THE TOUR INCLUDES: - Top category seats for all performances as listed - 7 nights accommodations at 4 and 5 star Deluxe hotels in the city centres (Venice: Hotel Londra Palace; Milan: Grand Hotel et de Milan; Camogli: Hotel Cenobio Dei Dogi) - Full breakfast daily, 3 lunches and 3 dinners - 3 custom (private) city tours, including the most important historical and architectural sites, galleries and museums - private Airport-Hotel transfers - tour direction by an Aria Tours director - a comprehensive tour handbook containing travel info, performance synopses and a detailed daily itinerary Cost: $5645 US Single Supplement: $1100 US Deposit: $2500 Balance due: February 15, 2008

OPTIONS FLIGHTS We will be happy to make any flight arrangements, including reward travel with your preferred carrier, for $75 per person. Inbound flight should be booked to Milan, outbound either from Genoa or Milan. 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.

It is impossible to think of travelling to Italy for opera without attending a performance at either La Fenice or La Scala, and this tour affords an opportunity to visit both. In addition, a performance at Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice and a relaxing stay on the sublimely beautiful Ligurian Coast make this a unique opera travel opportunity.

Venice is one of the world's most thoroughly unique destinations; a city that inspires even the most worldly of travellers. Quite simply, "La Serenissima" is unlike anywhere else on the planet, with a collage of 116 islands connected by 409 bridges, where cars are banned and everyone, including postmen and the police, goes by boat. History is writ large in this northeastern Italian city, and when visitors ease through the morning mists on empty canals or study the grandiose buildings rising up on all sides, it is easy to slip back through the centuries, to the time of the Doges - the omnipotent rulers whose influence spread well beyond the Venetian Lagoon.

From the beginning of the 19th century, La Fenice acquired a European reputation. Rossini mounted two major productions in the theatre and Bellini had two operas premiered there. Donizetti, fresh from his triumphs in Milan and Naples, returned to Venice in 1836, after an absence of seventeen years. Giuseppe Verdi's association with La Fenice began in 1844, with a performance of Ernani during the Carnival season. Over the next thirteen years, the premieres of Attila, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Simon Boccanegra took place there. A fire savaged La Fenice in 1996, but after various delays, reconstruction began in earnest in 2001. In 650 days, a team of two hundred plasterers, artists, woodworkers, and other craftsman succeeded in recreating the ambience of the old theatre's 19th century style at a cost of some €90 million.

Three times in its history, Milan has had to rebuild after being conquered. The Milan we visit today thoroughly enjoys its hard earned role as Italy's richest and second largest city. Wealthy and cosmopolitan, the Milanesi enjoy a reputation as successful business people, embracing tradition, sophistication and ambition in equal measure.

Teatro alla Scala, the Grand Dame of Italy's opera houses, re-opened after a restoration in December, 2004 and is once again the cultural highlight of the city. It now boasts a dazzling auditorium and a brand-new technologically advanced stage to match its enchanting atmosphere. Originally built between 1776 and 1778, "La Scala" was to become in the 19th century a symbol of the Risorgimento, the struggle for Italian unification, largely through its link with the life of the great composer Giuseppe Verdi. His stirring arias, often not-so-veiled references to yearnings of the oppressed, became patriotic calls-to-arms. La Scala is now one of the meeting points for Milan's élite. Seats are coveted internationally, and the repertoire is distinct in that, even though it often programs the Italian opera classics, it also champions unusual gems.

Liguria is a garden overlooking the sea, a landscape painted of palms, blooming seafronts, fishing boats and colorful houses. Liguria also means historical cities and small medieval towns, places of international fame with names which recall the notes and colors of the Dolce Vita. The entire arch of the Ligurian coast is a stretch of sand and pebble beaches alternating with cliffs overhanging the sea, enclosing small coves. The Alps and Apennines stand behind the coast with their great mountain environments. The capital of the Region is Genoa, which boasts the largest historic centre of any European city. It was one of the leading maritime republics of medieval Italy (with Marseilles it remains the largest port in the Mediterranean. The city has a glorious past (Christopher Columbus was born here), the great sights of which still remain and with a particular charm all their own. The Teatro Carlo Felice, the principal opera hall of Genoa, is named for Duke Carlo Felice, and dates to December 24, 1824. The recently reconstructed house boasts particularly excellent acoustics.

THE ITINERARY

Tuesday, April 22..Departures
Individual departures for Italy.

Wednesday, April 23...Arrivals in Milan
Upon arrival in Milan, you will be met and transferred to the historic Grand Hotel et de Milan. Steps from La Scala, the Grand was Verdi's city home from 1872 until his death in 1901 (during our stay, I will take the group for a brief visit to Verdi's apartment, pictured at left, preserved much as it was when he lived there). After settling in, we gather for introductions and then enjoy an unforgettable Welcome Dinner at the ristorante Don Carlos in the hotel.

Thursday, April 24..Milan
After breakfast we depart on a guided city tour (private), featuring amongst other sites the magnificent Duomo, the Casa di Riposo—the lovely home endowed by Verdi to house "retired" musicians, and the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie to view da Vinci's The Last Supper. Afterward, we enjoy a special lunch and wine tasting at Peck—one of the finest gourmet groceterias in the world. A stroll through the shop is like a visit to a fine food museum. The afternoon is at leisure. This evening, we gather and make the very short walk to the incomparable La Scala for our performance—a Graham Vick production of Verdi's Macbeth (Kazushi Ono conducts; Violeta Urmana, Walter Fraccaro, Alfredo Nigro).

Friday, April 25...Milan - Venice
After breakfast, check out and depart by private private coach bound for Venice. En route along the foothills of the Alps, we make a brief stop in Verona to see the renowned Roman Amphitheatre (Arena di Verona). We also stop briefly in Padua, to see the Scrovegni Chapel and its famous frescoes.

Upon arrival in Venice, we transfer by private water taxi along the Grand Canal directly to our deluxe hotel, the Londra Palace. The hotel has stunning views across the lagoon and is near Piazza San Marco, walking distance from La Fenice. After check-in, the afternoon is at leisure to absorb the magnifence of this incredible city. This evening, we gather in the hotel's fabulous ristorante Do Leoni to enjoy dinner, with views over the lagoon to the island of San Giorgio and its picturesque cathedral.

Saturday, April 26...Venice
Following breakfast, we enjoy a guided city tour (private), featuring some expert insight into the districts of San Marco and Rialto. The discussion will focus on Venice's mythic past, its relation to Constantinople and the Eastern world, and the rise and fall of "La Serenissima"—the "Most Serene Venetian Republic." We will see some of the more recognizable sights, such as Palazzo Ducale and St. Mark's Square, but we will avoid the crowds in favour of local flavour. The tour will conclude with lunch at La Rivetta, where the gondoliers stop for their midday meals. This is a true slice of historic Venice--not standard tourist fare. This evening we gather and make our way on foot to a performance of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the beautifully restored Teatro La Fenice.

Sunday, April 27...Venice
Enjoy the day at leisure in Venice. You will also have the option of partaking in an informative tour to the sestiere of Dorsoduro. This district was a favorite of American and English expatriates from the days of the Grand Tour, most notably the American heiress and art collector Peggy Guggenheim, who settled in a palace on the Grand Canal and got around in her private gondola. Her small but choice collection of modern art is now one of the most pleasant museums to visit in town. The engaging Gallerie dell'Accademia nearby contain many masterpieces of Western painting of the 14th through 19th centuries; and the Museo del Settecento Veneziano, housed in baroque Ca' Rezzonico, opens a dramatic window on the lifestyle of 18th-century Venice. We will also offer suggestions to tour registrants on the various day trips to be had, all of which are excellent.

Monday, April 28...Venice - Camogli
After breakfast, we depart by private coach for the Ligurian Coast (3 hrs.) through the scenic and lush slopes of the Appenines. Upon arrival in Camogli, we check in to our historic and stunningly-set 4-star Hotel Cenobio Dei Dogi. The hotel overlooks the aptly named Paradise Gulf to the west, and features an outstanding restaurant, a huge seaside swimming pool and piano lounge with underwater views. Upon arrival, the afternoon is at leisure to absorb the setting in your own way. In the evening, we gather in the hotel's ristorante La Playa for a dinner looking out to the Ligurian Sea and the shimmering lights which dot the coast.

Tuesday, April 29...Camogli
Enjoy the morning at leisure. We suggest a stroll along the seaside promenade through the charming town of Camogli, where interesting shops and cafés abound. In the afternoon, following lunch at leisure, we depart by private coach for nearby Genoa. We enjoy a brief city tour (Palazzo Reale, Piazza San Matteo, Via Garibaldi, Palazzo Ducale), on which we are treated to a unique local insight into life in the old town. Afterward, we enjoy dinner (included) at the ristorante Gran Grotto, one of the finest traditional restaurants in Genoa. Afterwards, we attend a performance of Bellini's La sonnambula at Teatro Carlo Felice. Coach return to Camogli following.

Wednesday, April 30...Departures
Transfers to Malpensa or Linate in Milan are included. Those wishing to extend their stay in Venice (pre-tour), Camogli or Milan will be accommodated at cost.