Internationally-renowned French tenor Benjamin Bernheim has taken centre stage at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics, delighting the crowds at the Stade de France and a huge global TV audience with his rendition of a brand-new version of Fauré’s Hymne à Apollon (“Hymn to Apollo”).
Bernheim performed the song from the centre of a giant Olympic ring while a grand piano was suspended vertically in mid-air overhead. He was dressed in a Dior Men’s couture suit and derbies by Kim Jones, and adorned with a couture cape through a collaborative design by Kevin Germanier. The entire outfit was bespoke for the occasion.
Commenting on the event, Benjamin Bernheim said, “It has been a huge inspiration to see the achievements of these extraordinary athletes taking part in the Olympic Games. It is made extra special because I see Paris, my home, at the centre of it. I feel incredibly honoured to have been a part of the closing ceremony and to have shared this rarely performed work by Fauré with a global audience.”
The Hymne à Apollon has a historic association with the Olympics. In 1893, French archaeologists working in the ruins of Delphi discovered an ancient song inscribed on stone tablets. A year later, Fauré took the melody and created a harmonised version which was performed during the First Olympic Congress, the meeting at which Baron de Coubertin instigated the revival of the Olympic Games. Yet it had never actually been performed at the Olympics before now. The new version for voice and piano was created especially for the 2024 closing ceremony by composer Victor Le Masne, Musical Director of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Benjamin Bernheim now travels from Paris to Salzburg for a return to one of his signature roles, giving six performances as Hoffmann in French director Mariame Clément’s new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Salzburg Festival (13-30 August). The 16 August performance will be livestreamed on ARTE, with a first showing on DG’s STAGE+ on 24 August.
Later this month, Bernheim releases his new Deutsche Grammophon album, Douce France – Mélodies & Chansons (out 30 August). This is his first solo song album and presents some of the many treasures of French vocal music. Recorded with his regular duo partner, Carrie-Ann Matheson, it couples 19th-century mélodies by Berlioz, Chausson and Duparc with 20th-century chansons by Brel, Kosma and Trenet. Two singles have already been released – listen here.
After Salzburg, Benjamin Bernheim reprises the role of Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, New York (24 September-18 October). He will give recitals featuring repertoire from Douce France in Los Angeles (9 November), Vienna (14 November), Prague (19 November), Paris (24 November) and Monte Carlo (9 February 2025). The New Year also sees him sing the title role in Massenet’s Werther at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (March/April), Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Vienna Staatsoper (May) and Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at the Paris Opéra (May/June).
About Benjamin Bernheim
Born in Paris and brought up in Geneva, Benjamin Bernheim is one of the leading tenors of the new generation of singers. Acclaimed for his interpretations of the great lyric tenor roles of Puccini, Verdi, Donizetti, Gounod, Massenet and more, he is in constant demand at the world’s most prestigious opera houses. He is renowned both for his masterful acting skills and for his flawless diction, striking expressive breadth and extensive tonal variety. Having signed an exclusive long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon in 2019, he released his eponymous debut album later that year, with Boulevard des Italiens following in 2022. The current season has seen him star as Ruggero in Puccini’s La rondine (a role debut) and as Massenet’s Werther at the Opernhaus Zürich; as Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Paris Opéra; as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; and again as Werther at La Scala, Milan. Benjamin Bernheim was decorated as Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture in February 2022. He is a brand ambassador for Rolex.
