THE TOUR INCLUDES: Top Category seats for 6 operas (plus 2 optional operas) and 3 Shakespeare plays 10 nights deluxe accommodations (Hartwell House; Covent Garden Hotel; Horsted Place) Full breakfast daily, 4 lunches, 3 dinners Custom private tours of Oxford, Stratford-upon Avon, Blenheim Palace, the National Gallery, Royal Opera House, Chartwell, Penshurst and Monk’s House (Virginia Woolf) Private airport-hotel transfers Tour Direction by an Aria Tours representative A comprehensive Tour Guidebook, with travel and performance info/detailed daily itinerary Cost: $8975 US Single Supplement: $1675 US Deposit: $3000 Balance due: March 28, 2010

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 London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with arrival on Tuesday, June 29, and the flight back home departing on Friday, July 9. 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.

The fact that this trip has as its shared focus two of the greatest creative geniuses in the history of humanity is merely icing on a very delicious cake, for each segment of this journey will be a unique and joyous experience unto itself. Our first destination is the tranquil setting of the Buckinghamshire countryside. The Vale of Aylesbury is one of the most beautiful parts of Buckinghamshire, endowed with several grand properties owned by the National Trust, including our stunning first accommodation, Hartwell House. The rooms in this magnificent 17th century stately home have high ceilings, fine fabrics and dreamy views over the extensive landscape, and are superbly furnished with antiques and hung with fine paintings. Hartwell is truly an idyllic setting and a wonderful start to the tour.

From here we easily explore Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon (where we will attend both King Lear and Antony & Cleopatra at the Royal Shakespeare Company) and Garsington Manor, where we hear (in keeping with our Shakespeare theme) Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the Garsington Opera. Another of England’s “country-house” opera festivals, Garsington Opera promotes young British talent by providing a platform for those just beginning to make their name on the world-wide opera stage, and a number of notable UK debuts have taken place here. The resident orchestra, The Garsington Opera Orchestra, is made up of talented musicians many of whom have careers as soloists and have their own chamber ensembles.

The tour’s second segment is London, the vibrant and storied heart of England. Here we stay at the superb Covent Garden Hotel, perfectly-located in the heart of the city a short walk from the Royal Opera House. In addition to some wonderful touring (National Gallery, Royal Opera House) we attend performances at both the Royal Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro plus an optional Massenet’s Manon with Anna Netrebko) and the English National Opera (Mozart’s first operatic masterpiece, Idomeneo). In addition, we enjoy a very special dinner and performance (tba) at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, where we watch the play from our private box.

From London we move to Uckfield and the lovely Horsted Place, a gothic mansion built in 1850. The 1100 acre gardens were designed by the 20th century’s greatest landscape architect, Geoffrey Jellicoe (look for the myrtle tree grown from a sprig taken from Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet, and the “Queen's Walk”, a path through the grounds to the local 10th century church which was used by Queen Elizabeth II when staying with the owners). This will be our base for attending the revered Glyndebourne Festival. In spite of the notorious “decades-long” waiting list for tickets, we will attend a pair of Mozart operas (Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte) and offer an optional Verdi’s Macbeth. This tour is a rare opportunity to truly indulge in the genius of Mozart and Shakespeare in one programme, and to do so in fine fashion and in a manner that befits our unforgettable surroundings.

THE ITINERARY

Monday, June 28...
Departure flights from North America to London. We can assist with flights upon request ($75 fee).

Tuesday, June 29
Upon arrival at Heathrow, you will be met and transferred to Hartwell House—a stunning manor home set in ninety acres of landscaped parkland just 40 miles (1 hour) northwest of London. After a restful afternoon, me meet for a Welcome Dinner in the hotel’s excellent Dining Room.

Wednesday, June 30
Mid-morning we depart to Oxford for a guided tour of the oldest university in the English-speaking world. We will see, amongst other sites, Christchurch College, the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera. Following lunch at one of Oxford’s historic pubs, we return to Hartwell House. Early evening we gather and transfer to Garsington Manor for our open-air performance of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Steuart Bedford conducts a cast that includes Rebecca Bottone, James Laing and Neal Davies.

Thursday, July 1
Mid-morning we depart for a day in Stratford-upon-Avon, stopping first to briefly explore the sites associated with the life of Shakespeare. We then have a quick lunch before attending a matinée performance of The Bard’s tragic masterpiece, King Lear, by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Following the performance, we have time for a bite at the theatre before returning for the evening performance of Antony & Cleopatra. *Note: we realize that two plays in one day is ambitious, but we are adding the second at no additional cost. Those wishing to opt out of one or the other will be accommodated.

Friday, July 2
Today we transfer to London, stopping first for a visit at Blenheim Palace, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The beauty and tranquility of `Capability’ Brown’s landscaped parkland, created in the 1760s, is unrivalled anywhere in Britain. In London, we check in at the Covent Garden Hotel, one of the finest in the city. We will offer an orientation tour of the city before taking afternoon tea at the hotel (included). This evening we transfer to the lovely Coliseum, home of the English National Opera, for Mozart’s superb Idomeneo. Edward Gardner conducts.

Saturday, July 3
Late morning, meet our guide and depart for a tour of the National Gallery, which houses one of the greatest collections of European painting in the world, including Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and countless masterpieces by Leonardo, Cézanne, Raphael, Caravaggio, Rubens and many more. Time permitting, we also tour the Royal Albert Hall. This evening we have a private box (with champagne and petits fours) at the Globe Theatre for a performance (tba in December) by the renowned Globe Theatre Company. Dinner is included in the Globe’s excellent Brasserie.

Sunday, July 4
Enjoy the day at leisure in London. This evening, we attend a very special performance of Massenet’s Manon at the Royal Opera, conducted by Antonio Pappano and starring Anna Netrebko, Vittorio Grigòlo, Russell Braun and Philip Langridge.

Monday, July 5
Today we move south stopping first to tour Winston Churchill’s former home at Chartwell, and then to the 650 year-old Penshurst Manor where we have lunch and a guided tour. Late afternoon we arrive at Horsted Place, our stately and luxurious base for attending the Glyndebourne Festival. This evening we dine in the lovely restaurant on site.

Tuesday, July 6
Today is yours to enjoy the restful grounds at Horsted Place or to venture out on your own. Late afternoon we transfer to the Christie mansion and our first performance at Glyndebourne, Verdi’s Macbeth. Vasily Petrenko conducts for this Richard Jones production, starring Erika Sunnegård, Andrzej Dobber, Stanislav Shvets and Yonghoon Lee. We will have a picnic dinner on the grounds during the long interval.

Wednesday, July 7
After a morning at leisure, we depart early for the performance in order to stop for a brief tour of Monk’s House, the former home of Virginia Woolf. At Glyndebourne, we hear Mozart’s magnificent Don Giovanni, conducted by Festival Director Vladimir Jurowski, and featuring William Burden, Gerald Finley, Luca Pisaroni and Kate Royal.

Thursday, July 8
After a morning at leisure, we gather for a Farewell Lunch before departing to Glyndebourne and our final performance, Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Gaffigan; Matthews, Semmingsen, Clayton, Gleadow).

Friday, July 9
Departures to Heathrow (90 mins.) are included.