There is something uniquely special about attending a recital at Victoria Hall — the intimacy, the acoustics, the warm Geneva audience… and when the evening is led by Benjamin Bernheim, one of today’s most refined French tenors, you know you’re in for a treat. Especially 24h after the Requiem Verdi, in the same room!
This recital, organized by Les Grands Interprètes (CAECILIA), offered a beautifully hybrid program: a mix of French mélodies, operatic arias, Puccini’s rarely heard poems and songs, and even a touch of chanson française. It was the kind of program that allows a singer to show not only his voice, but his personality, culture, humor, and sensibility — all things Benjamin Bernheim excels at.
From the very first piece, there was that unmistakable Bernheim timbre: luminous, elegant, perfectly supported, and always at home in the French repertoire. Anything in the orbit of Werther, Roméo et Juliette, or Faust suits him naturally — and he delivered exactly the kind of phrasing and emotional intelligence that makes him one of the great French tenors of his generation.
One of the surprises of the evening was hearing him in Don José’s aria La fleur que tu m’avais jetée. It’s a role he hasn’t fully grown into yet — you can still sense that this repertoire needs a little more fire, more danger, more desperation — but it’s always exciting to hear a singer stretch into a new color.
The Puccini songs were some of my favorite moments of the recital. They’re rarely performed, full of poetry and intimacy, and Benjamin sang them with warmth and sincerity, beautifully supported by Carrie-Ann Matheson, who played with sensitivity, balance, and an instinctive understanding of the tenor’s phrasing.
What made the evening truly charming was the way Bernheim spoke to the audience — a lot, and with so much ease. As a Franco-Genevan who grew up between Geneva and Lausanne, he was clearly at home, thanking many people in the hall, sharing anecdotes, and creating a real closeness with the public. It felt like a conversation as much as a concert.
And then came the bis — and what a bis.
“Lève-toi, soleil!” from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, one of his signature roles. The hall froze. The phrasing, the glow in the high notes, the sheer elegance — this was Bernheim exactly where he shines the most. A perfect way to close the recital, and the kind of moment that makes you want to stand up and scream “encore”.
A beautiful evening, beautifully curated, beautifully sung.
Bravo to Benjamin Bernheim, Carrie-Ann Matheson, and Les Grands Interprètes for bringing such artistry to Geneva.
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Programme
Georges Bizet
« Je crois entendre encore » (extrait de « Les Pêcheurs de perles »)
Henri Duparc
« L’invitation au voyage » (poème de Charles Baudelaire)
« Chanson triste » (poème de Jean Lahor)
« La vie antérieure » (poème de Charles Baudelaire)
« Phidylé » (poème de Charles de Lisle)
Ernest Chausson
Interlude de « Poème de l’amour et de la mer » (piano solo)
Piotr Ilitch Tchaïkovski
« Kuda, kuda » – extrait de « Eugène Onéguine »
Jules Massenet
« Pourquoi me réveiller » – extrait de « Werther »
Georges Bizet
« La fleur que tu m’avais jetée » – extrait de « Carmen »
Giacomo Puccini
« Mentìa l’avviso » (poème de Felice Romani)
« Terra e mare » (poème d’Enrico Panzacchi)
« Sole e amore »
« Morire »
Joseph Kosma
« Les feuilles mortes » (poème de Jacques Prévert)
Charles Trenet
«Douce France»
Jacques Brel
«Quand on n’a que l’amour»
