Ann prepared me for my first Rodolfo in “La Bohème,” my first Lenski in “Eugene Onegin,” and later on we started the journey with recitals, leading to even recording a full album together. I truly love making music with her for many reasons, but one of the most intimate ones: I feel allowed to make mistakes (musically and vocally). It is a level of trust and freedom that isn’t found everywhere – and i think it has made us both evolve and grow significantly over the the past years.

OW: You are also set to embark on a Verdi Requiem tour with Danielle Gatti, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Elina Garanca, Eleonora Buratto, and Riccardo Zannelatto. How does Verdi’s Requiem speak to you personally, artistically, musically?

BB: The Verdi requiem is a masterpiece of powerful and solemn music. I made my debut years ago with [Antonio] Pappano in London in this piece – it’s certainly grown in my voice and emotional system since. The Requiem to me is so many things at once: a prayer and a music of high intensity that is really spectacular, and of course it’s an honor to sing this incredible music that is ”Ingemisco.” But more than anything it’s also a responsibility: to sing of someone’s memory, of someone’s passing.  It’s another kind of storytelling that goes even deeper somehow.

OW: What excites you most about performing alongside this group of notable artists? What previous experiences have you had with them?

BB: Well, these are extremely high-level artists and I never take it for granted to be surrounded with such talented people. But ladies first! It will be the first time on stage for me with Elīna Garanča and I really look forward to it – she’s very inspiring. Eleonora Buratto and I sang two “Bohèmes” together pre-pandemic, and we actually have some more beautiful projects together in the future. Ricardo Zanellato and I have been on stage many times during my Zürich-ensemble years; Daniele Gatti, too! So it’s always great to encounter familiar faces, and I’m very excited to feel the energy and intensity of all these great artists together, performing in such incredible halls in Europe.

OW: Looking into the coming season, what are some projects that you are most excited about?

BB: The 2026-27 season will be a new adventure for me with new roles  and some challenges with two new ones that have been long awaited – Cavaradossi in “Tosca” at the Berlin State Opera and Don José in “Carmen” at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. These are two roles, two musical scores that are traveling with me everywhere and keeping me awake a lot as their music is getting engraved in my mind and memory!

And it’s also a season to discover new halls and cities: Helsinki, Gstaad, Bremen for concerts; my debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in the fall; back to Monte Carlo for a concert version of “Carmen;” and also in Rome for a beautiful project with orchestra  and maybe a third major role to add in the summer. I am excited for everything, but particularly for the new roles because it’s a new facet of my voice and temperament that I’m exploring.

OW: Best of luck with the recital.

BB: I truly am happy and looking forward to meet the audience in NY in a context that will allow me to present a fuller version of me as an artist. No costume, no set, no wigs – no “opera singer.” Just me. Bringing a solo recital for vocalist requires courage, but I believe in our art form and I believe in the magic of live, intimate performance. So see you soon, New York!