Opera gala – L’amourBenjamin Bernheim & Sandra Hamaoui

Benjamin Bernheim – tenor
Sandra Hamaoui – soprano
Prague Philharmonia
Nicolas André – conductor

French tenor Benjamin Bernheim literally dazzled Prague during his first performance on 19^th November 2024. He didn't even sing any opera hits, but fragile, lyrical, intimate compositions by French masters of the song repertoire! „It was an Encounter with Perfection," wrote a reviewer on the KlasikaPlus website. Benjamin received a standing ovation! It also seems that it was an instant mutual love; during the encores, Benjamin Bernheim addressed the enthusiastic audience by saying that this concert was the beginning of a promising relationship between him and the Czech audience – a relationship that will certainly develop further in the coming years. Naturally, such a publicly stated promise cannot remain unanswered. So, here comes a new date! In a year, in November 2025, Benjamin will return to Prague, this time with the French-American soprano and his life partner Sandra Hamaoui.

Let us recall that Benjamin Bernheim was also invited to participate at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on 11^th August 2024, when he performed the Hymn of Apollo, a famous song by the French composer Gabriel Fauré, in front of 71,500 spectators and millions of viewers on television. And he was also invited to another magnificent national celebration: at the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on 7^th December 2024, he sang Schubert's Ave Maria accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

Benjamin, whose performances are desired in La Scala in Milan, Opéra national de Paris, Vienna State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Royal Opera in London, Metropolitan Opera in New York, etc., will be heard during this season at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris (Werther), Vienna State Opera (Romeo and Juliet) and Opéra national de Paris (Manon) and on concert stages in Tokyo (Bunka Kaikan), Munich (Prinzregententheater), Vienna (Konzerthaus), etc.

In the 2023/24 season, Sandra Hamaoui made her debut in several important roles: as Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, as Lisette in La Rondine and as Sophie in Werther at the Zurich Opera. On her home stage, the Zurich Opera, she appeared as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nanette in Falstaff, etc. In March 2025, she will return to the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées as Sophie in Werther while the main character will be played and sung by Benjamin Bernheim.

The main theme of this concert is L'Amour = Love and we will hear the most beautiful love scenes from French and Italian opera. It will be an evening to remember.

www.benjaminbernheim.com
www.sandrahamaoui.com
www.prgphil.cz

Benjamin Bernheim enjoys creating stories of love, passion, jealousy, and suffering from his operatic programs. He divided his Prague program into three acts, capturing the genesis of love, and added his own short annotations.

LES VOIX DU DÉSIR – From Innocence to Ecstasy to Ruin

Act I: Awakening & Longing

Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880)
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN
Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour "Barcarolle"
(instrumental version)

Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
L’amour, l’amour (Roméo)
Young, mutual infatuation – romance begins.
Benjamin Bernheim

Georges Bizet (1838–1875)
LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES
De mon amie, fleur endormie – Leïla! Léïla! Dieu puissant, le voilà! (Nadir & Leïla)
The lovers’ secret, shimmering and mysterious.
Benjamin Bernheim & Sandra Hamaoui

Georges Bizet
CARMEN
Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante (Micaëla)
A brave heart offers purity amidst chaos.
Sandra Hamaoui

Jules Massenet (1842–1912)
MANON
En fermant les yeux (Des Grieux)
A soft, wistful dream of love – sets a reflective tone.
Benjamin Bernheim

Act II: Passion, Temptation & Despair

Jules Massenet
MANON
Prélude, Act II

Je marche sur tous les chemins – Obéissons quand leur voix appelle (Manon)
Manon in her glittering prime – flirtation, ambition.
Sandra Hamaoui

Georges Bizet
CARMEN
La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Don José)
Don José’s tortured devotion spirals.
Benjamin Bernheim

LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN
C'est une chanson d'amour (Hoffmann & Antonia)
Tenderness meets tragic foreboding.
Benjamin Bernheim & Sandra Hamaoui

Interval

Act III: Farewell, Forgiveness & Transcendence

Charles Gounod
ROMÉO ET JULIETTE
Prologue

Va! Je t’ai pardonné (Juliette & Roméo)
Forgiveness in the face of death – shimmering and noble.
Sandra Hamaoui & Benjamin Bernheim

LES PÊCHEURS DE PERLES
Je crois entendre encore (Nadir)
Quiet memory, emotional fragility.
Benjamin Bernheim

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864)
ROBERT LE DIABLE
Roberto, toi que j’aime (Isabella)
A passionate cry – a pleading for grace. 
Sandra Hamaoui

Jules Massenet
WERTHER
Pourquoi me réveiller (Werther)
One final outpouring of doomed love.
Benjamin Bernheim

Program is subject to change