Acclaimed in the German press for her “phenomenal coloratura-technique and superior high register”, soprano Valerie Bernhardt’s voice has also been praised for her “molten mezzo quality and lovely high range” by the Washington Post.
Recently, Valerie was pleased make her debut with the Lyric Opera of Rochester, reprising the role of Victoria Woodhull in Victoria Bond’s Mrs. President.
Ms. Bernhardt’s 2014-2015 season saw her join the Lyric Opera of Chicago where she covered the role of Elisabeth in its production of Tannhäuser. During the 2013-14 season, she reprised the role of Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco with ArtsNaples World Festival/Opera Naples, sang the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Coro Lirico in Morristown, NJ, and was the soprano soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum with the New Jersey Symphony at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark NJ.
During the 2012-2013 season, she made her debut with Anchorage Opera in the World Premiere of Victoria Bond’s opera, Mrs. President. She portrayed the title role of Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for the U.S. Presidency in 1872. Valerie also sang the role of Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in concert with New York Lyric Opera Theater.
The 2011-2012 season brought Valerie back to Boheme Opera NJ in Trenton to perform the title role of Tosca, and a reprise of her performance of the title role of Turandot with Coro Lirico in Basking Ridge, NJ. She also returned to Carnegie Hall to perform Mozart’s Requiem with the St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra in a memorial tribute to the late David Randolph.
In 2009-2010, Valerie appeared on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, as a cover in From the House of the Dead by Janácek and sang the title role of Aida with Coro Lirico. In 2008-2009 Valerie sang the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner’s Siegfried with New Jersey Concert Opera, Abigaille in Nabucco and Turandot with Coro Lirico, and Tosca with Opera at Florham. Ms. Bernhardt also made her German operatic debut in July 2009 as Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco with Theater Pforzheim.
She made her Carnegie Hall debut with Eve Queler's Opera Orchestra of New York in Donizetti's Adelia, as well as her New York City Opera debut in Janácek's The Cunning Little Vixen. Other operatic roles include Mimi in Puccini's La bohème with the Pittsburgh Opera and Boheme Opera of New Jersey; Valentine in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico; Hélène in Verdi's Jerusalem with the Opera Orchestra of New York; the First Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with The New York City Opera and Pittsburgh Opera. Ms. Bernhardt has covered the role of Desdemona in Verdi's Otello and the title role of Anna Bolena with Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall. She also made several appearances at Carnegie Hall with the St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra to perform Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, Mozart's Requiem, and C.P.E. Bach's Magnificat.
Ms. Bernhardt has earned two graduate degrees in voice from The Juilliard School, and has trained at the opera programs at Chautauqua, Aspen, The Pittsburgh Opera Center, and the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program. Valerie was a participant in the Wagner Emerging Singers Program founded by the late Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart under the auspices of the Wagner Society of Washington, DC.
Valerie has distinguished herself in various competitions, including the 2007 Liederkranz Foundation Competition (3rd Prize, Wagner Division) as well as the Palm Beach Vocal Competition, and Opera at Florham Vocal Competition, and has won career grants from The Wagner Society of Washington, DC, The Wagner Society of New York, Opera Index, and The Sullivan Foundation.
