Carmen's Last Dance: One Hour Opera
Drinks & Canapés
Free-flowing drinks and delicious food
Location
Luxury Villa Sainte-Maxime, France
World-Class Artists
10 internationally acclaimed performers
The Programme
Event Programme
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jure Smirnov Oštir
Violin
Violinist Jure Smirnov Oštir is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied with Levon Chilingirian and Remus Azoitei. An award-winning soloist, he has performed at leading venues including Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields, and appeared with ensembles including the London Sinfonietta, English Chamber Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. A former London Philharmonic Orchestra Foyle Future Firsts artist, Jure has performed extensively across Europe and studied in masterclasses with distinguished musicians including Maxim Vengerov and James Ehnes.
