Marie-Stéphane Bernard

Marie-Stéphane Bernard was born and raised in Paris where she studied violin and song. In order to complete her musical education, she moved to the home of opera, Italy. She graduated there from the venerable Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome. To further hone her skills, she attended master classes by Alfredo Krauss and Suzanne Danco, Rome, Virginia Zeani in Bloomington, Indiana, USA, and with Gabriel Bacquier and Christiane Patard in Paris. 

“Marie-Stéphane Bernard is blessed with a great voice, an excellent technique and exceptional musicality. She is also an excellent actrice” (Landa Ketoff in La Repubblica, Italy).

Her stellar international career began with performances in prestigious opera houses: Teatro del'Opera di Roma, La Fenice in Venice, Reggio di Torino,  Massimo in Palermo, Opera Comique and Theâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Capitole of Toulouse,  Opera la Comedie in Montpellier, Opera in Marseille, Opera in Nice, Musikverein Golden Hall and Konzerthaus Vienna, Opera Leipzig,  Kennedy Center Washington DC, Opera Memphis TN,  Benjing Opera, Shanghai Opera, Opera Hong Kong, Suntory Hall Tokyo…

She sang Carmen in Carmen by G. Bizet, Tosca in Tosca by G. Puccini, Giulietta Tales of Hoffmann by J. Offenbach, Musetta in La Boheme by G. Puccini, Waldnymph in Rusalka by A. Dvoràk, Echo in Ariadne on Naxos by R. Strauss, Jenny in Three Penny Opera by K. Weill, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana by P. Mascagni, Erigone the Virgin and La Voix Seule in Martyrdom Of Saint Sebastian by C. Debussy, Métella in La Vie Parisienne, Périchole in  La Périchole, Princess Hermia in Blue Beard, Ernestine in Monsieur Choufleuri, Ciboulette in  Mesdames de la Halle by J. Offenbach, Lisa in the Land of Smiles and Hanna Glawari in the Merry Widow by F. Lehàr.

She created the role of the Duchess of Alba, in the Goya world premiere by the French composer Jean Prodromidès in the opera houses in Montpellier and Marseille, directed by P. Ionesco and conducted by C. Schnitzler.

Marie-Stéphane Bernard sang under the batons of Michel Plasson, John Nelson, Michiyoshi Inoue, Marcello Viotti, Richard Hickox, Giuseppe Grazioli, Frederic Chaslin, Ernst Ottensammer, Claude Schnitzler, Gérard Daguerre, Dominique Trottein, Ben Makino and under the directions of Pierre Luigi Pizzi, Jérôme Savary, David Poutney, Pietrika Ionesco, Nicolas Joel, Bernard Pisani and Ned Canty.

 Marie-Stéphane Bernard performed concerts such as Mozart's Arias, Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's 9th Symphony Stabat Mater by Pergolesi and Rossini, Brahms's Requiem, La Voix Humaine by F. Poulenc, Verdi's Requiem and the premiere of Hydas's Requiem.

The award winning movie, stage and opera director Werner Schroeter invited her to perform in Poussières d'Amour, a film about the Opera world, with Anita Cerquetti, Martha Mödl and Rita Gorr.  

She is invited by Opera Memphis to sing the Concepçion in “L’Heure Espagnole” by M. Ravel and the Marcellina in “The Marriage of Figaro” by Mozart directed by Ned Canty and conducted by Ben Makino.

Her discography includes the XIVth Symphony of Shostakovich directed by R. Hayrabedian (Opus 111), Goya La Duchesse d'Albe by Jean Prodromidès directed by C. Schnitzler (Radio France), and Mozart’s Arias with the Wiener Mozart Orchester, directed by E. Ottensammer.

Her following around the world continues to grow. She shares her art and produces and performs French Chansons with orchestras in Europe and in the USA.