Carmen — Maria Soler
Born in 2000 in Andorra, Maria Soler began her studies at the Conservatori d’Andorra before continuing her vocal training in France, at the Conservatoire de Saint-Maur and then the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris in the class of Chantal Mathias. On stage, she has performed Orpheus (Orfeo ed Euridice) at the Théâtre de Saint-Maur, Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the ClassicAnd festival with the Dresdner Festspielorchester, and Public Opinion (Orphée aux Enfers, Offenbach) in March 2026, a production with the Philharmonie de Paris staged by Ludovic Lagarde and conducted by Mathieu Romano. A prizewinner of the Balaguer International Singing Competition, she has worked with tenor José Carreras and performed with the Andorran National Orchestra. Upcoming projects include the alto solos of Bach’s Magnificat with the Mirandela orchestra (May 2026) and excerpts from Porgy and Bess at the Andorra Jazz Festival (July 2026).

Don José — Klajdi Karaj
An Albanian lyric tenor from Tirana, Klajdi Karaj began his training there with Kastriot Tusha. Now based in Paris, he studied at the École normale de musique de Paris – Alfred Cortot with Jean-Philippe Courtis and Genc Tukiçi, then at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris in the class of Leontina Vaduva. He trained in stagecraft with Mireille Larroche, received coaching from Ermonela Jaho, and is continuing his training this year at the Centre d’art lyrique de la Méditerranée (CALM) in Nice. He sang Don José (Carmen) in 2024 and 2025 at the Festival Opéra de Bastide and took part in Billy Budd (Opéra de Lyon) and Les Vêpres siciliennes (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence). In summer 2026 he reprises Don José at the Escales Lyriques (Île d’Yeu) under Paul-Émile Fourny, before taking the title role of Les Contes d’Hoffmann in November 2026. Winner of several first prizes (Royal Mass 2023, Opus Artis 2024, Swiss International 2025), he is preparing Werther and Alfredo (La Traviata).

Escamillo — Shoya Kono
Born in Hokkaido, Japan, Shoya Kono earned a bachelor’s degree in trumpet and then a master’s in voice at the Kunitachi College of Music in Tokyo. He continued his studies in France, where he obtained the Artist Diploma in voice with the jury’s congratulations at the École normale de musique de Paris – Alfred Cortot, before further training at the CRR de Boulogne-Billancourt. He studied with Anne Constantin, François Le Roux, Kei Fukui and Shingo Sudo, and trained in stagecraft with Mireille Larroche and at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Massy. On stage he has performed the title role of Don Giovanni, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Marcello (La Bohème), Silvio (Pagliacci) and Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette). As a soloist he has sung Handel’s Messiah, Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle and Tomasi’s Requiem pour la paix (Orchestre de la Garde républicaine, 2025). A laureate of the Fondation Menda (2023), he has won prizes at the Maîtres du Chant (André Messager prize) and Clés d’Or competitions.

Micaëla — Laurynn Favières
Born and raised in Guadeloupe, Laurynn Favières discovered classical singing there at the age of twelve. In 2019 she moved to Paris, where she pursued a bachelor’s degree in literature at the Sorbonne while joining the class of Xavier Le Maréchal. In 2025 she first approached the role of Micaëla (Carmen) in a lyric workshop at the CMA12, then joined the Opéra de Massy academy directed by David Stern, singing in the chorus of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles. That same year, a finalist of the Maîtres du Chant competition, she performed the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) at the CMA11 lyric workshop and the title role of Offenbach’s Pomme d’api at the CMA6. A laureate of the Concours des Grandes Voix lyriques d’Afrique, she received a masterclass with Florian Sempey as part of the prize.

Frasquita — Lucile Lou Gaier
A coloratura soprano with a light, agile voice and a passion for theatre, Lucile Lou Gaier first trained on piano and then double bass before earning her master’s in lyric singing at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles in 2023. She is currently studying with Elsa Levy in Paris. She has performed at the Opéra de Metz in La Rondine (Bianca and Gabriella, 2024) and Salomé (the Slave, 2024), at the Opéra de Reims in the Befor’ and Caf’conc’ concerts (2025–2026), and at the Escales Lyriques in Madama Butterfly (2024). In January 2024 she founded the company Les Plaisirs de Melpomène, which produces Les Contes délyriques and Offenbach’s Pomme d’api, in which she sings the title role. She regularly collaborates with the Musique sacrée choir at Notre-Dame de Paris (Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri) and will be a guest of the Amiens Baroque Chamber Orchestra for a Handel programme in December 2025.

Mercedes — Solène Nancy
A mezzo-soprano with a rich and eclectic background, Solène Nancy combines solid classical training with an openness to contemporary and current music. Trained by Corinne Sertillange and Hélène Obadia, she completed her master’s at the HEMU in Lausanne in the classes of Leontina Vaduva and Marina Viotti. On stage she has performed Papagena and the Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Thiérette (Les Aventures du roi Pausole, Honegger), Blanche (Barbe-Bleue, Offenbach) and the Zweite Mädchen (Der Zwerg, Zemlinsky) at the Opéra de Lausanne, where she will sing Countess Ceprano (Rigoletto) in June 2026. Committed to contemporary creation, she has sung the contralto role in Tom Johnson’s Four Note Opera and took part in the premiere of Gérard Pesson’s Tout sur la musique. Since 2020 she has also sung and composed within the pop-folk band ChapVert.

Le Dancaïre — Paul-Louis Barlet
Paul-Louis discovered singing at the choir school of the Cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay, his home town. At eighteen he joined Virginie Pochon’s class at the École nationale de musique de Villeurbanne, then Pierre Ribémont’s at the Conservatoire régional de Lyon, where he earned his DEM in lyric singing. In 2022 he entered the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris (classes of Frédéric Gindraux and Anne Le Bozec), then, in 2025, the Schubert class of the Académie Jaroussky and the Académie Favart of the Opéra-Comique. On stage he has performed Count Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro, CNSMDP, cond. Paul Daniel, dir. Mariame Clément), the Sacristan (Tosca), the Husband (Les Mamelles de Tirésias) and Brühlmann (Werther, cond. Raphaël Pichon, Opéra-Comique, 2026). A passionate oratorio singer, he has sung the Requiems of Fauré, Mozart and Dvořák and Carmina Burana. In a duo with pianist Pierre Venissac, he won the Grand Prix of the Gordes International Mélodie Competition in 2025.

Le Remendado — Cyril Drancourt
Cyril Drancourt, 31, discovered singing four years ago, and his passion soon proved a true vocation. He trained for a year at the Conservatoire de Cambrai with Aurélia Legay, who recognised in him a natural talent and a striking stage presence. He then passed, by unanimous decision of the jury, the entrance examination of the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris, where he developed his vocal technique and solo singing with Valérie Guillorit. Driven by a deep passion for singing, he now wishes to devote himself fully to opera and to put all his energy at the service of this demanding repertoire.

Zuniga — Julien Soares
Having entered the world of music three years ago, Julien Soares joined the conservatoire in the class of Xavier Le Maréchal, where he developed a growing passion for opera. Over the course of his training he has taken part in several productions and vocal ensembles on prestigious stages — the Opéra de Massy, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Festival Lyrique en Mer. Alongside this he continues to work as a chef, a demanding double path that nurtures his sense of work, rigour and commitment.

Artistic team
Paul-Émile Fourny — stage direction
Bertille Monsellier & Sergey Volyuzhskiy — répétiteurs