Winterreise
Franz Schubert’s Winter Journey
Composed in 1827 by Franz Schubert to poems by Wilhelm Müller, *Winter Journey* is the embodiment of Romanticism in music, the ultimate expression of ‘Sehnsucht’, or existential longing. Undoubtedly Schubert’s finest collection of lieder, it surpasses, in its intensity and drama, everything else he produced in the genre. In this cycle—one of the most extensive and poignant of the Romantic era— Schubert evokes the wanderings of a traveller fleeing the city, crossing a snow-covered landscape, encountering a hurdy-gurdy player, a weather vane and a crow, stopping at an inn, reminiscing about his loves, waiting for a letter, and recalling a lost lime tree…
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Pascal CONTET
A key figure in the contemporary music scene both nationally and internationally, Pascal Contet is renowned for having revitalised the accordion repertoire since 1993. In 2007, he was nominated for the Victoires du Jazz (Artist of the Year for the album *NU* with Bruno Chevillon and François Corneloup), and in 2012 – a first for the accordion in the history of the Victoires de la Musique Classique – he was nominated twice: as ‘Instrumental Soloist of the Year’ and in the ‘Recording of the Year’ category.
He is a laureate of the Cziffra Foundation, the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and the Marcel-Bleustein Blanchet Foundation for Musical Talent, for which he now serves as a music expert.
Since 1993, Pascal Contet has performed some 350 works, and numerous composers have placed their trust in him, including Luciano Berio, Franck Bedrossian, Edith Canat de Chizy, Bernard Cavanna, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Peter Eötvös, Ivan Fedele, Philippe Hurel, Pierre Jodlowsky, Javier-Torres Maldonado, Bruno Mantovani, Marc Monnet, Donghoon Shin, Philippe Schoeller and many others
He is invited to perform at numerous national and international festivals.
In Asia, Africa, North and Central America, and on European stages, Pascal Contet’s accordion takes him on tours for shows, recitals and chamber music performances.
As an improviser, he has performed with Pauline Oliveros, Joëlle Léandre (since 1993), Carlos Zingaro, Andy Emler, Wu Wei (mouth organ), the singer Nosfell, the singer Camille, the electronic composer Robin Rimbaud (alias Scanner) and Greg Zlap (harmonica player and harmonicaist for Johnny Halliday).
He was an associate artist during the following seasons at these theatres and in these towns: the City of La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH – 1993–1994), Addim Haute-Saône (1992–1994), Arsenal-Cité de la Musique in Metz– 1999–2002, Scène Nationale de Malakoff (2003–2005), Scène Nationale de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (2006–2007), Scène Nationale de Montbéliard from 2007 to 2010, Addim Haute-Saône (2010–2013), Centre Culturel Aragon in Oyonnax (2018), currently at the Conservatoire de la Baie de Somme in Abbeville (2023–2024).
His projects are supported by Sacem, the Sacem Action Fund, the Institut Français, the Ministry of Culture, the Franche-Comté Regional Council, Spédidam (Spédidam Generation Artist from 2022 to 2024), and the Marcel Bleustein Blanchet Foundation for Artistic Vocation.
Pascal Contet has recorded around fifty albums released by Sony Classical, Aparté (a ‘coup de coeur’ on France Musique, with 1.5 million streams of his album ‘Tango’), Harmonia Mundi, Radio France-Signature, Aeon, Deutsche Grammophon, Motus, Scala Music, In Circum Girum and Cleanfeed (Portugal).
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Xavier de LIGNEROLLES
After studying the violin from the age of six, Xavier de Lignerolles joined Pierre MERVANT’s singing class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. He honed his skills in Baroque music under Kenneth Weiss, in lied and art song under Jeff Cohen and Anne le Bozec, and in the contemporary repertoire under Graciane Finzi, obtaining his DFS in Singing in June 2010.
Since 2007, he has taken on numerous stage roles, both in France and abroad: Mr Cerise and the Circus Director in Étienne Perruchon’s *Pinocchio* at the Théâtre de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, conducted by Pierre-Michel Durand, Count Barigoule (Pauline Viardot’s *Cendrillon*) at the Musée d’Orsay Auditorium under the baton of Emmanuel Olivier; the Receptionist and Toni (Oscar Strasnoy’s *El Regreso*) at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Edoardo Milfort (La Cambiale di Matrimonio, Rossini), at the Théâtre de Bastia; Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart), conducted by Paolo OLMI, at the Opéra National de Lorraine; Alfred (Die Fledermaus by Strauss), Alstof von Reisenberg (Les Conjurées, Schubert), at the Opéra de Saint-Étienne and the Salle Poirel in Nancy, the role of Antti Puuhaara in Tapio Tuomela’s musical tale *Antti Puuhaara* at the Sibelius Foundation in Helsinki (Finland) and at the Opéra de Saint-Étienne; the role of Harlekin in *Der Kaiser von Atlantis*; Gastone in *La Traviata*, the role of Martin in Juan Pablo Carreño’s police cantata *La Digitale*, at the Théâtre de la Criée and the Teatro Colón in Bogotá (Colombia), Alessandro in Cavalli’s *Eliogabalo* at the Grand Théâtre de Calais; the Chief of Police in Denis Bosse’s *La Lettre Volée* in Brussels; the role of Aeneas in Purcell’s *Dido and Aeneas*; the role of Dr Diamond in Baudouin de Jaer’s *Ce qui vit en nous*; *Seven Stones* at the Konzerthaus in Dortmund, conducted by Leo Warynski; the role of Don José (the accused) in *The Carmen Case* by Diana Soh/G. Bizet, conducted by Lucie Legay, at the Grand Théâtre de Poitiers, the Opéra National de Bordeaux and in Luxembourg; the role of Punjel in *L’étoffe inépuisable du rêve*, an opera by Sophie Lacaze, conducted by Bruno Mantovani; Captain Nemo in *Le Retour du Capitaine Nemo* by François Schuiten, Benoît Peeters and Bruno Letort… On stage, he has worked under the direction of Jean Lacornerie, Vincent Vittoz, Sybille Wilson, Mariame Clément, Thierry Thieû Niang, Jeanne Debost, Emmanuelle Cordoliani, Eric Oberdorff, Alexandra Lacroix and Aurélie Hubeau…
Since 2010, he has been collaborating with the Ensemble Musicatreize, directed by Roland Hayrabedian, which has enabled Xavier de Lignerolles to become one of France’s leading tenors specialising in the contemporary repertoire.
In 2024, he founded the Ut Musica Poesis collective, dedicated to the voice, which aims to foster partnerships between opera singers and instrumentalists through a varied repertoire (lied, mélodie, opera), whilst also emphasising the contemporary repertoire.
His repertoire also extends to oratorio: he has performed in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di gloria, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Liszt’s Psalm XIII, and L’Enfance du Christ, amongst others.
Since the summer of 2025, Xavier de Lignerolles has been co-directing the Déodat de Séverac Festival alongside Marie Cubaynes. This summer, he will be performing the role of Pelléas in Claude Debussy’s opera *Pelléas et Mélisande*.
In 2026, he will appear, amongst other engagements, at the Opéra de Nantes–Angers in *Carmen Case*.
