Biography
Arnaud Bernard (b. 1966) studied at the Conservatoire National in Strasbourg, and from 1986–1987 was a violinist in the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1988, the year in which he became an assistant to the renowned director, Nicolas Joël, he has devoted himself to stage directing. In 1989, he obtained an engagement with the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. He has since then worked as assistant director at a number of other opera houses, both in France (Nancy, Lyons, Strasbourg, Nice, Paris, Montpellier, Bordeaux), and internationally (Germany, Belgium, U.K., Argentina, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, U.S.A., Japan, China). As assistant to Nicolas Joël, he also worked for some of the world´s most prestigious opera houses, including London’s Covent Garden, New York´s Metropolitan Opera, Milan’s La Scala, Paris’ Opéra Bastille, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Since 1993, Arnaud Bernard has had to his credit more than 25 renewed premieres of Nicolas Joël’s original productions in France and on the international circuit, including among others the stagings of Roméo et Juliette at Covent Garden, and Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera. Following his appointment in 1996 deputy principal stage director and head of production at the Théâtre du Capitole, he made his debut as stage director with a production of Falstaff for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, after which ensued productions of Il Trovatore and Il barbiere di Siviglia at Toulouse. In 1999, he directed a production of Roméo et Juliette at the Chicago Lyric Opera, with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu in the title parts. In 2001, he was signed under a new staging of L´elisir d´amore at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, whose premiere featured Marcelo Alvarez making his debut there as Nemorino. In 2002, Arnaud Bernard made a new production of Puccini's Il trittico for the opera house of Nantes, and contributed to the summer festival at Martina Franca, Italy, his creation of Meyerbeer´s Les Huguénots. Back at Toulouse, he presented the renewed premiere of his staging of Il barbiere di Siviglia, featuring Sonia Ganassi and Roberto Frontali. In 2003, he directed Werther for the Martina Franca Festival, Roméo et Juliette in Tokyo, and Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor for the Nantes opera house. The 2004/05 season brought the premieres of his stagings of Luisa Miller at the National Reiseopera in the Netherlands; L'elisir d´amore at Saint-Etienne; Roméo et Juliette at the Beijing Music Festival; Le roi de Lahore at Venice´s Teatro La Fenice; La bohème at the Arena of Verona; and Rigoletto at Lausanne. His recent projects have included new productions of Luisa Miller at La Fenice; Falstaff at Naples´ Teatro San Carlo, and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; Rigoletto at Marseilles; Cavalleria rusticana at the Festival in St-Gallen; Carmen at Helsinki; and The Queen of Spades at Toulouse; plus renewed productions of La bohème at Verona; Lakmé in Tokyo; and Manon at Vilnius. In Prague, he staged La traviata at the State Opera Prague and Tosca at the National Theatre.