Bernadette Johns is a British-French mezzo-soprano and member of the 2023-25 opera studio at the Opéra national du Rhin. 

In the 24/25 season Bernadette sings La Mère in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Deuxième fille des pâturages in Peer Gynt and Flora Bervoix in La Traviata. Concert appearances at the Opéra national du Rhin include as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Les Noces by Stravinsky, and in recitals Haendel et ses contemporains, Un réve de méditerranée and Le monde enchanté de Lehár. 

In the 23/24 season Bernadette made her main stage debut at the Opéra national du Rhin in Danser Schubert au XXIème siècle. She performed the role of Madame Hucklebee in a new French production of Les Fantasticks and covered Mallika in Lakmé. In the UK she performed Brahms Alto Rhapsody with the Thames Philharmonic Choir at Cadogan Hall and Vivaldi Gloria and Dan Forrest Requiem for the Living with Putney Choral Society.

During the 22/23 season Bernadette covered the title role in Arminio at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She was an Alvarez Young Artist at Garsington Opera, singing in the chorus and covering Ludmila in The Bartered Bride, performing the role for the OperaFirst school show. She made her Waterperry Opera Festival debut as Dido in Dido and Aeneas and in Acis and Galatea. In concert, Bernadette sang Handel Messiah with Nevill Holt Opera, Eboracum Baroque and Choir of the 21st Century, Purcell Come Ye Sons of Art and Rutter Feel the Spirit with Southampton Choral Society, and Haydn Theresienmesse and Vivaldi Magnificat with Harrow Philharmonic.

In July 2022 Bernadette made her professional debut as Carmen at Longborough Festival Opera. She went on to sing Spell for Sex in Spell Book by Freya Waley-Cohen and Second Lady in La liberazione di Ruggiero by Francesca Caccini in Longborough’s Young Artist production. 

Bernadette was a member of Royal Academy Opera from 2020-2022, singing Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, Tirinto in Imeneo, Concepción in L’heure espagnole, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Maman in L’enfant et les sortilèges and covering Dorabella in Così fan tutte. 

In concert, Bernadette has performed at Wigmore Hall, Leeds Lieder Festival and Oxford International Song Festival. During her studies she was a Bach Scholar, appearing as soloist in concerts such as St Matthew Passion with Trevor Pinnock, B Minor Mass with Masaaki Suzuki, BWV106 ‘Actus Tragicus’ with Philippe Herreweghe and BWV54 ‘Widerstehe doch der Sünde’ with Rachel Podger. 

Bernadette was a finalist in the Bicentenary Prize at Wigmore Hall in 2022. She won Second Prize (2021) and the Song Prize (2019) in the Richard Lewis Award, Second Prize in the Joan Chisell Schumann Prize, and was a Sybil Tutton Opera Award holder. She won the HRH Princess Alice Duchess of Gloucester Award for Exemplary Studentship in 2021. 

Biography not to be reproduced without permission.