copenhagen, hamburg & berlin:
operas, ballets & orchestras

• Enjoy 9 performances of opera, ballet and orchestral music, led by a series of renowned conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Kent Nagano, Simone Young and Gustavo Dudamel

• Get the most out of the performances with talks by tour leader Robert Gay

• Admire fine contemporary architecture, including Copenhagen’s striking waterfront opera house and Herzog & de Meuron’s magnificent Elphilharmonie concert hall towering over Hamburg’s river port

• Traverse the mighty Öresund Bridge which connects Denmark and Sweden

• Rediscover Berlin’s rejuvenated gems, from Norman Foster’s celebrated glass and steel dome crowning the Reichstag to the beautifully refurbished Staatsoper Unter den Linden

• Explore the maritime heritage of the UNESCO-listed Hanseatic town of Lübeck

• Michael Tilson Thomas conducting mezzo-soprano Alice Coote and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Third Symphony, at Copenhagen’s Koncerthuset

• Tristan und Isolde with Elisabet Strid as Isolde and Simon O’Neill as Tristan, with Paolo Carignani at the podium of the Copenhagen Operaen

• The Royal Danish Ballet and Royal Danish Orchestra performing Alexander Glazunov’s Raymonda

• Karoline Gruber directing Korngold’s Die tote stadt at the Hamburg State Opera

• Kent Nagano conducts Messiaen’s rarely-performed Saint François d’Assise, at the Elbphilharmonie

• The Royal Danish Ballet performs a symphonic ballet choreographed by John Neumeier to Mahler’s Third, at the Hamburg State Opera

• Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, with Alfredo Daza and Aida Garifullina, under the baton of Giedrė Šlekytė

• Simone Young conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and a host of performers in Modest Musorgsky’s Khovanshchina

• Gustavo Dudamel at the podium of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, for Mahler’s Sixth Symphony

FRIDAY 31 MAY – ARRIVAL (D)

Group members arrive during the day. In the early evening, gather to meet your fellow travellers, tour leader and tour manager in the hotel, before enjoying dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Copenhagen.

SATURDAY 01 JUNE – NYHAVN, PERFORMANCE 1 (B, D)

We begin the day with a talk by Robert Gay, before heading to the Nyhavn waterfront and to take a leisurely cruise on the lovely canals and harbour, passing the Amalienborg Palace and the striking Copenhagen Opera House. A gift to the nation from a Danish industrialist, the Henning Larsen-designed building is dominated by expansive glass frontages and crowned with a 32-metre floating cantilevered roof. This afternoon, we attend a performance of Mahler’s epic Third Symphony in the beautiful auditorium of the Koncerthuset, with American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas making his debut. Overnight Copenhagen.

Performance details

Venue: Koncerthuset, Copenhagen

Program: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No.3

Performers: Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano), Concert Choir, Copenhagen Boys Choir, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas (conductor)

SUNDAY 02 JUNE – AT LEISURE, PERFORMANCE 2 (B)

After a morning talk in our hotel, the middle of the day is at leisure until our performance this afternoon. You may like to visit the Design Museum, only a short walk from our hotel. The lovely Rococo building of 1757 displays arts, craft and industrial design from across the globe, while also paying special homage to acclaimed Danish designers Poul Henningson, Kaare Klint and Arne Jacobsen. Mid-afternoon, we take a launch across to the imposing Operaen to hear soprano Elisabet Strid make her debut in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Overnight Copenhagen.

Performance details

Venue: Copenhagen Operaen

Program: Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde

Performers: Elisabet Strid (Isolde), Simon O’Neill (Tristan), Hanne Fischer (Brangäne), Sofia Jupither (director), Paolo Carignani (conductor)

MONDAY 03 JUNE – MALMÖ (B)

Today, we travel by private coach to Malmö, crossing the impressive 16km-long Öresund Bridge into southern Sweden. Founded in the late 1200s, Malmö is a cultural hub of art and design that blends old-world charm with a cosmopolitan modernity. We stroll through the cobbled streets to the town’s oldest square and the Gothic church of St Peter with its fresco-covered ceiling. After free time for lunch, we have a guided tour of the city’s Opera House. Inaugurated in 1944, it features one of the largest stages in Europe. Afterwards, we return to Copenhagen, where the evening is at leisure. Overnight Copenhagen.

TUESDAY 04 JUNE – TIVOLI GARDENS, PERFORMANCE 3 (B, L)

This morning we walk through the King’s Gardens at Rosenborg Castle to the Statens Museum (National Gallery of Denmark). There is time to explore the museum’s collections before we enjoy a typical Danish lunch in the beautifully landscaped Tivoli Gardens. As the later afternoon is at leisure, you may like to visit the nearby Glyptotek, which displays a fine collection of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, as well as Danish and French art and sculpture of the nineteenth century. In the evening, we attend Glazunov’s ballet Raymonda, which was Marius Pepita’s final major work, a celebrated tribute to the prima ballerina’s art. Overnight Copenhagen.

Performance details

Venue: Det Kogelige Teater (Old Stage)

Program: Alexander Glazunov, Raymonda

Performers: Nikolaj Hübbe (choreographer, after Petipa), The Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Danish Orchestra

WEDNESDAY 05 JUNE – TO LÜBECK (B, D)

We check out of our hotel this morning and travel by private coach to Lübeck, with a break for lunch along the way. Founded in the twelfth century, Lübeck was one of the most illustrious seats of global trade in the Middle Ages, and the former capital of the Hanseatic League. The World Heritage site is a preserve of Gothic, renaissance and baroque architecture, standing as a testament to the city’s longstanding maritime prestige. After checking into our hotel, dinner this evening is in a local restaurant. Overnight Lübeck.

THURSDAY 06 JUNE – LÜBECK (B)

This morning we survey Lübeck’s one-thousand-year history on a guided walking tour exploring the town’s alleyways, churches, monasteries and merchants’ houses. Despite sustaining significant damage in World War II, most of its noteworthy monuments, including the Holsten Gate, the churches of St Peter and St Mary, the town hall and several of the old salt warehouses survive intact. In the afternoon, we visit St Anne’s Museum Quarter to see the fine collection of medieval sculptures and altarpieces, including the breathtaking triptych of the Crucifixion by Hans Memling. The evening is at leisure for you to continue to explore this remarkable small city in the long twilight. Overnight Lübeck.

FRIDAY 07 JUNE – TO HAMBURG (B, D)

This morning we drive to the seaside town of Travemünde. Built in the twelfth century, the town’s location at the mouth of the Trave River offered an ideal defensive position during the time of the Hanseatic League. We visit the Church of St Lorenz to see its exquisitely painted ceiling and baroque altar, before strolling along the promenade and enjoying free time for lunch in one of the many seafood restaurants lining the quay. We then head for Hamburg, our destination for the next four nights. After checking into our hotel, dinner this evening is in a local restaurant. Overnight Hamburg.

SATURDAY 08 JUNE – HAMBURG’S COMPOSERS QUARTER, PERFORMANCE 4 (B)

After a morning talk, we take a guided walking tour through the Composers Quarter, a collection of six small museums dedicated to various aspects of Hamburg’s musical heritage. Located in restored merchant houses, the museums celebrate the lives and work of Brahms, Telemann, C.P.E. Bach, Hasse, Mahler and Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn – all of whom were either born or lived in Hamburg. The afternoon is at leisure before we attend a performance of Korngold’s rarely-performed Die tote Stadt at the Hamburg State Opera. Overnight Hamburg.

Performance details

Venue: Hamburg State Opera

Program: Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Die tote Stadt

Performers: Karoline Gruber (director), Cast TBA

SUNDAY 09 JUNE – HAMBURGER KUNSTHALLE, PERFORMANCE 5 (B)

We begin with a talk on today’s performance, before we visit the Hamburger Kunsthalle which houses one of the most important public art collections in Germany, with works ranging from the Middle Ages to Modernism. Highlights include medieval altars from north Germany, seventeenth-century Dutch Masters, masterpieces of German Romanticism and French Impressionism, and international contemporary art. In the late afternoon, in the outstanding main auditorium of the new Elbphilharmonie, we hear a semi-staged concert performance of Messiaen’s only opera, Saint François d’Assise. Overnight Hamburg.

Performance details

Venue: Grand Hall of the Elbphilharmonie

Program: Olivier Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise – a project by Kent Nagano and scenic designer Georges Delnon as part of the Hamburg International Music Festival

Performers: Anna Prohaska (The Angel), Johannes Martin Kränzle (St Francis), Hamburg State Opera Orchestra, Kent Nagano (conductor)

MONDAY 10 JUNE – SPEICHERSTADT, PERFORMANCE 6 (B)

A guided walking tour of the Speicherstadt this morning takes us to the world’s largest historic warehouse complex, spanning 260,000 square metres and fronting the Elbe River. Built on thousands of oak piles submerged in the river, the area was created as an economic free zone to avoid customs duty on the transfer of goods. From this vantage point, we observe the striking architecture of Hamburg’s foremost cultural landmark, the Elbphilharmonie. The dazzling curved glass sits atop a warehouse base – joining the old with the new – and houses three concert halls, each boasting cutting-edge acoustic design. This evening, we attend choreographer John Neumeier’s celebrated first full-length symphonic ballet (from 1975) of Mahler’s Symphony No.3 at the Hamburg State Opera. Overnight Hamburg.

Performance details

Venue: Hamburg State Opera

Program: ‘Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler’, John Neumeier (choreographer)

Performers: Royal Danish Ballet

TUESDAY 11 JUNE – TO BERLIN (B, D)

This morning we travel by coach to Berlin, with a break for refreshments on the way. After checking in, we take an orientation stroll with our tour leader to familiarise ourselves with the vibrant Mitte district where our hotel is located. Dinner this evening is in a local restaurant. Overnight Berlin.

WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE – NEUE GEMÄLDEGALERIE, PERFORMANCE 7 (B)

After a morning talk, we walk up Unter den Linden and through the Brandenburg Gate, before crossing the Tiergarten – the green heart of Berlin – to the famous Gemäldegalerie. There is time to explore the museum’s impressive collection of European masters from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century – including the world’s largest collection of Rembrandts – before returning to the hotel. This evening, we attend the Staatsoper Unter den Linden’s exciting new (2019) production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. Overnight Berlin.

Performance details

Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto

Performers: Alfredo Daza (Rigoletto), Pene Pati (Duke of Mantua), Aida Garifullina (Gilda), Grigory Schkarupa (Sparafucile), Elena Maximova (Maddalena), Staatskapelle Berlin, Giedrė Šlekytė (conductor)

THURSDAY 13 JUNE – AT LEISURE, PERFORMANCE 8 (B)

Following a morning talk on tonight’s opera, the remainder of the day is free to explore Berlin’s many museums and attractions. In the evening, we have our second visit to the beautifully refurbished Staatsoper Unter den Linden to see Simone Young conduct Claus Guth’s production of Musorgsky’s Russian folk drama Khovanshchina, which chronicles a late seventeenth-century uprising against Peter the Great. Overnight Berlin.

Performance details

Venue: Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Program: Modest Musorgsky, Khovanshchina (orchestrated by Shostakovich)

Performers: Mika Kares (Ivan Khovansky), Najmiddin Mavlyanov (Andrei Khovansky), Stephan Rügamer (Vasily Golitzin), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Dosifey), Marina Prudenskaya (Marfa), Vladislav Sulimsky (Boyar Shaklovity), Steve Davislim (Scrivener), Claus Guth (director), Staatskapelle Berlin, Simone Young (conductor)

FRIDAY 14 JUNE – RIVER CRUISE, PERFORMANCE 9 (B, L)

This morning we enjoy Berlin’s principal sights – such as Museum Island, the Nikolai Quarter, the main railway station and the Reichstag – from a different perspective as we take a relaxing cruise on the River Spree. Afterwards, we head to Norman Foster’s remarkable reconstruction of the Reichstag building. Ascending to the rooftop terrace restaurant, adjacent to Foster’s 800-ton steel and glass dome, we dine on modern German cuisine at our farewell lunch, while enjoying expansive views over the city. Tonight, in the famous Philharmonie, we hear Mahler’s mighty Sixth Symphony, played by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel – certainly a fitting end to our musical odyssey. Overnight Berlin.

Performance details

Venue: Philharmonie

Program: Gustav Mahler, Symphony No.6

Performers: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel (conductor)

SATURDAY 15 JUNE – DEPARTURE (B)

Our tour arrangements conclude after breakfast in the hotel. Our partner Mary Rossi Travel would be pleased to assist with your onward travel arrangements, including flights, transfers and international travel insurance.

Hotel Phoenix 4* Copenhagen, 5 nights

https://www.phoenixcopenhagen.com/

Hotel Atlantic 4* Superior Lübeck, 2 nights

https://www.atlantic-hotels.de/en/hotel-luebeck/

Hotel Steigenberger 5* Hamburg, 4 nights

https://hrewards.com/en/steigenberger-hotel-hamburg

Hilton Hotel, Berlin, 4 nights

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/berhitw-hilton-berlin/

Centrally located modern hotel offering comfort for our 4-night stay in Berlin.

NB: hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• 15 nights’ accommodation at 4*, 4* Superior and 5* hotels and aparthotels

• All breakfasts and 7 lunches or dinners

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, and tipping

• Tickets to 9 performances as set out in the itinerary

• All ground transport, guided tours and entrance fees to sites as mentioned in the itinerary, and tipping

• Talks by and expertise of a tour leader throughout

• Services of a professional tour manager throughout

A $1,500 deposit is required at the time of booking to confirm your place on this tour.

We will invoice you for a second deposit of $2,000 per person, due 01 February 2024.

We will invoice you for the final balance due on 18 March 2024.

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