📅 9 October 🕒 17:30 🍷 Drinks & Canapés 📍 Luxury Villa Sainte-Maxime, France

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Carmen's Last Dance: Bizet, Bohemians & La Belle Epoque

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Date

9 October 2026

Time

17:30

Drinks & Canapés

Free-flowing drinks and delicious food

Location

Luxury Villa Sainte-Maxime, France

World-Class Artists

7 internationally acclaimed performers

Opera & Song Gala

Paris, 1875. Opera will never be the same.

An evening of passion, scandal and irresistible French music, performed by an outstanding international cast of six singers and a virtuoso pianist.

From Bizet to Poulenc

A journey through the French stage, with music by Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, Fauré, Debussy and Poulenc.

Champagne & Dinner

Begin the evening with champagne and gourmet canapés, with the option to continue afterwards with an elegant buffet dinner at the villa.

An Intimate Riviera Setting

Experience world-class voices just feet away in a private villa overlooking the Bay of Saint-Tropez.

About The Evening

The glamour of Paris. The intimacy of a private salon.

This second evening of our four-day Sainte-Maxime series looks to the Parisian stage at a moment of extraordinary artistic change. In 1875, Bizet’s Carmen shocked its first audiences and went on to become one of the most celebrated operas ever written.

The programme moves through the music of Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, Fauré, Debussy and Poulenc — composers who defined generations of French opera and song, from sweeping romance and theatrical drama to elegance, wit and modernity.

Performed by six international singers and a virtuoso pianist in the intimate surroundings of the villa, the evening brings the scale and emotion of the opera house into a setting where every voice, gesture and expression can be experienced at close range.

“Parisian glamour, operatic scandal and some of the most irresistible music ever written for the French stage — experienced just feet from the performers.”

The Programme

Event Programme

17:30

Drinks with a view

18:30

Concert

Music by

Programme Highlights

Bizet Gounod Massenet Fauré Debussy Poulenc

Meet the Artists

Pavel Timofeyevsky

Piano

Virtuoso pianist, composer for film and the concert stage, arranger and lecturer, Pavel Timofeyevsky has received numerous prizes and accolades, including the BBC/Guardian Young Composer of the Year award. Pavel has appeared at nearly all the major concert venues across the UK. Concert tours, along with television and radio appearances in other parts of the world include the USA, China, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Latvia, Greece, Cyprus and India.

Iúnó Connolly

Soprano

Soprano Iúnó Connolly has performed at major venues including the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, and the Philharmonie de Paris, and has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. A prize winner at the 2023 Concorso Voci Nuove per La Lirica G. Fraschini and recipient of the Elena Gehardt Lieder Prize, she trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Academy of Music, and studies with Maestro Antonio Lemmo.

Emma Roberts

Mezzo-soprano

Emma Roberts is a mezzo-soprano and graduate of the Royal College of Music International Opera School, currently associated with leading programmes including Orsay-Royaumont Académie. An award-winning singer, she has performed roles with companies such as Welsh National Opera and Garsington Opera, and appeared in recitals at venues including Wigmore Hall. Upcoming engagements include the title roles in The Rape of Lucretia (2026) and Carmen (2026).

Matthew Curtis

Tenor

British tenor Matthew Curtis is a rising young artist and 2025 semifinalist in the prestigious Paris Opera Competition. A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music with a Master’s from the Royal College of Music, he is currently a Young Artist with Opera Prelude. Recent highlights include Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Hampstead Garden Opera, part of the Offie Award-winning production, as well as performances with Glyndebourne, Opera North, British Youth Opera, Nevill Holt Opera, and the Buxton International Opera Festival.

Tim Alexander

Baritone

Tim Alexander is a British baritone known for his work in Mozart, Puccini and Verdi repertoire, trained at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has performed roles such as Don Giovanni, Marcello, and Guglielmo, and appeared with companies including Dorset Opera and at the BBC Proms. Upcoming engagements include Escamillo in Carmen (2026) and Conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro for the Da Ponte Opera Festival.

Catherine Hooper

Soprano

Catherine Hooper is a Kiwi-British soprano and graduate of the Royal College of Music, with further studies at the Universities of Cambridge and St Andrews. A prizewinner at the 2025 Joan Sutherland Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award, she has performed leading roles with companies including Devon Opera and OperaUpClose, and is a former member of the Glyndebourne Chorus. She appears regularly in opera, concert and recital repertoire in the UK and internationally.

Meriel Cunningham

mezzo-soprano

Meriel Cunningham is a British mezzo-soprano and singing actor based in London. Praised for her captivating stage presence, she is rapidly gaining recognition for both her vocal and dramatic ability, with critics commending her exceptional comedic timing and rich mezzo-soprano tone. Recent career highlights include a “standout” performance as Rosina in Charles Court Opera’s acclaimed production of The Barber of Seville and a nomination for Best Opera Performance at OffWestEnd’s 2024 Offie Awards. A graduate of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Meriel continues to study with John Evans.