The 16th March, 2008 Laurence Dale, stood in for the indisposed conductor, entered the pit at the Civic Johannesburg and conducted the Johannesburg Philharmonic in the performance of Aida.

 

Since then, he has received invitations to conduct concerts and operas and, after 10 years as Artistic Director of the Evian Festival, Les Escales Musicales, has been additionally named Musical Director of the Festival.

 

June 12th 2011, Laurence Dale welcomes to Evian the chorus and orchestra of the OPERA NATIONAL DE LORRAINE which he conducts in the programme ENTENTE CORDIALE. 

Annemarie Kremer, Allison Cook, Gianluca Zampieri and Craig Verm are the soloists in Gounod's Ste Cécilia Mass and Elgar's The Music Makers (the French permiere!) 

 

In 2009, the centenary year of the Hotel Royal Evian, Laurence Dale conducted the Sinfonia Varsovia and the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne in a concert comprising Fauré's Requiem, Lehar's Graf von Luxemburg suite Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and the Overture to William Tell by Rossini.

For the 2010  season the Grange au Lac welcomed a large audience for Elgar's Enigma Variations, Brahms' Variations on a theme of Haydn,  and Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture in which Laurence Dale conducted the prestigious Philharmonie of the Nations.

Plans include Tosca, the Mozart Requiem and Verdi Requiem as well as introducing more Elgar to France with his majestic 2nd Symphony.

 

conducting at the Evian Festival 2010
(click photo to enlarge)