Swiss born Bernard Richter is one of the leading tenors of his generation. Before moving to the Biel Opera Studio, where his international career took off, he studied singing in his hometown Neuchâtel. Since then he has appeared at the most important opera houses and festivals in major important roles of his fach.

Recent highlights were Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande) in Tokyo, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) at La Scala in Milan, his Royal Opera House debut as Tamino (Zauberflöte) and a new production of Ariodante at the Bolshoi in Moscow, where he could be heard as Lurciano.

Further important engagement were Grimoaldo (Rodelinda) at De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Belfiore (La finta Giardiniera), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and the title roles of Idomeneo and Schuberts Fierrabras at La Scala. He has also been invited to sing Idomeneo at the Vienna State Opera and made his debut at the eatro Real Madrid in the title role of La clemenza di Tito.

One of the most important roles in his repertoire is Pelléas. Bernard Richter has performed this role at the Vienna State Opera, the Teatr Wielki Warsaw, the Opéra de Lyon and with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He has sung Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Hylas (Les Troyens), Don Ottavio, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Froh (Das Rheingold) at the Opéra National de Paris, Tamino at the Salzburg Festival, Jaquino (Fidelio) at the Verbier Festival, Don Ottavio and Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des carmélites) at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Castor (Castor et Pollux) with the Pygmalion Ensemble, Des Grieux (Manon) and Camille de Rossillon (The Merry Widow) at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Titus at the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, Orphée (Orphée aux Enfers) at the Opéra de Lausanne as well as Alphonse de Monza in Ferdinand Hérold’s Zampa and in the title role in Lully’s Atys with Les Arts Florissants at the Paris Opéra-Comique. Bernard Richter is also a regular guest at the Theater an der Wien, where he has appeared in roles such as Erik (Der fliegende Holländer, released on DVD), Bénédict (Béatrice et Bénédict), Don Ottavio, Medoro (Orlando Paladino) and Ecclitico (Il mondo della luna, released on DVD). At the Théâtre du Châtelet he took on the roles of Paris (La Belle Hélène) and Fritz (La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein), Don Ottavio and the title role in Johann Christian Bach’s Lucio Silla he sang at the Zurich Opera House, Ferrando (Così fan tutte) at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the title roles in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Lucio Silla and Mitridate at the Freiburg Theatre.

In addition to his work on the opera stages, Bernard Richter is also a sought-after concert singer. Most recently he was heard in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung under the baton of Zubin Mehta at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, in Madrid he sang Beethoven’s Mass in C major under the baton of William Christie and with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony he was heard in St. Petersburg under the baton of Teodor Currentzis. Other important concert engagements from the past include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Philippe Jordan, Die Schöpfung at the Verbier Festival and Don Ottavio with the NHK Orchestra under Paavo Järvi in Tokyo, as well as appearances with the Musiciens du Louvre at the Salzburg Festival Whitsun

He works regularly with leading orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai and the Severiges Radios Symfoniorkester in Stockholm, and has appeared on major concert stages such as the Salle Gaveau de Paris, the Tonhalle Zurich, the styriarte Graz, the Gewandhaus Leipzig, the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the Konzerthaus Vienna. With the Budapest Festival Orchestra he has appeared as Tamino and in Mozart’s Requiem in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bruges and Baden-Baden.

In both his opera and concert engagements, Bernard Richter regularly works with the most important conductors of our time, including 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, Peter Schneider, Iván Fischer and Raphaël Pichon, as well as with directors such as Laurent Pelly, Christof Loy, Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Keith Warner, Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau, Jean-Marie Villégier, Christophe Honoré, Zabou Breitman and Kasper Holten.

The 2022/23 season sees him in a new production of Dialogues des Carmelites at the Vienna State Opera and in various concerts under the baton of Daniele Gatti in Rome and Turin.

In spring 2024 he will be on stage at the Hamburg State Opera in a new production of La Clemenza di Tito in the title role.