Benjamin Bernheim: A Masterful Journey Through French Mélodie
/By Truman C. Wang
11/12/2024
photo credit: https://www.benjaminbernheim.com/
On Saturday, November 9, famed French baritone Benjamin Bernheim made his West Coast debut at the Wallis in Beverly Hills, in a spellbinding recital of French art songs. The evening opened with Gounod's "L'absent," which Mr. Bernheim delivered with pristine diction and a warmly burnished timbre; his phrasing showed remarkable breath control and emotion conviction, capturing the song’s inherent longing.
These fine qualities revealed themselves again and again, in the songs that followed: Hahn's "L'heure exquise" ended with an ethereal sustained pianissimo on the word ‘exquise’; Chausson's monumental "Poème de l'amour et de la mer” showcased Bernheim's dramatic capabilities, conveying dark passion, soulful reflection and intense climax all while maintaining a beautiful lyrical tone.
After the intermission, we heard a varied selection of French songs. Berlioz's "Les nuits d'été” was notable for its elegant legato line and haunting beauty ("Le spectre de la rose"), the desolation of love lost ("Sur les lagunes”), and playful, crystalline high notes ("L'île inconnue", matched note for note by the sparkling piano.)
The Duparc songs ("L'invitation au voyage", “Extase”, “Phidylé") again heard Mr. Bernheim spinning off long phrases with seemingly endless breath. "Phidylé" was particularly memorable for its sensuous treatment of both text and melody. The remaining songs are lighter and more popular: Kosma's "Les feuilles mortes" was melancholy but unsentimental; Trenet's "Douce France" brought a touch of sweet nostalgia; Brel's "Quand on n'a que l'amour" provided a rousing finale to the main program.
Mr. Bernheim sang an operatic encore, “Pourquoi me réveiller” from Massenet’s Werther, in a powerful, shattering rendition that made me eager to hear him again, in an opera house
Pianist Carrie-Ann Matheson was an ideal partner, holding the listeners rapt with her virtuoso, detailed and, at times, whimsical playing. In the poignant final stanza ‘Et toi, que fais-tu?’ of Chausson’s “La mort de l'amour,” the pianist and singer melded their tones and lines together in complete harmony; it was a thing of great beauty. Mr. Bernheim spoke to the audience in clear, elegant English, noting Beverly Hills as the first stop in his multi-city concert tour, ending in Paris on November 24.
Truman C. Wang is Editor-in-Chief of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, other Southern California publications, as well as the Hawaiian Chinese Daily. He studied Integrative Biology and Music at U.C. Berkeley.