Cover From left: Rolex ambassadors Yannick Nézet‐Séguin, Sonya Yoncheva and Sir Bryn Terfel at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
From left: Rolex ambassadors Yannick Nézet‐Séguin, Sonya Yoncheva and Sir Bryn Terfel at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
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The world’s top pianist and opera singers joined the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert to celebrate Palais Garnier’s 150th anniversary.
Nineteenth-century French architect Charles Garnier could never have imagined that his Palais Garnier, built for the Paris Opera, would one day host a concert attended by tennis players and Chinese filmmakers, but that’s exactly what happened in May at the opera house, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
On May 11, as part of its milestone celebrations, Palais Garnier hosted the Rolex Ambassadors Concert, bringing together a constellation of the world’s most luminous classical music stars—all distinguished Rolex Testimonees—in partnership with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Guests included tennis superstar Roger Federer, Chinese filmmaker Chen Kaige and British racing driver Jenson Button.
In case you missed it: How the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra celebrated 50 years of musical talents, diversity and cultural exchange in Beijing
Above Sonya Yoncheva performing ‘Carmen’ at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
Sonya Yoncheva performing ‘Carmen’ at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
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The event, supported by Rolex, featured a rich programme of extracts from operatic and orchestral favourites: Ravel’s Boléro, which premiered in the same building in November 1928; Bizet’s Carmen; Gounod’s Faust; Massenet’s Le Cid; Rachmaninoff ’s Aleko; Verdi’s La Traviata; and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Piano Concerto No 1.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who conducted the concert and curated the programme, explains that musical choices reflect the venue’s historical significance as a hub for showcasing extraordinary works and cultural exchange. “Because of this place, I thought we should feature French [composers] first and foremost,” he says. But when Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, one of the evening’s performers and a Rolex Testimonee since 2009, suggested playing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1—the piece that put her on the world stage in 2007—Nézet-Séguin thought, “Why not combine Russian and French? They speak beautifully to each other.” The result was a gala designed to be “fun [and] ignite enthusiasm electricity”
Above Yuja Wang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
Yuja Wang performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 at the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
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Wang describes Nézet-Séguin’s curation as a way of “bringing people together to make them feel that life is joyous”, which, she says, was one of the goals of the evening, alongside celebrating human achievement. “I feel really fortunate [to be part of this], and I wanted to give [my] all to the audience and to the spirit of the opera.”
The artist line-up featured musicians from China, Bulgaria, Mexico, Peru, the UK, Canada and Austria. And while each is a world-class performer, the event, in the words of Nézet-Séguin, who was made a Rolex Testimonee last year, was “almost like a family gathering, but with an audience”. Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón, a Rolex Testimonee since 2005, echoes the sentiment. He says that while each of them brought a unique sound or distinctive interpretation of these iconic works, it was “very special to be with people that I’ve admired, loved and known for a long time. The camaraderie was palpable because it was real.”
Above From left: Juan Diego Flórez, Rolando Villazón, Yannick Nézet‐Séguin, Sonya Yoncheva and Sir Bryn Terfel, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the back (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
From left: Juan Diego Flórez, Rolando Villazón, Yannick Nézet‐Séguin, Sonya Yoncheva and Sir Bryn Terfel, with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the back (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
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The musicians are keen to highlight the visibility and prestige that being a Rolex Testimonee grants them. Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez, a Rolex Testimonee since 2015, says: “Being in a family of great artists and even sportspeople is very important,” adding that the privilege exposes him to people at the top of their game in a variety of fields. “I play football, I play tennis, I am a fan [of sports]—and I was with Roger Federer yesterday [at the after-party]. So being able to interact with people from the arts, culture and sport industries [inspires] you as an individual to develop [your horizons] even more.”
Of the watch brand’s global impact, Belgian soprano Sonya Yoncheva says: “Thanks to Rolex, we could unite with so many different worlds: people all over the world in different fields, be that sports, theatre, music, journalism or other professions. We could exchange ideas that change society.”
Above The guests and performers of the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
The guests and performers of the Rolex Ambassadors Concert at the Palais Garnier (Photo: courtesy of Rolex)
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Daniel Froschauer, chairman of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra—a group that famously broadcasts its New Year’s concerts—is keen to underline the power that music and the arts have, especially at times when so much of the news is dominated by global conflict. “If you live inside a war, you need some time for the beauty of music that helps your soul. It’s not a myth. It’s the reality,” he says. “We live in a world that has become a very harsh place. Every day, we read on the news that this country is against the other. So I’m so happy that, together with our partner Rolex, our concert was a place where we unified and where we became sisters and brothers.”
Villazón perhaps summed up the concert best by saying it “gives musicians and audiences the opportunity to say art matters, music matters. What we performed was from [centuries ago]. But it’s not old. It’s not a museum. It’s alive. It’s bringing people together, and it’s making hearts vibrate.”
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
