Monday, June 11 San Francisco
Upon arrival in San Francisco, you will be met at the airport and transferred to the Campton Place Hotel. A historic site, the hotel marries two early twentieth century buildings and has a classical European charm, with an ambience that exudes privacy, warmth and luxury. In the evening we gather for the short walk to our Welcome Dinner at the lauded Fleur de Lys restaurant featuring master chef Hubert Keller.
Tuesday, June 12 San Francisco
In the morning we embark on a private guided coach and walking tour of the city’s highlights. As part of the tour we visit the De Young Art Museum, founded in 1896 and currently the fourth-most visited art museum in North America. We will be guided through the collection’s highlights and are free to view the remainder of the holdings at leisure. Following the tour we will enjoy lunch at the Legion of Honor Café. Tonight we attend the War Memorial Opera House for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Attila. Nicola Luisotti leads a world-class cast featuring bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role, baritone Quinn Kelsey and exciting young Venezuelan soprano Lucrezia Garcia.
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Director: Gabriele Lavia
Attila: Ferruccio Furlanetto
Odabella: Lucrezia Garcia
Foresto: Fabio Sartori
Ezio: Quinn Kelsey
Pope Leo I: Samuel Ramey
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Wednesday, June 13 San Francisco
Late morning we depart for a private tour of the Asian Art Museum, one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian Art, with a collection of over 17,000 works spanning 6,000 years of history. Lunch is included following the tour. In the evening we return to the War Memorial Opera House for a performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute. Endlessly inventive, charmingly fantastical and utterly unique, Mozart’s final opera is a profound yet light-hearted tale of erotic love, spiritual transcendence and the beguiling art of bird catching. The ensemble cast is led by conductor Rory Macdonald, an exciting young talent.
Conductor: Rory Macdonald
Director: Harry Silverstein
Pamina: Heidi Stober
Tamino: Alek Shrader
Papageno: Nathan Gunn
The Queen of the Night: Albina Shagimuratova
Sarastro: Kristinn Sigmundsson
Monostatos: Greg Fedderly
The Speaker: David Pittsinger
Sung in English with English supertitles
Thursday, June 14 San Francisco
Enjoy the day at leisure in San Francisco.
Tonight we attend a performance of Nixon in China. John Adams’ rhythmically rich recreation of a presidential trip to Beijing has established itself as a great American opera, a work of “clarity, simplicity, shocking elegance” that “will be around for the long haul” (The New York Times).
Conductor: Lawrence Renes
Director: Michael Cavanagh
Richard Nixon: Brian Mulligan
Pat Nixon: Maria Kanyova
Mao Tse-tung; Simon O’Neill
Mdm. Mao Tse-tung: Hye Jung Lee
Chou En-lai: Chen-Ye Yuan
Henry Kissinger: Patrick Carfizzi
Friday, June 15 Napa Valley
Today we leave the hustle and bustle of the city for a relaxing coach tour through California’s lovely Napa valley, famous for its world-class, family-owned wineries and fantastic, unique cuisine. Along the way we will stop at three wineries for wine tastings and tours, including a light lunch with wine pairings on the terrace of the Signorello Estate with its breathtaking views of the rolling hills. After a short tour of the town of Napa, we will make our way to the lauded Meadowood Resort in St. Helena where we will have an early dinner. The casually elegant dining experience, with Chef Christopher Kostow’s modern approach to Napa cuisine, has earned the restaurant 3 Michelin stars, one of only two restaurants in the Bay Area with such accreditation. Following our dinner we make the short return drive to San Francisco.
Saturday, June 16 Departures
Individual transfers (included) to the airport for homeward flights.