THE BADEN-BADEN EASTER FESTIVAL

• Enjoy seven outstanding performances of opera, oratorio and orchestral music in Baden-Baden’s fine dual-purpose Festspielhaus

• Experience two of the next generation of great conductors, Klaus Mäkelä and Joana Mallwitz, conducting the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra respectively

• Enhance your enjoyment of the performances with talks by tour leader Robert Gay

• Enjoy day trips to absorb the region’s culture, history and scenery, including Strasbourg, baroque Rastatt and Romanesque Speyer

• Sample the fine wines grown in the little-known Rebland wine region, a micro-climate nestled between the Rhine River and the Black Forest

Performance #1: Sunday 21 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Mozart, Overture to DieZauberflöte; Concerto for Two pianos & orchestra, K.365; Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546; Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550
Performers: Lucas and Arthur Jussen (pianos and conducting) with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

Performance #2: Monday 22 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Beethoven, Missa Solemnis in D major, Op.123
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Chen Reiss (soprano), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (alto), Andrew Staples (tenor), William Thomas (baritone), Netherlands Radio Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Performance #3: Wednesday 23 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Schumann, Symphony No. 1, ‘Spring’; Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Performance #4: Thursday 25 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Schumann, Overture to Manfred; Sibelius, Violin concerto; Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Op.92
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Performance #5: Friday 26 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Mozart, Requiem, K.626; Beethoven, Choral Fantasy, Op.80
Performers: Joana Mallwitz (conductor), Alice Sara Ott (pianoforte), Regula Mühlemann (soprano), Marina Viotto (mezzo-soprano), Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonia Chorus

Performance #6: Saturday 27 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Wildman, Sonatina facile; Prokofiev, 10 pieces from Romeo & Juliet; Mozart, Fantasia in C Minor, K.396; Prokofiev, Piano sonata No. 8
Performers: Seong-Jin Cho (pianoforte)

Performance #7: Sunday 28 March
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Beethoven, Fidelio
Performers: Joana Mallwitz (conductor), Vera-Lotte Boecker (Leonore), Sean Panikkar (Florestan), Manuel Winckhler (Don Fernando), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Pizarro), Franz-Josef Selig (Rocco), Chelsea Zurflüh (Marzelline), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonia Chorus

SATURDAY 20 MARCH – ARRIVAL (Canapés)

We gather at Frankfurt airport at 12.30 pm this afternoon, at a meeting point to be confirmed, for a transfer by coach to our hotel in Baden-Baden. On arrival, there is time to settle into our  comfortable hotel before we meet tour leader Robert Gay at 6.00pm for welcome drinks and canapés. First of nine nights in Baden-Baden.

SUNDAY 21 MARCH – BADEN-BADEN & PERFORMANCE 1 (B, L)

Baden-Baden is a spa town situated on the northern edge of the Black Forest, which served as a summer capital of Europe during the Belle Époque. This morning, after a talk in the hotel by tour leader Robert Gay, we explore the history of the city on a walking tour which includes the Roman bath ruins and the Leopoldsplatz, followed by a welcome lunch. In the early evening, we transfer to the Festspielhaus for our splendid opening concert, where the brothers Lucas & Arthur Jussen perform Mozart’s charming Concerto for Two Pianos – both playing & conducting! – followed by Mozart’s turbulent, ‘proto-Romantic’ Symphony No.40 in G minor.

Performance #1
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Mozart, Overture to Die Zauberflöte; Concerto for Two Pianos & Orchestra, K.365; Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K.546; Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550
Performers: Lucas & Arthur Jussen (pianos & conducting) with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra

MONDAY 22 MARCH – WINE VILLAGES & PERFORMANCE 2 (B, L)

A short distance to the south-west of Baden-Baden, the sun-drenched Rebland wine region nestles between the Rhine River and the Black Forest, providing perfect conditions for growing Riesling and Pinot Noir varietals. We enjoy a delicious wine tasting at one of the leading vineyards, followed by a home-cooked lunch in the winery’s small restaurant. Returning to the hotel, the later afternoon is, necessarily, at leisure. This evening, chief conductor-designate, Klaus Mäkelä, conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in one of the great masterpieces of choral music, the mighty Missa Solemnis, which Beethoven considered his greatest work.

Performance #2
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Beethoven, Missa Solemnis in D major, Op.123
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Chen Reiss (soprano), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (alto), Andrew Staples (tenor), William Thomas (baritone), Netherlands Radio Choir, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

TUESDAY 23 MARCH – STRASBOURG (B)

Today we cross into France to the Alsatian city of Strasbourg, a fascinating city straddling German and French cultures and boasting a rich architectural heritage. After morning coffee, we have a guided walking tour of the inner city, including the Cathedral of Nôtre-Dame, Strasbourg’s Gothic masterpiece. After free time for lunch, we take in Strasbourg’s sites from the River Ill, on a cruise through the German imperial district of Neustadt, or ‘New City’, concluding at the European Parliament. We return to Baden-Baden this afternoon, where the evening is at leisure.

WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH – THE BRAHMS HOUSE & PERFORMANCE 3 (B)

Following a morning talk by Robert Gay, we explore the enduring relationship of Baden-Baden to music, with a walking tour focusing on the great composers and musicians associated with the city. At the Brahms House, we see the tiny room where Brahms lived and composed whenever he was visiting Clara Schumann, who lived nearby. We return to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. This evening Klaus Mäkelä returns with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to conduct Schumann’s vibrant ode to spring, his Symphony No.1 (1841), and Berlioz’s epic, 5-movement, programmatic, semi-autobiographical Symphonie fantastique – his Op.14, composed in 1830, just three years after Beethoven’s death!

Performance #3
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Schumann, Symphony No.1, ‘Spring’; Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

THURSDAY 25 MARCH – SPEYER & PERFORMANCE 4 (B)

This morning we travel by coach to Speyer, one of Germany’s oldest cities. We have a guided tour of the imperial Cathedral of St Mary and St Stephen, a massively impressive Romanesque construction dating back to the eleventh century. After free time for lunch in the pleasant town, we return to Baden-Baden. This evening, French violin virtuoso Renaud Capuçon joins Klaus Mäkelä and the Royal Concertgebouw for Sibelius’s great Violin Concerto (1905), which will be followed by Beethoven’s glorious Seventh Symphony.

Performance #4
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Schumann, Overture Manfred; Sibelius, Violin Concerto; Beethoven, Symphony No.7, Op.92
Performers: Klaus Mäkelä (conductor), Renaud Capuçon (violin), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

FRIDAY 26 MARCH – FRIEDER BURDA MUSEUM & PERFORMANCE 5 (B)

After a talk by Robert Gay in our hotel, we make our way to the nearby Frieder Burda Museum, where a museum guide introduces us to a carefully curated selection from over 1000 works of modern and contemporary art amassed by this passionate collector and philanthropist. There will also be time for you to explore the temporary exhibitions independently. This evening Joana Mallwitz and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra come together to perform Mozart’s Requiem along with Beethoven’s rarely heard Choral Fantasy.

Performance #5
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Mozart, Requiem, K.626; Beethoven, Choral Fantasy, Op.80
Performers: Joana Mallwitz (conductor), Alice Sara Ott (piano), Regula Mühlemann (soprano), Marina Viotto (mezzo-soprano), Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonia Chorus

SATURDAY 27 MARCH – BAROQUE RASTATT & PERFORMANCE 6 (B)

Today we travel by coach to the small Black Forest town of Rastatt, noted for its wealth of baroque architecture. The impressive Residential Palace with its gardens is the epitome of a baroque residence. Our guided tour takes us through the staterooms, lavishly decorated with stucco work and frescoes, and the Ancestral Hall with motifs depicting the victory over the Ottoman legions. After a break for lunch, we visit the Schloss Favorite, the summer residence and hunting lodge built for the Margravine Sibylla Augusta of Baden-Baden, set in an idyllic English-style landscaped park. The building contains an unparalleled collection of early Meissen and Chinese porcelain. In the mid-afternoon, we return to our hotel before this evening’s recital in the Festspielhaus by South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho (b.1994), who combines Mozart and Prokofiev, beginning with a sonatina by Jörg Widmann (b.1973).

Performance #6
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Widmann, Sonatina facile; Prokofiev, 10 pieces from Romeo & Juliet; Mozart, Fantasia in C minor, K.396; Prokofiev, Piano Sonata No.8
Performer: Seong-Jin Cho (piano)

SUNDAY 28 MARCH – EASTER SUNDAY & PERFORMANCE 7 (B, L)

After a final pre-performance talk by Robert Gay, we gather for a special Easter Sunday farewell lunch in a splendid local restaurant. After some time at leisure, we meet again this evening for our final performance at the Festival, a new production by Krzysztof Warlikowski of Beethoven’s magnificent Fidelio. Joana Mallwitz conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonia Chorus, with the role of Leonore sung by rising star Vera-Lotte Boecker and Sri Lankan/American tenor Sean Panikkar singing Florestan. The final triumphal chorus of this great work will provide an appropriate ending to our Beethoven Anniversary celebrations!

Performance #7
Venue: Festspielhaus
Program: Beethoven, Fidelio
Performers: Joana Mallwitz (conductor), Vera-Lotte Boecker (Leonore), Sean Panikkar (Florestan), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Don Pizarro), Franz-Josef Selig (Rocco), Chelsea Zurflüh (Marzelline), Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonia Chorus

MONDAY 29 MARCH – DEPARTURE (B)

This morning we have an included coach transfer to Frankfurt airport, arriving at approximately 1.00pm, in time for mid-afternoon flights. Contact us for further information when making your onward travel arrangements. The tour concludes on arrival at Frankfurt airport.

Aqua Aurelia 4* Baden-Baden, 9 nights

https://www.aquaaurelia.de/

A centrally-located and family-run suite hotel, with access to the thermal baths and hot springs. The light-filled and spacious suites start from a generous 35sqm, with private balconies or terraces, and are ideally suited for our 9-night stay. The onsite restaurant offers regional specialities and Mediterranean dishes.

NB: hotels of a similar standard may be substituted.

• 9 nights’ accommodation at a 4* hotel in Baden-Baden

• All breakfasts, 3 lunches, welcome canapes on arrival, and all drinks with included meals

• Category 2 tickets to 7 performances at the Baden-Baden Easter Festival

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

• Group arrival transfer by coach from Frankfurt airport to our hotel in Baden-Baden to commence the tour, and to Frankfurt airport from our hotel in Baden-Baden at the conclusion of the tour

• Talks by and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout

• Assistance of a German speaking tour manager throughout

A $2,000pp deposit is required at the time of booking to hold your place on tour.

A second deposit of $2,500pp is due on 20 November 2026.

We will invoice you for final payment for the tour, due on 04 January 2027.

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