milan & the verdi festival in parma

Performance 1, Monday 30 September
Venue: Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Program: Antonio Cesti, L’Orontea
Performers: Giovanni Antonini (conductor), Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Orontea), Mirco Palazzi (Creonte)

Performance 2, Tuesday 01 October
Venue: Teatro alla Scala, Milan
Program: John Neumeier (choreographer), La dame aux camélias
Performers: Simon Hewett (conductor), orchestra and ballet of Teatro alla Scala

Recital 1, Wednesday 02 October
Venue: Museo del Violino/Fondazione Stradivari, Cremona
Program and performers: TBA

Performance 3, Thursday 03 October
Venue: Teatro Girolamo Magnani, Fidenza
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Attila
Performers: Riccardo Frizza (conductory), Giorgi Manoshvili (Attila)

Performance 4, Friday 04 October
Venue: Teatro Regio, Parma
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, La battaglia di Legnano
Performers: Diego Ceretta (conductor), Marina Rebeka (Lida), Riccardo Fassi (Barbarossa)

Performance 5, Saturday 05 October
Venue: Teatro Verdi, Busseto
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Un ballo in maschera
Performers: TBA

Performance 6, Sunday 06 October
Venue: Teatro Regio, Parma
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Macbeth (French version)
Performers: Roberto Abbado (conductor), Ernesto Petti (Macbeth), Lidia Fridman (Lady Macbeth)

Recital 2, Monday 07 October
Venue: Library of San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma
Program: selected works for organ
Performer: TBA

• Enjoy four performances of works by Giuseppe Verdi, performed in the historic opera houses of the towns indelibly associated with his life and work

• Delight in two performances at Milan’s La Scala opera house: Robert Carsen’s new production of Cesti’s witty L’Orontea and John Neumeier’s haunting ballet La dame aux camélias

• Discover the medieval villages, castles and cathedrals of the Castelli del Ducato, a beautifully preserved Italian region untouched by international tourism

• Savour the superlative gastronomic culture of Parma and Emilia-Romagna

• Enhance your enjoyment of the performances with the operative expertise of your tour leader, Clive Paget, an engaging communicator and Limelight Magazine’s Editor-at-large

SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER – ARRIVAL (D)

The tour commences this evening at 6pm when we meet in the hotel for welcome drinks, after which we enjoy dinner together. Overnight Milan.

MONDAY 30 SEPTEMBER – LA SCALA – PERFORMANCE 1 (B)

We begin the day with a talk by your tour leader, Clive Paget. We then undertake a guided walking tour of central Milan, which includes an ascent by elevator to the terraces of Milan’s magnificent Gothic cathedral. The walking tour concludes at Teatro alla Scala, where we visit the small but interesting museum. The afternoon is at leisure, before we meet in the hotel lobby to attend this evening’s performance at La Scala: Robert Carson’s new production of Cesti’s L’Orontea (tickets TBC in May). Cesti, one of Monteverdi’s musical heirs and a younger contemporary of Cavalli, was one of the most popular composers of the seventeenth century. When it premiered in 1656, L’Orontea was an instant hit, thanks to its sizzling story of a queen who falls for a handsome stranger, only to discover that most of the women in her court are her rivals. Overnight Milan.

Performance 1
Venue: Teatro La Scala, Milan
Program: Antonio Cesti, L’Orontea
Performers: Giovanni Antonini (conductor), Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Orontea), Mirco Palazzi (Creonte)

TUESDAY 01 OCTOBER – LA SCALA WORKSHOPS – PERFORMANCE 2 (B, L)

This morning, after a pre-performance talk, we take a private transfer across Milan to the Laboratorio del Teatro alla Scala Ansaldo for a guided tour of La Scala’s costume workshop. The workshop is located in one of Milan’s resurgent districts, a nineteenth-century industrial area that has recently transformed into a centre for Milan’s fashion and design scene. After a guided tour of the costume workshop, we have lunch at a restaurant in the area before returning to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. In the evening, we meet in the hotel lobby to attend our second performance at La Scala, the John Neumeier-choreographed La dame aux camélias. This ballet, set to music by Chopin, takes as its source the same Alexandre Dumas novel that inspired Verdi’s La Traviata. Overnight Milan.

Performance 2
Venue: Teatro La Scala, Milan
Program: John Neumeier (choreographer), La dame aux camélias
Performers: Simon Hewett (conductor), orchestra and ballet of Teatro alla Scala

WEDNESDAY 02 OCTOBER – CREMONA – RECITAL 1 (B, D)

Today we travel to Parma for the Verdi Festival, stopping to visit Cremona on the way. Cremona’s place in Italian musical history is inextricably linked to the art of luthiery, particularly the development of modern stringed instruments by the Amati family and by Stradivarius. In the morning, we have a guided visit of the Museum of the Violin, whose collections include multiple instruments by these great luthiers. After our visit we have a private recital on a historical violin. After a break for lunch, we continue to a luthier’s workshop to learn directly from a master artisan. Continuing to Parma by coach, we check in and enjoy dinner together in a local restaurant. Overnight Parma.

THURSDAY 03 OCTOBER – ANCIENT CASTLES & ATTILA – PERFORMANCE 3 (B, L, CANAPÉS)

This morning we have a leisurely start, before we depart by coach to explore the castles that embody this region’s history as a border between rival duchies. Our first stop is Castell’Arquato, today a quiet castle town with a commanding view across the Apennine mountain passes. After a guided walking tour of the township, we have lunch at an excellent country restaurant before continuing to Vigoleno, a castle so perfect that it is frequently used as a medieval film set. In the later afternoon we continue to Fidenza, where we visit the medieval cathedral with its superlative Romanesque sculptures. After aperitifs and canapés, we take our seats for a concert performance of Verdi’s Attila, one of the composer’s most tuneful early operas, with patriotic sentiments that had audiences cheering in the aisles. We return to Parma after the performance. Overnight Parma.

Performance 3
Venue: Teatro Girolamo Magnani, Fidenza
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Attila
Performers: Riccardo Frizza (conductor), Giorgi Manoshvili (Attila)

FRIDAY 04 OCTOBER – ART & THEATRE IN PARMA – PERFORMANCE 4 (B)

This morning is at leisure in Parma, before we meet in the early afternoon for a private backstage visit of Parma’s Teatro Regio, whose illustrious past is indelibly linked to the life and career of Verdi. We then enjoy a walking tour of Parma’s historic centre, including the city’s medieval cathedral and baptistery, followed by the Teatro Farnese. This baroque theatre was commissioned by the Farnese family to be a centrepiece of ducal magnificence, and was even the setting for a naumachia (or artificial battle staged on water!), ‘Mercury and Mars’, set to music by Monteverdi and celebrating a wedding between the Farnese and Medici. In the evening, we attend a production of La battaglia di Legnano at Parma’s storied Teatro Regio. Composed in Paris, La battaglia di Legnano was so popular at its Rome premiere, the entire fourth act had to be encored! Overnight Parma.

Performance 4
Venue: Teatro Regio, Parma
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, La battaglia di Legnano
Performers: Diego Ceretta (conductor), Marina Rebeka (Lida), Riccardo Fassi (Barbarossa)

SATURDAY 05 OCTOBER – TERRE DI VERDI – PERFORMANCE 5 (B, L, D)

This morning is at leisure in Parma. In the early afternoon, we follow in the footsteps of Verdi on a guided excursion to his birth house at Le Roncole, and to sites related to Verdi in Busseto. In addition to its associations with Verdi, this region is also renowned for its gastronomy and viticulture, both of which we enjoy over a delightful lunch showcasing local produce. In the mid-afternoon, we attend a fully-staged performance of Un ballo in maschera at Busseto’s historic Teatro Verdi. We discuss our responses to the performance over dinner before returning to Parma. Overnight Parma.

Performance 5
Venue: Teatro Verdi, Busseto
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Un ballo in maschera
Performers: TBA

SUNDAY 06 OCTOBER – MAGNANI ROCCA & MACBETH – PERFORMANCE 6 (B, L)

We begin the morning with a pre-performance talk in the hotel. We then travel by coach to the Fondazione Magnani Rocca, an estate near Parma that houses the impressive private collections of a prominent Italian critic. The collections include significant works by Durer, Canova, Cézanne and Giorgio Morandi. After a guided tour and time to explore the collections independently, we have lunch at the Foundation’s well-regarded bistrot. In the mid-afternoon, we return to Parma to attend a new production of the rarely performed and subtly enhanced French version of Verdi’s Macbeth, directed by Pierre Audi, one of Europe’s most revered directors. Overnight Parma.

Performance 6
Venue: Teatro Regio, Parma
Program: Giuseppe Verdi, Macbeth (French version)
Performers: Roberto Abbado (conductor), Ernesto Petti (Macbeth), Lidia Fridman (Lady Macbeth)

MONDAY 07 OCTOBER – PATHS OF THE LABYRINTH – RECITAL 2 (B, L, CANAPÉS)

This morning we visit the library of San Giovanni Evangelista, a Benedictine abbey with frescoes by Correggio, Parmigianino and other Renaissance masters. In these peaceful surrounds we enjoy a private organ recital. We then travel by coach to the Labyrinth of Franco Maria Ricci, the unique vision of a major Italian publisher and private collector. The complex is Ricci’s personal and fantastical creation, the centrepiece of which is an enormous bamboo labyrinth. We enjoy a farewell lunch together at the centre’s excellent restaurant, before time to explore the labyrinth. Returning to Parma, there is time at leisure before we meet to discuss our experiences over farewell drinks and canapés. Overnight Parma.

TUESDAY 08 OCTOBER – DEPARTURE (B)

The tour ends after breakfast in the hotel. A coach transfer to Milan Malpensa will be available in the morning for those with onwards flights from Malpensa (departing in the mid-afternoon). If you’re travelling elsewhere in Italy, Parma is well connected by train to destinations such as central Milan, Bologna, Florence and Rome. Our travel partner Mary Rossi Travel would be pleased to assist with your onward arrangements, including flights, transfers and international travel insurance.

Hotel Cavour 4*, Milan, 3 nights

https://www.hotelcavour.it/en/

A well-located and recently renovated 4* hotel in central Milan, within walking distance of major sites such as Piazza Duomo and Teatro alla Scala.

NH Parma 4*, Parma, 6 nights

https://www.nh-hotels.com/en/hotel/nh-parma

A purpose-built, central hotel in Parma, one of the few located within walking distance of Parma’s historic sites and Teatro Regio. Rooms are decorated in a modern style, with balconies off each room contributing to the bright atmosphere.

NB: hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• 9 nights’ accommodation at centrally-located 4* hotels

• All breakfasts, 8 lunches or dinners including drinks, and welcome drinks and canapés

• Best available seats to 6 performances, including 2 at Teatro alla Scala

• Private recitals in 2 venues in Cremona and Parma

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

• Talks by and expertise of an expert tour leader throughout

• Services of an experienced tour manager throughout

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

A second deposit of $2,000pp is due on 01 June 2024.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 16 July 2024.

When you book on one of tours, we ask you to accept our terms and conditions. You can read our terms and conditions here.