COPENHAGEN TO BERLIN: OPERAS & ORCHESTRAS
20 APRIL – 02 may 2027
CLIVE PAGET
*** Preliminary Itinerary ***
Join Limelight’s Clive Paget on an extraordinary musical journey through four of Europe’s great cultural capitals – Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Dresden and Berlin – and enjoy premieres, rarely-performed works and world-class opera
OVERVIEW
Join Limelight magazine’s Editor-at-Large Clive Paget on an extraordinary musical journey through great European cultural capitals, enjoying masterworks of opera and orchestral performance in a carefully curated program of music and sightseeing.
The tour program features eight performances, including Wagner’s Das Rheingold in Frankfurt and Barrie Kosy directing Strauss’s Die Fledermaus in Copenhagen as well as Handel’s Semele in Berlin. There are also lesser-known works from great composers, from Humperdinck’s rarely performed Königskinder to Paer’s early opera Leonora – the inspiration for Beethoven’s Fidelio – and Elgar’s deeply moving Dream of Gerontius. The settings, too, are of the highest calibre: Copenhagen’s striking waterfront Opera House, the historic Semperoper in Dresden and Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, as well as two operas in Frankfurt’s critically acclaimed Opernhaus.
The musical program is complemented by a thoughtful program of sightseeing. In Copenhagen, there is a cruise that situates the Opera House in its context, as well as guided tours of the Amalienborg Palace, home of the royal family, and Glyptotek, with its excellent collection of antiquities. Frankfurt offers a wealth of museums – the Städel, with its works by Vermeer, Botticelli, Monet and Munch – and there is the opportunity to survey the newly-renovated institutions of Berlin’s Museum Island. We also call in at Mainz, to visit the Gutenberg Museum, and Eisenach, the birthplace of JS Bach.
A highlight of the tour is your tour leader’s expertise: Clive Paget offers background talks and post-performance debriefs that will enhance your understanding and appreciation of the musical program.
TOUR LEADER
Clive Paget is a leading arts writer and critic and is Editor-at-Large for Limelight in Australia. He also writes for Musical America, Opera News, BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Guardian, and others on a wide range of topics. Currently based in the UK, he has reported for Limelight from both New York and London.
Before moving to Sydney in 2008, Clive was Sir Nicholas Hytner’s music theatre consultant at London’s National Theatre, where he initiated many new projects. In 1997 he co-directed the world premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s previously unperformed musical, Saturday Night, and was a founder of London’s influential Bridewell Theatre.
“Clive is an excellent tour leader, so knowledgeable and able to share his knowledge in an engaging interesting way” – Carolyn F., Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival, 2025
Image of Clive Paget courtesy Sam Grimmer
Highlights
Enjoy eight performances in premiere European venues, including the Copenhagen Opera House, Dresden’s storied Semperoper and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Delight in six operas, including two directed by Barrie Kosky, from Handel to Wagner and Strauss
Appreciate great composers, including Elgar, Grieg and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”
Visit outstanding collections of European art and antiquities, in Copenhagen, Frankfurt’s Städel and on Berlin’s Museum Island
Enhance your appreciation of the performances with talks and post-performance briefings with Limelight’s Clive Paget
Questions?
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