THE TOUR INCLUDES: 10 nights deluxe accommodations: 8 at the Westin Grand Hotel Berlin, 2 at the Kempinski Taschenbergpalais in Dresden Full breakfast daily, 4 lunches, 3 dinners Private/guided tours in each city (3 Berlin tours, including a city highlights survey, the Pergamon and Alte Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Platz and the Gemäldegalerie, and Charlottenburg; Potsdam, with Cecilienhof and Sansoucci; Leipzig, Dresden with Zwinger Palace and the “Green Vault”) Private airport-hotel transfers On site Tour Direction Cost: $8475 US Single Supplement: $1500 US Deposit: $3000 US Balance due: January 15, 2010 *Group size is limited to ten members

OPTIONS FLIGHTS We will be happy to make any flight arrangements, including reward travel with your preferred carrier, for $75 per person. Return flights should be booked to Berlin Tegel Airport, with arrivals on April 16, returns on April 26. AIRPORT-HOTEL TRANSFERS We include airport-hotel transfers (group) on the published tour dates. Transfers are not included for early arrivals or extended stays, although we can easily make these arrangements for you. TOUR ADDITIONS The itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and desires. Please call us to discuss any changes or amendments you wish to make. INSURANCE We strongly recommend that all tour members purchase cancellation insurance upon registration. We can assist you with this, though you are welcome to purchase a policy at your own discretion. If you would like information on the policies offered by our supplier, please contact us for details, or click HERE for an insurance brochure and application.

This exemplary Götz Friedrich interpretation of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Donald Runnicles, with sets by Peter Sykora, is one of the international opera highlights for 2010. The stellar cast includes Clifton Forbis, Reinhard Hagen, Mark Delavan, Violeta Urmana, Kristine Jepson, Stefan Vinke, Egils Silins, Evelyn Herlitzius, Alfons Eberz, Matti Salminen and Janice Baird. We have prime orchestra seats for the 'Ring', and excellent seats for all concerts. Our accommodation is the Westin Grand Berlin on the Gendarmenmarkt, where we have reserved deluxe rooms. In addition to the spectacular music programme, we include unique tours with the very best guides in each city, and exquisite meals at hidden gem restaurants.

The staggered performance dates for the 'Ring' (April 17, 18, 21, 25) allow us to make the most of the rich musical opportunities that will surround us. In Berlin, we have the opportunity to twice attend concerts at the renowned Philharmonie. Our first concert is with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester conducted by Marek Janowski in a programme featuring Chausson's Symphony in B flat major and Ravel's L'heure espagnole. Vocalists include the incredible baritone Bo Skovhus, mezzo Vesselina Kasarova and tenor Shawn Mathey. We will also hear the famous Berlin Philharmonic with guest conductor Jirí Bìlohlávek and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Janácek's Instrumental Suite from The House of the Dead, Schönberg's Piano Concerto and Brahms' Symphony No. 4).

We also have time between performances for a two-night stay in Dresden (at the luxurious Kempinski Taschenbergpalais), where we will tour the most important historic sites and hear the world-famous Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of visiting conductor Andris Nelsons. The programme features Haydn's "Trauer-Sinfonie" in E minor, Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C major (KV 314) and Schönberg's "Transfigured Night", op. 4. From Dresden, we will make a day trip to Leipzig for touring and to hear the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester under the baton of maestro Riccardo Chailly, in a programme featuring the works of Schumann (in his bicentennial year).

We hope that you will join us for this rare opportunity to hear five of the world's greatest orchestras and Wagner's master work, all on the same tour programme.

THE ITINERARY

Thursday, April 15
Departure from North America for Germany.

Friday, April 16
Upon arrival in Berlin, we are met and transferred to the Westin Grand Hotel, in the heart of the city on the historic Gendarmenmarkt. This evening, we gather for introductions and a Welcome Dinner.

Saturday, April 17
Morning guided coach/walking tour of the city's most significant points of interest (Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz, Unter den Linden, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church). Lunch is included at the Reichstag’s rooftop restaurant. This evening we gather for cocktails prior to Das Rheingold at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Sunday, April 18
This morning we walk through the oldest part of the city, the Nikolaiviertel, to ‘Museums Island’ for guided tours at the Pergamon Museum, home of one of the world’s finest collections of Near Eastern antiquities, and the Alte Nationalgalerie, with its superb collection of 19th century European painting. This evening, we transfer once again to the Deutsche Oper for Die Walküre. 5 pm start.

Monday, April 19
Day at leisure.

Tuesday, April 20
Today we offer a tour of the Gemäldegalerie, one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters, and the Neue Nationalgalerie (designed by Mies van der Rohe), with its outstanding collection of 20th-century art, and Potsdamer Platz, one of Europe’s greatest building projects, with an array of international architects represented. Lunch is included following the tour at the renowned Adlon Hotel. This evening we attend a special concert at the renowned Philharmonie with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester conducted by Marek Janowski. The programme features Chausson's Symphony in B flat major and Ravel's L'heure espagnole. Vocalists include the incredible baritone Bo Skovhus, mezzo Vesselina Kasarova and tenor Shawn Mathey.

Wednesday, April 21
Today we tour to Schloss Charlottenburg, a remarkable Baroque and Rococo palace and the earliest important edifice in Berlin, with stunning interiors. This evening we return to the Deutsche Oper for Siegfried. Dinner included at the interval.

Thursday, April 22
Depart for Dresden, where we check in at the spectacular Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski, one of the finest hotels in the world. Following lunch at leisure we meet for a guided coach/walking tour of the city's most significant points of interest. We visit the Baroque Zwinger Palace and the great domed Frauenkirche, now completely rebuilt. This evening we transfer to the Semperoper where we hear the world-famous Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of visiting conductor Andris Nelsons. The programme features Haydn's "Trauer-Sinfonie" in E minor, Mozart's Oboe Concerto in C major (KV 314) and Schönberg's "Transfigured Night", op. 4.

Friday, April 23
Late morning we visit the Rezidenzschloss, one of the world’s finest princely treasuries, once again displayed in the Green Vault. We then transfer to Leipzig, where our first stop is for lunch at the Auerbachskeller (made famous in Goethe’s Faust). We then tour the Marketplace and Old City Hall, Stock Exchange and the churches of St Nicholas and St Thomas (where J.S. Bach was choir master) Time permitting, we visit the Museum of Musical Instruments and possibly the Bach Museum and Mendelssohn House before a short dinner break at leisure. We meet at the famous Gewandhaus for a performance by the Gewandhaus Orchester under the baton of maestro Riccardo Chailly (Schumann).

Saturday, April 24
Return to Berlin via Potsdam, where we tour Frederick the Great’s rococo San Souci Palace. Afterward, we lunch at Cecilienhof Palace, where the Potsdam Conference ended the Allied war with Germany in 1945. Check in once again at the Westin Grand. This evening we attend a concert by the renowned Berlin Philharmonic with guest conductor Jirí Bìlohlávek and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Janácek, Schönberg, Brahms).

Sunday, April 25
Enjoy a full day at leisure (though we will offer an optional tour of Daniel Libeskind’s Jewish Museum, which exhibits the social, political and cultural history of the Jews in Germany from the 4th century to the present). Late afternoon (4 pm) we attend or final performance at the Deutsche Oper: Götterdämmerung. Farewell Dinner at a hidden gem restaurant near the hotel afterward.

Monday, April 26
Departures. Hotel-airport transfers are included.