Bernard Richter

Biography

One of the leading tenors of his generation, Bernard Richter’s engagements in the current seasons include his return to the Grand Théâtre de Genève in the title role of La clemenza di Tito and his debut at the Bolshoi in Moscow as Lurciano in Ariodante. Recent international appearances include Mozart’s Requiem and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at Verbier Festival, Grimaldo (Rodelinda) at Dutch National Opera Amsterdam. 

As a regular guest at La Scala, he sang there the title role of Schubert’s opera Fierrabras, Belfiore (La finta Giardiniera), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and the title role of Idomeneo, which he also sang at the Vienna State Opera. Other recent international appearances include Beethoven IX with the Vienna Symphony under the baton of Philippe Jordan, Die Schöpfung at the Verbier Festival, Don Ottavio with the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo under Paavo Järvi and his debut at the Teatro Real Madrid in the title role of La clemenza di Tito.

In the role of Pelléas he appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, the Opéra National de Lyon and with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Further appearances have included Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Hylas (Les Troyens), Don Ottavio, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Froh (Das Rheingold) at Opéra National de Paris, Tamino at the Salzburg Festival, Jaquino (Fidelio) at Verbier Festival, Don Ottavio and Le Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des carmélites) at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Castor (Castor and Pollux) with the Ensemble Pygmalion, Des Grieux (Manon) and Camille de Rossillon (Die Lustige Witwe) at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tito at the Opéra national de Lorraine, Orphée (Orphée aux Enfers) at the Lausanne Opera and the title role in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Atys and Alphonse de Monza in Ferdinand Hérold’s Zampa with Les Arts Florissants at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

A regular guest at the Viennese Theater an der Wien his performances there have included Erik (Der fliegende Holländer, available on DVD), Bénédict, Don Ottavio, Medoro (Orlando Paladino) and Ecclitico (Il Mondo della Luna, available on DVD). Furthermore he sang Paris (La Belle Hélène) and Fritz (La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein) at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Don Ottavio and the titel role in Johann Christian Bach’s Lucio Silla at the Zürich Opera House and Ferrando (Così fan tutte) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. At the Theater Freiburg he appeared in the title roles of Mozart’s Idomeneo, Lucio Silla and Mitridate.

Bernard Richter is also an acclaimed concert singer. He has sung with the Berliner Symphoniker, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg, with Les Musiciens du Louvre at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, with the RAI National Symphony Orchestra and with Severiges Radios Symfoniorkester in Stockholm. Concert engagements led him to Salle Gaveau de Paris, Tonhalle Zürich, to the styriarte Graz, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Accademia di Santa Cecilia and to the Konzerthaus Vienna.
He also sang Tamino and Mozart’s Requiem with the Budapest Festival Orchestra on tour to London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bruges and Baden-Baden.

Bernard Richter has worked with conductors such as Philippe Jordan, Daniel Harding, William Christie, Adam Fischer, Kent Nagano, Marc Minkowski, Jeffrey Tate, Ivor Bolton, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Fabio Luisi, Sir Neville Marriner, Sylvain Cambreling, Asher Fisch, Peter Schneider, Iván Fischer and Raphaël Pichon and stage directors such as Laurent Pelly, Christof Loy, Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Keith Warner, Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau, Jean-Marie Villégier, Christophe Honoré, Zabou Breitman and Kasper Holten.

Bernard Richter was born in Neuchâtel in Switzerland. He studied singing in his home town and was a member of the Opera Studio Bienne.