The Team

Nominated Chevalière des arts et des lettres 2023, “Femme de Culture 2020”, and recognized as “Femme d’Influence 2024” for culture (nominated), Julia Lagahuzère was previously Deputy Casting Director of Opéra National de Paris in the two theatres of Opéra de Bastille and Palais Garnier.

She has also held the position of artistic consultant to the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in Oslo, Norway. Julia has a passion for finding and helping to nurture young talent, and established a concert series in order to strengthen relations between the QSIMC and the top international young artist programs; notably in collaboration with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

She has previously worked at San Francisco Opera, Scottish Opera and Opéra de Limoges. She is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and Sussex University, a musicology scholarship recipient at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a Masters degree in Opera and Visual Performing Arts from King’s College London, in collaboration with the BBC Proms.

Kamal Khan combines a passionate commitment to the globalization of operatic training with an active career as a recitalist and conductor. He was the Director of the Opera School at the University of Cape Town for nearly a decade, where he took students starting from their late teens and prepared them to win top prizes in such prestigious competitions as the Belvedere International, Montserrat Caballe Competiton, OPERALIA, Neue Stimmen, and many others.

He is currently affiliated with the Royal Opera Covent Garden Jette Parker Young Artists Program, the iSING Operatic Training Festival in Suzhou, China, the Voices of South Africa Festival and Competition, and is Director of the Taller de Jovenes Cantantes in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He has worked at the Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Chautauqua School of Music, Ravinia Festival and Glimmerglass Opera. Kamal Khan is an active recitalist in leading international venues.

With more than ten years of experience working in the performing arts, Jenna Wolf brings a devoted passion for music and diversity in the arts to her many endeavors. She is currently the Publicity and Digital Media Manager at Lenny’s Studio, a renowned female-founded international public relations and digital firm, which collaborates with an acclaimed roster of artists and performing arts organizations. Previously, she worked in Development and External Relations for Minnesota Opera, and has consulted on fundraising and communications strategies with a number of arts organizations throughout the continental United States.

Jenna was an inaugural member of Arts Midwest’s Future Leaders Network, and served on the board of the Tempo Young Professionals Organization. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree (Horn Performance) from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a Master’s degree in Music (Horn Performance) from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

Michel El Ghoul, born in Lebanon, is a Paris-based Art and Production design Director with a multidisciplinary background. After studying physics, he pursued a master’s degree in architecture at ENSA Paris-Belleville while also getting his diploma in opera singing at the CRR of Boulogne-Billancourt.

In parallel, he developed his expertise in painting, sculpture, scenography, and design, contributing to projects for renowned institutions such as the Musée du Louvre, DIOR, Sézanne, Hermès, and Chanel.
Since 2023, he has served as Art and Production design Director for Opera for Peace, overseeing staging, scenography, lighting, and costume design across a wide range of international productions.

His work with Opera for Peace has been presented at major venues including the Musée Guimet (Paris), Villa Medici (Rome), Teatro Real (Madrid), Théâtre du Capitole (Toulouse), Opéra de Montpellier, Opéra de Lorraine (Nancy), Villa Miani (Rome), and the Eiffel Tower (Paris). From France to Rome, Venice, Berlin, Brussels, and beyond, Michel brings a distinctive visual identity and artistic sensibility to each project.

Author of numerous books and articles around opera and classical music, Jean-Philippe Thiellay is currently the Chairman and CEO of the Centre national de la musique, France. He was previously Deputy general manager of Opéra national de Paris from 2014-2019. He notably led and implemented the development of international co-productions, a new audience policy and structural improvements, as well as the digital transformation of the company.

Mariano is a partner at Spencer Stuart, the executive search firm, where he focuses on senior executive roles for industrial, equipment, services, transportation and logistics companies. Earlier than that, he worked as a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton and as a trader with YPF in Argentina. Mariano holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from ITBA and an MBA from INSEAD.

Audrey Daumain is the founder of Smart Perspective, a strategic advisory and executive coaching practice based in Geneva. Drawing on 20 years of experience in international finance, she works with senior leaders and organizations across the luxury, finance, and energy sectors, supporting decision-makers in navigating complexity, influence, and human dynamics with clarity and intention. She also serves as a lecturer in Internal Communication Strategy at the International Management School Geneva (IMSG).

A firm believer in the power of voice as an instrument of expression and transformation, Audrey has built her practice around helping individuals lead and communicate with purpose, presence, and impact.

As a Board Member of Opera for Peace, she contributes to the organization’s strategic development, partnerships, and international visibility: supporting its mission to empower young opera talents and promote peace through artistic excellence and meaningful collaboration.

Paolo Petrocelli, PhD, is currently Head of the Dubai Opera. He has become a leading member of some of the most prestigious international organizations, including the United Nations, UNESCO, and the World Economic Forum.

He is also the Co-Founder and Honorary President of the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO. As a Music Diplomacy Ambassador, he serves in institutional roles to forge bonds through music in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the US. Dr. Petrocelli is the founder and President of EMMA for Peace (Euro-Mediterranean Music Academy for Peace).

Former Board member at Rome Opera House and International Advisor at Royal Opera House Muscat, he is Cultural Advisor for Coldplay, the multi Grammy award-winning British band, and Cultural Diplomacy Officer for the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.