With a degree from Supelec (the senior institute of electrical studies), Christian Helmer began studying voice and decided to set his sights on the lyrical arts. He made his career debut performing several key roles including Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) and the title role in Don Giovanni at the Antibes Festival as well as Le Bret in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, alongside Plácido Domingo, first at the Théâtre du Châtelet and then at the Teatro Real in Madrid. In Le Dernier Jour d’un condamné, he sang the role of Le Friauche, alongside Roberto Alagna his stage cellmate. He has also made guest appearances at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Orbazzano in Tancredi and Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda). His other roles include Colline (La Bohème) and Escamillo (Carmen). Christian Helmer has also performed at numerous international venues including Gelsenkirchen and Nuremberg (Le Comte Ory, La Bohème, Otello, Donizetti’s L’Assedio di Calais, L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Dublin (Don Giovanni), Madrid, Amsterdam (Iphigénie en Aulide), Bari (the role of Pietro in Portici’s La Muette) and the Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon (in a Chorégies d’Orange production of La Bohème). More recently, at the Paris Opera, he sang the roles of Panthée (Les Troyens), Baron Douphol (La Traviata) and the Marquis of Granville in the world premiere production of Luca Francesconi’s Trompe‑la‑Mort. He also appeared as Chambellan in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Lille Opera, King Herod (Hérodiade) at the Saint‑Étienne Opera, Charles-Simon Favart (Madame Favart) at the Opéra Comique, Limoges and Caen, and Count Capulet (Roméo et Juliette) at the Bordeaux Opera.

Christian HelmerBaritone