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The Royal Opera Academy of Music and Singing

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The Royal Opera Academy’s mission is to train and support young performers, including singers, instrumentalists, and dancers. It offers masterclasses, hands-on experience in opera productions, and professional guidance, all within a network of top artists regularly working in Versailles.

 

Academy of Music – Class of 2025/2027

Academy Programme

Following the success of its inaugural edition, the Royal Opera Academy is now welcoming and training its second cohort of singers. The Academy partners with several renowned artists to provide young singers and musicians with the opportunity to develop and enhance their artistry, especially in the distinctive style of French music from the 17th and 18th centuries. Over the course of two years, the participants engage in masterclasses on stage movement, instrumental technique, vocal coaching, and diction, all led by distinguished artists including Mathias Vidal, John Eliot Gardiner, Marc Mauillon, and Stéphanie d’Oustrac.

Academy of Music – Class of 2025/2027

Many commitments

The students of the Academy will perform solo roles in various productions at the Royal Opera during the 2025-2026 season, including Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mozart’s Requiem, Offenbach’s La Vie parisienne, Rameau’s Platée, and Charpentier’s Te Deum, as well as their end-of-year gala at the Hall of Mirrors, La chasse du cerf by Morin. They will also take part in the Royal Opera Chorus and in several other shows and projects with Château de Versailles Spectacles, such as The Royal Serenade at the Hall of Mirrors, The King’s Tour, Les Fêtes Galantes, and the Opéra Partagé sessions, our cultural outreach programme supported by the Yvelines Department.

The 2025-2027 Academy Members

 

Discover the new cohort of the Academy of Music and Singing.

Alexandre Adra 

Bass

 

Alexandre Adra, a French-Lebanese singer born in Canada, trained at the Conservatoire of Rennes, the CRR of Paris in Stéphane Fuget’s class, and at the Il Caravaggio Lyric Studio under Camille Delaforge.

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A finalist in the Marmande and Voix Nouvelles Grand Ouest competitions in 2022, he won the Corsica Lyrica competition in 2023 and received the ARCAL “Jeune scène lyrique” grant in 2024.
On stage, he has performed roles such as Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande), Sarastro (The Magic Flute), the Commendatore and Masetto (Don Giovanni), Charon (L’Orfeo), and the Spirit of Cold (The Fairy Queen), among others. In concert, he has appeared in Pygmalion by Rameau, La Morte d’Orfeo by Landi, Saint-Saëns’ Requiem, and many other works.

 

For the 2025–2027 seasons, he will join the Académie of the Royal Opera of Versailles, where he will perform roles including Don Magnifico (Cinderella) and Mozart’s Requiem. In parallel, he will reprise La Morte d’Orfeo (Theater an der Wien), appear in Euridice (Versailles), and sing Zuniga (Carmen) in Rennes.

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Antoine Ageorges 

Tenor

 

After an initial career as an architect specializing in historic monuments, Antoine Ageorges decided to fully dedicate himself to opera singing.

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He joined the Academie of Chantres at the Versailles Baroque Music Center, where he specialized in French repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries, deepening his understanding of the styles and techniques specific to that period.

 

He has developed a career as a light tenor, with a repertoire including works by Mozart, Rossini, Rameau, and Britten. He continues his vocal training with Caroline Fèvre and collaborates regularly with several renowned baroque and contemporary ensembles, such as Les Surprises, La Chapelle Harmonique, Irini, and Aedes, participating in a wide range of productions from early music to contemporary creations.

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Camille Taos Arbouz 

Mezzo

 

Camille-Taos Arbouz, a French-Algerian mezzo-soprano, holds a State Diploma as a singing teacher and a degree in musicology.

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She trained at the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris and then at the PSPBB with Elsa Maurus and Yann Toussaint, further refining her skills with Sophie Fournier, Catherine Hunold, Carola Guber, and through numerous masterclasses. She won the 3rd prize at the Hector Berlioz Competition in 2022, the 2nd prize at the Léopold Bellan Competition in 2023, and the 1st prize at the Grandes Voix Lyriques d’Afrique Competition in 2025. She is also an emerging artist with Opera for Peace. Camille-Taos will join the Académie of the Royal Opera of Versailles for 2025–2027, where she will notably perform the Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas.

 

Committed to the rediscovery of women composers, she performs with Présence Compositrices at the Musée de la Vie Romantique and the Toulon Festival. She also sings Mozart’s Requiem, Dvořák’s Mass in D Major, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. She collaborates with the Geneva Opera and Accentus, and will soon perform the roles of Gertrude in Samoëns and Bertha in La Vie parisienne.

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Baptiste Bonfante

Baritone

 

After studying Italian literature, Baptiste Bonfante joined the classes of Frédéric Gindraux and Jean-Philippe Clerc at the Haute école de musique of Lausanne, where he graduated in 2024.

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The following year, he won second prize in the operetta category at the Béziers International Singing Competition. He further refined his skills through masterclasses with Daniel Lichti, Bruno De Simone, John Fiore, Véronique Gens, Anne Le Bozec, Michel Dalberto, and Gary Magby.

 

In 2022–2023, he made his debut in the French-language premiere of Gloria Bruni’s opera Pinocchio at the Opera of Lausanne, performing the role of the Fox. For the 2023–2024 season, he joined the Brahms cohort of Philippe Jaroussky’s Academy. He also portrayed Taxis in The Adventures of King Pausole by Honegger at the Operas of Fribourg and Lausanne, as well as Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Ouverture-Opéra of Sion (Valais, Switzerland).

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Camille Brault 

Mezzo

 

Camille Brault, mezzo-soprano, pursues an eclectic career spanning opera, musical theatre, recital, and contemporary creation.

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Trained at the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Montreal, and the Pôle Lyrique d’Excellence, she was a finalist in the 2023 Toulouse French Melody Competition.
A laureate of the Académie of the Royal Opera of Versailles for 2025–2027, she is performing this season as Orpheus in Little Stroll to Hell by Valérie Lesort, as well as Carmen in a touring production with the company Maurice et les autres. She regularly collaborates with Les Frivolités Parisiennes, notably in Hervé’s Little Faust, co-produced by the Palazzetto Bru Zane.

 

Previously, she toured the recital Everything is for You, dedicated to Maurice Yvain, with the Orchestra of the Opera of Reims, and has performed on stages such as Carnegie Hall, the Opera of Dijon, the Auditorium of Lyon, and Victoria Hall in Geneva. She also explores the intersections between opera, circus, and movement with the company Ever and Théâtre d’un Jour.

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Thierry Cartier 

Baritone

 

Thierry Cartier began his vocal studies in Bordeaux before specializing in the baroque repertoire at the Versailles Baroque Music Center.

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He then continued his training at the Versailles Conservatory in the class of Céline Laly.

 

He has received guidance from Chantal Mathias, Sabine Devieilhe, and Maarten Konigsberger, and has performed under the baton of numerous conductors: Sébastien Daucé (Correspondances), Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas (Les Surprises), Gaétan Jarry (Marguerite Louise), Marie Van Rhijn (L’Assemblée), and Stéphane Fuget (Les Épopées).

 

He also took part in the recording of Lully’s Grands Motets at the Royal Chapel of Versailles, and sang in Dialogues of the Carmelites at the Opera of Bordeaux (2023). In 2025, Thierry will join the Jeune scène lyrique program organized by ARCAL, and will be part of the 2025–2027 cohort of the Académie of the Royal Opera of Versailles.

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Clara Penalva 

Soprano

 

Trained in piano, violin, and dramatic arts, Clara Penalva turned to singing at the age of 20. She earned a Master’s degree from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM) in the class of Elène Golgevit, and developed a passion for early music under Alain Buet, with whom she deepened her knowledge of the repertoire.

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She furthered her training through two prestigious academies: the Vannes Early Music Institute (2021 and 2022) and the Academie Ravel (2024).

 

In 2025, she will join the Academie of the Royal Opera of Versailles for two seasons, during which she will perform several roles. Recently awarded at the Clermont-Ferrand Singing Competition, she is set to sing the role of Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the ensemble Les Surprises, in a production scheduled for 2026 and touring through 2027.

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Fanny Valentin

Soprano

 

Fanny Valentin began her training with the Junior Opera in Montpellier, then continued her development at the Versailles Baroque Music Center (CMBV) and the CRR of Paris in the class of Doris Lamprecht.

 

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She is currently pursuing her vocal studies with Agnès Chauvot and Giuseppe Sabbatini.

 

Specializing in the coloratura repertoire, she has performed roles such as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera of Versailles and Olympia/Giulietta in The Tales of Hoffmann, and collaborates with I Musici del Gran Principe and Il Modo Antiquo.

 

Winner of the Christiane Eda Pierre Prize and the Audience Prize at the Béziers Competition, she was a semi-finalist in the 2024 Sumi Jo International Singing Competition. Upcoming performances include Madame de Folle-Verdure in The Parisian Life, Mozart’s Requiem and Exsultate jubilate, and motets by Charpentier under the direction of Hervé Niquet.

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Stéphane Wolff

Countertenor

 

Stéphane Wolf is a countertenor and a graduate of the Strasbourg Conservatory in both lyric and baroque singing, having studied with Silvana Torto and Monika Mauch. He has also trained with Emma Kirkby, Peter Kooij, and Martin Gester.

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In 2018, he performed with the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and with the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra in the film-concert The Matrix.

 

With degrees in architecture and engineering, and enriched by his background in circus arts and dance, he places particular emphasis on the relationship between work, space, and movement. He performs as a soloist, chorister, and with various flexible vocal ensembles.

 

A founding member of the ensemble In Arcana, centered around the cimbalom, he recently sang with Les Épopées in the choruses of Lully’s Alceste at the Opera Rara Festival in Kraków. He is joining the Académie of the Royal Opera of Versailles and will make his debut in November in Dido and Aeneas.

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Marie Zaccarini

Soprano

 

Marie Zaccarini trained at the Bordeaux Conservatory under Maryse Castets.

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Her love for baroque music led her to attend masterclasses with Damien Guillon, Christian Immler, Stéphane Fuget, William Christie, and Sébastien Daucé.

 

In 2018, she performed the role of Chloé in The Judgment of Midas by Grétry, conducted by Stéphane Fuget—a production by the CRR of Paris and the Royal Conservatory of Liège. She collaborates regularly with the ensemble Les Épopées and took part in the recording of Lully’s Grands Motets at the Royal Chapel of Versailles. In 2021, she sang the role of Léonore in The Venetian Girl (La Vénitienne) by De La Barre at the Opera of Limoges.

 

Since 2022, she has performed with Les Caprices de Marianne in a duo with Marianne Muglioni for young audience concerts, notably at the National Opera of Bordeaux, and also sings with the ensemble Aedes under the direction of Mathieu Romano. In 2024, she joined Le Concert d’Astrée under the direction of Emmanuelle Haïm.

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Contact

Annabelle Colom

Production Manager

[email protected]

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