Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming will headline the inaugural Palm Springs Life Festival on March 20, starting a four-week run of cultural arts and lifestyle events in the Coachella Valley.
Domingo and Fleming will be joined on March 20 by the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra at The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage.
The inaugural festival lineup continues with violinists Midori and Sarah Chang, cellist Nina Kotova, pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet, and guitarist Angel Romero. Coupled with the festival will be two signature Palm Springs Life events: Fashion Week El Paseo (April 3-9) featuring fashion designers Zandra Rhodes, Michael Costello, and Marc Bouwer, and Palm Desert Food + Wine (April 8-10) with chefs Cat Cora, Gail Gand, and the Hearty Boys.
“I think it’s a real opportunity for Southern California to have an independent festival that can bring many art forms together from music, to fashion, to the culinary world,” says Barrett Wissman, executive producer of Palm Springs Life Festival and Chairman of IMG Artists.
Last spring, the festival was launched in a one-day event at the Sunnylands Center and Gardens in Rancho Mirage. Performers and curators included producer Quincy Jones, opera star Fleming, dancer David Hallberg, and conductor Philippe Jordan. Due to the event’s success, executive producers Wissman and IMG Artists decided to partner with Palm Springs Life to present the first full season of the Festival in 2016.
Concerts and events will take place at multiple venues in Greater Palm Springs including the new Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, The Helene Galen Auditorium at The Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower and the Gardens of El Paseo. The Festival will be capped off on April 23 and 24 with “In Vino Veritas” at The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.
The event will feature the greatest Italian wines, winemakers and chefs of today and will be presented in partnership with and curated by Gambero Rosso, the leading Italian guide to the best wines and restaurants of Italy.
Palm Springs Life Festival, March 20 through April 24, www.palmspringslifefestival.com and click on Music & Arts.