The Château de Lacoste is located in the heart of Provence’s Luberon, between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. UNESCO Ambassador and legendary French culture icon, Pierre Cardin, bought the castle in 2001 and undertook the ambitious project of restoring the historical site formerly owned by the Marquis de Sade. Since the completion of the renovations in 2001, the château’s courtyard and its adjoining quarries have hosted the Lacoste International Festival every summer.  Some of the greatest classical singers of our time have graced the festival’s stage, including Renée Fleming, Angela Georghiu, Natalie Dessay, June Anderson, Teresa Berganza, Philippe Jaroussky, Jonas Kauffman, Rolando Villazón, and Juan Diego Flórez.  Lacoste has also been a yearly meeting point for lovers of theatrical productions, opera, and musique de variété, reflecting the eclectic taste of the festival’s founder.

 

In 2016, Interclassique was given the mandate by the late Pierre Cardin to produce a concert series in order to expand the Festival de Lacoste’s scope beyond the festival’s original vocal and theatrical bent.  Interclassique produced two evenings within the festival's sixteenth edition, selecting the repertoire and artists, who performed in chamber music and orchestral settings alongside Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Gábor Tákacs-Nágy, the Orchestre del’Opéra de Toulon, among others. The project to further develop the festival continues to-date, with programming plans for the future under way.