Bernard has performed and understudied principal operatic roles for Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, The State Opera of South Australia, the West Australian Opera Company, Canterbury Opera (Christchurch New Zealand), Co*Opera and Operatif.

After singing in a number of operas as a chorister for The State Opera of South Australia, and The Australian Opera, Bernard began his principal operatic career when he took up a cadetship with The State Opera of South Australia in 1986. During that year, he performed in a number of the company’s productions and understudied several leading tenor roles.

In 1987 Bernard was a resident tenor with The Western Australian Opera Company, taking and understudying principal roles in a number of their productions. During that year, he was awarded a study grant from The Australia Council through the ABC Young Performers’ Awards which allowed him to undertake intensive vocal training in the United Kingdom.

Since returning to Australia in 1988, he has been a freelance artist, performing and understudying many leading tenor roles for various companies around Australia and in New Zealand.

Bernard made his Opera Australia stage debut on July 18 2009 at the Sydney Opera House in the role of Radames in Graeme Murphy's production of Verdi's "Aida".

Roles performed:

• Cassio in G. Verdi's Otello
• First Jew in R. Strauss' Salome
• Maestro Trabucco in Verdi's La Forza del Destino
• Radames in Verdi's Aida;
• Pang in Puccini's Turandot;
• Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco;
• The title role in Rossini’s Count Ory;
• Hoffmann in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann;
• Orpheus in Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice;
• B. F. Pinkerton in Puccini's Madam Butterfly;
• L'Incredibile in Giordano's Andrea Chénier;
• Tybalt in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette;
• Arturo and Normanno in Donizzetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor;
• Dr Caius in Verdi’s Falstaff;
• Ferrando in W.A.Mozart's Cosi fan tutte;
• Laertes in A. Thomas’ Mignon;
• Gaston in Verdi’s la Traviata;
• The First Priest in Mozart’s Magic Flute;
• The First Knight in Wagner's Parsifal;
• Don Bazilio and Don Curzio in Mozart’s La Nozze di Figaro;
• Charlie in Kurt Weil’s Mahagonny Songspiel;
• Reemus in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha
• Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia
• A Page in Verdi’s Macbeth
• The Mayor in The Happy Princess
• A Sailor in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
• Wensel in F. Smetana’s The Bartered Bride
• Ralph Rackstraw in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore
• The Duke of Dunstable in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience
• Colonel Fairfax in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard
• Mr Octopus in Professor Kobalt and the Catfish that Cried

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Roles understudied:

• Naraboth (Salome)
• Captain Ahab (Moby Dick - by Jake Heggie)
• Radames (Aida)
• Werther (Werther)
• Calaph (Turandot);
• Andrea Chénier (Andrea Chénier);
• Roméo (Roméo et Juliette);
• Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor);
• Cavaradossi (Tosca);
• Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana);
• Manrico (Il Trovatore);
• Eisenstein (die Fledermaus);
• Froh (Das Reingold);
• Tamino (Die Zauberflöte);
• Macduff (Macbeth);
• Count Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia);
• Lindoro (L’Italiana in Algeri);
• Wilhelm Meister (Mignon)