Rolex and its partners, the Paris Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic are presenting an exceptional gala evening on 11 May 2025, as part of celebrations marking 150 years of the Palais Garnier.
Some of the world’s greatest singers, Rolex ambassadors Juan Diego Flórez, Sir Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazón, Yuja Wang and Sonya Yoncheva, will join the Vienna Philharmonic on stage for this unprecedented concert conducted by Yannick NézetSéguin. The programme features a selection of music by Bizet and his contemporaries – Massenet, Gounod, Verdi, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.

The event honours the Palais Garnier, a grand Paris landmark with its rich history as the centrepiece of social and cultural life in the French capital, particularly during the Belle Époque. The first performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle was performed there along with the greatest productions of the day. Notably, with its sumptuous marble and gold, the theatre was the setting for Gaston Leroux’s novel Phantom of the Opera.

PARTNERSHIPS CHAMPION ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT
Rolex supports artists, and the institutions where they perform, on a journey of challenges, defining moments and milestones that culminate in great achievement.

The Paris Opera is among many leading arts institutions, musicians, orchestras and festivals that the company now embraces through its Perpetual Arts Initiative. Rolex has been Exclusive Timepiece of the Opera since 2014, a long-term relationship that reflects shared values based on the pursuit of excellence that is integral to Rolex.

CONCERT PERFORMERS – ROLEX AMBASSADORS
Yannick Nézet-Séguin is one of the world’s leading conductors who is famous for his unconventional style, dynamic leadership and innovative contributions to classical music. In 2018, he was appointed Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera. Since then, the ‘Met’ has embraced a programme that includes more contemporary music. At the age of 25, he was appointed Artistic Director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, where he now has a lifetime contract. He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as Music Director in 2012, revitalizing it by engaging younger audiences with new works. He enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has led performances at Teatro Alla Scala, the Royal Ballet and Opera, Dutch National Opera, the Vienna State Opera, as well as major festivals such as the Salzburg Festival. He became a Rolex Testimonee in 2024.

Sir Bryn Terfel, the Welsh bass-baritone has a voice that resonates far beyond the shores of home. A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, he has sung music by composers as diverse as Mozart, Schubert, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Sullivan and Rodgers. Between 2010 and 2012, his brooding Wotan in The Ring Cycle beguiled audiences at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Four years later, he conjured an unforgettable interpretation of the title role in Boris Godunov at the Royal Ballet and Opera. One of the most sought-after Wagner singers in the world and lauded for his performances in the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017. In May 2023, Sir Bryn performed at the coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London. He became a Rolex Testimonee in 2007.

Juan Diego Flórez is one of the world’s most celebrated tenors. He grew up in Peru’s capital, Lima, and studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Peru before continuing his education at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Flórez’s breakthrough came in 1996 when, at the age of 23, he debuted at Teatro alla Scala in Milan and received critical acclaim. His career has since flourished, with performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Ballet and Opera and Vienna State Opera among others. Known for his agility and vocal virtuosity, Flórez has earned widespread recognition for his performances in the operatic works of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. His belief in the transformative power of music led him to create his Sinfonía por el Perú foundation, which is supported by Rolex and provides musical training to underprivileged children. Since 2022, Flórez has been Artistic Director of the Rossini Opera Festival. He became a Rolex Testimonee in 2015.

Sonya Yoncheva received a last-minute call. Could she play Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème at New York’s Metropolitan Opera? The reviews were sensational, raising the stature of one of the most exciting performers of all time. The Bulgarian soprano studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève and won first prize at Operalia, the world’s leading opera competition, in 2010. In 2013, she signed a long-term recording contract. Her career has flourished, with productions in the greatest concert halls worldwide. From 2017 to 2018, she received acclaim for roles in major operas: Elisabeth in Don Carlos at the Paris Opera; Imogène in Il Pirata by Bellini at La Scala; Tosca by Puccini and Luisa Miller by Verdi, both at the ‘Met’. She also performed the title role in Médée by Cherubini, marking the 50th role in her repertoire. In 2023, she performed two title roles, also at the ‘Met’: Fedora by Umberto Giordano and Norma by Bellini. She became a Rolex Testimonee in 2011.

Rolando Villazón is one of the world’s leading lyric tenors. Born in Mexico in 1972, he first came to prominence in 1999 when he won three prizes in Operalia. Since then, his star has continued to rise, his passion, talent and arresting stage presence bringing life to every opera in which he performs. In recent years he has, to great acclaim, added Mozart roles to his repertoire. Almost all his recordings are bestsellers, winning gold or platinum awards. Villazón is among the most versatile artists today, maintaining successful careers as a stage director, novelist, and radio and television personality, as well as his on-stage career. In 2017, he was named Artistic Director of the Mozart Week Festival in Salzburg and since 2021 he has been Artistic Director of the ensemble of the Mozarteum Foundation. He has been a Rolex Testimonee since 2005.

Yuja Wang is an internationally acclaimed concert pianist known for her technical brilliance, emotional depth and captivating stage presence. Growing up in Beijing, she left China, first to study in Canada, then to attend Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music; at 15 she won the Aspen Music Festival concerto competition. Her breakthrough came in 2007 when, at just 20 years old she replaced Martha Argerich as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a performance that catapulted her to global recognition. She has since gone on to perform on the biggest stages in the world with her recordings garnering multiple awards. Wang regularly collaborates with many of the world’s top orchestras and leading conductors such as fellow Rolex Testimonees Gustavo Dudamel and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She became a Rolex Testimonee in 2009.

LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO GLOBAL CULTURE
Rolex confirms its long-term engagement with global culture by championing achievement in the arts through the framework of its Perpetual Arts Initiative. From music, architecture and cinema to dance, literature, theatre and visual arts, Rolex’s support for the arts is felt across the world. Its longstanding partnerships with performers across the musical spectrum includes singers, conductors and instrumentalists.

The first Rolex Ambassador in music, in 1976, was New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She was joined by many of the world’s greatest musicians, artists and performers. Among them are Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, French tenor Benjamin Bernheim, Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, pianist Hélène Grimaud, from France, Canadian singer Michael Bublé and British-American sitarist Anoushka Shankar.

As well as the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna Philharmonic, Rolex supports many of the globe’s foremost cultural institutions. Alongside the Paris Opera, they include Teatro alla Scala in Milan, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing, the Opernhaus Zürich and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

As a company with a long history, Rolex recognizes the importance of passing on knowledge to preserve cultural heritage. As such, it has inspired emerging musicians through associations with diverse eminent artists, such as Jessye Norman, Gilberto Gil, Youssou N’Dour, Pinchas Zukerman, Brian Eno, Philip Glass and Dianne Reeves. As well as ADO, the first lyric youth orchestra of the Paris Opera, it supports ventures that encourage rising young artists, including Operalia – the World Opera Competition, the Vienna Philharmonic Academy and the Herbert von Karajan Young Conductors Award at the Salzburg Festival.

Since 2010, as part of its ambition to promote music excellence worldwide, Rolex has partnered Medici.tv, the leading platform for classical music.

ABOUT THE PARIS OPERA
The Paris Opera is one of the most esteemed – and oldest – opera companies in the world. Founded in 1669 by King Louis XIV with the aim of giving opera academies or music performances in the French language the same standing as those of Italy, it has since remained a vital musical institution. Classical ballet as we know it today arose here as the Paris Opera Ballet, the oldest national ballet company in the world, and has remained an integral part of the repertoire. In 1989, the newly built Opéra Bastille joined the historic Palais Garnier becoming, in 1994, the Paris Opera. The two venues comprising the Paris Opera exemplify elegance and style by combining Parisian tradition and modernity in one institution.

ABOUT THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC
The Vienna Philharmonic is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s most revered orchestras, upholding the greatest traditions in classical music. Founded in 1842 and with more than 180 years of artistic contribution, it is known for its individuality and lustrous sound, as well as for its exacting standards, maintaining artistic integrity and communicating music’s humanitarian message around the world. Today, this is carried out by way of two notable events that are broadcast in numerous countries around the world: the New Year’s Concert and the open-air Summer Night Concert, where, every May or June, over 50,000 people gather in the Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn in Vienna, known as the capital city of music.

Rolex has been Exclusive Partner of this prestigious orchestra since 2008 and Exclusive Sponsor of the New Year’s Concert from January 2009. It has also presented the Summer Night Concert since 2009.

ABOUT ROLEX
AN UNRIVALLED REPUTATION FOR QUALITY AND EXPERTISE
Rolex is an integrated and independent Swiss watch manufacture. Headquartered in Geneva, the brand is recognized the world over for its expertise and the quality of its products – symbols of excellence, elegance and prestige. The movements of its Oyster Perpetual and Perpetual watches are certified by COSC, then tested inhouse for their precision, performance and reliability. The Superlative Chronometer certification, symbolized by the green seal, confirms that each watch has successfully undergone tests conducted by Rolex in its own laboratories according to its own criteria. These are periodically validated by an independent external organization.

The word ‘Perpetual’ is inscribed on every Rolex Oyster watch. But more than just a word on a dial, it is a philosophy that embodies the company’s vision and values. Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of the company, instilled a notion of perpetual excellence that would drive the company forward. This led Rolex to pioneer the development of the wristwatch and numerous major watchmaking innovations, such as the Oyster, the first waterproof wristwatch, launched in 1926, and the Perpetual rotor self-winding mechanism, invented in 1931. In the course of its history, Rolex has registered over 600 patents. At its four sites in Switzerland, the brand designs, develops and produces the majority of its watch components, from the casting of the gold alloys to the machining, crafting, assembly and finishing of the movement, case, dial and bracelet. Furthermore, the brand is actively involved in supporting the arts and culture, sport and exploration, as well as those who are devising solutions to preserve the planet.