THE TOUR INCLUDES: - Prime Orchestra or Grand Tier seats for Eugene Onegin, Adriana Lecouvreur and Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera - 4 nights deluxe accommodations at the 4 star Iroquois New York Hotel (Midtown) - Full breakfast daily, 2 lunches and 2 dinners (fine dining) - Private, guided tours of the Morgan, New York Public, Performing Arts (Music Division) and Frick libraries - Private Airport-Hotel and performance transfers - Tour direction by an Aria Tours director - An Aria Tours handbook containing travel info, performance synopses and a detailed daily itinerary Cost: $3625 US Single Supplement: $600 US Deposit: $1500 Balance due: November 5, 2008 Optional (self-directed) WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW FEBRUARY 8 - 11, 2009 - Prime reserved seating for the Westminster Dog Show at Madison Square Garden - 3 nights deluxe accommodations with breakfast at the Iroquois New York Hotel - Private airport-hotel and Dog Show transfers Cost: $1575 US Single Supplement: $450 US

OPTIONS FLIGHTS We will be happy to make any flight arrangements, including reward travel with your preferred carrier, for $75 per person. 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.

That our evenings in New York will be spent in the hallowed hall that is the Metropolitan Opera House goes without saying. And what stellar evenings they will be, with Plácido Domingo holding the baton for Adriana Lecouvreur (Maria Guleghina, Marcelo Álvarez and Olga Borodina), Karita Mattila and Thomas Hampson in Eugene Onegin and Željko Lucic, who triumphed as Macbeth, tackling another pinnacle of the Italian baritone repertory in the title role of Rigoletto (alongside Diana Damrau, Giuseppe Filianoti and Joseph Calleja). And, at the suggestion of one of our tour members from the 2008 New York trip (thank you, Linda!), we will spend our days following a theme that we are very excited about: visits to several of the city’s great libraries.

The New York Public Library is one of the great knowledge institutions of the world, its myriad collections ranking with those of the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the Bibliothčque nationale de France. Virtually all of the Library's many collections and services are freely available to all comers, reflecting the profoundly democratic and all-encompassing nature of the institution. Numbering into the tens of millions, its holdings range from the most venerable monuments of human culture—such as the Gutenberg Bible and Jefferson's manuscript copy of the Declaration of Independence—to materials that document the everyday lives of otherwise anonymous people.

The Music Division of The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center is one of the world's most important music collections, and its vast collection illuminates an art form that is as diverse as humanity. It contains many scores and manuscripts from centuries past, as well as the creative output of contemporary composers.

Located in midtown Manhattan, the Morgan Library and Museum houses one of the world's great eclectic assemblies of artistic, literary, and musical works. Spanning from the Classical through the Medieval and Renaissance periods and up to the modern era, it contains works by Rembrandt, Picasso, Mozart, Hemingway, Dickens and Bob Dylan.

From humble beginnings in the bowling alley of steel magnate Henry Clay Frick's mansion, the Frick Art Reference Library has become one of the world's pre-eminant repositories of auction and exhibition catalogues and is a primary source of information for provenance and collection research for scholars, art collectors and art professionals. It resides in a 13-storey building at Fifth Avenue and 71st Street, and is overseen by the Frick Collection, a gallery located in the former Frick home a block to the south. The Library's holdings include 285,000 books, and 80,000 auction catalogues. It is complimented by an archive of over one million reference photographs of works of art. The library's scope ranges from 4th to 20th century art of the Western tradition.

POST-TOUR WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

Westminster is, undisputedly, America's Dog Show. It persists as the second longest continuously held sporting event in the United States, just one year behind the Kentucky Derby. To fully grasp the place in history of the Westminster Kennel Club and its famed annual event, consider that: Westminster pre-dates the invention of the light bulb and the automobile, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Washington Monument, the invention of basketball and the establishment of the World Series.Established in 1877, The Westminster Kennel Club is America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. There is only one Westminster, and in its long and prestigious existence, just about every superlative imaginable has been used to describe the club, the show and its impact on the world of purebred dogs. The Westminster Kennel Club "has had great effect in improving the quality of the dogs owned for use or companionship. Of this there can be no doubt ..." wrote one reporter.

True then, true today. Simply put, Westminster has become the symbol of the purebred dog. The elegance, beauty and grace of the canine athletes combine with the excitement of the competition in the world's most famous sporting arena (Madison Square Garden) before a live national television audience. The result is an event that is the dog show world's version of the Super Bowl and Academy Awards. But even greater, The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a celebration of the wonderful canine spirit, reflecting our emotional and spiritual attachment to our dogs.

It all began in 1877 when The Westminster Kennel Club was officially formed "...to increase the interest in dogs, and thus improve the breeds, and to hold an Annual Dog Show in the city of New York ..." (from Westminster By-Laws). By all accounts, that objective was accomplished from the very beginning. From Forest and Stream magazine in 1877: "To say that the dog show held in the city last week was a success would but poorly convey an idea of what the result really was. It was a magnificent triumph for the dogs and for the projectors of the show. We question if on any previous occasion has there ever assembled in this city such a number of people at one time, and representing as much of the culture, wealth and fashion of the town. That such a collection of dogs was ever gotten together before in any country we very much doubt ..." It is still the greatest collection of dogs assembled each year in the same place at the same time. From the opening moments when the 2,500-plus champions begin to compete in 162 different breed and variety rings, to the final crowning of the Best In Show dog, it is the great sport of dogs at its very best. Storied in its history, rich in its tradition, The Westminster Kennel Club's famed annual dog show is unique, prestigious, and elegant for all concerned. Indeed, there is only one Westminster.

THE ITINERARY

Wednesday, February 4
Arrivals in New York. Transfers included to the Iroquois Hotel, our luxury accommodation in Midtown. The Iroquois is perfectly located in the Theatre District, close to Restaurant Row, Bryant Park, Times Square, and, ideally for our purposes, the New York Public and Morgan Libraries. It is small and elegant, housed in a restored 1923 French limestone mansion. This evening we gather in the hotel lobby for introductions and a Welcome Dinner (7:30pm) in the hotel's Triomphe Restaurant. Jason and the staff at this Michelin-rated restaurant will take excellent care of us.

Thursday, February 5
Following breakfast, included daily at the hotel, we gather in the hotel lobby and depart on foot for the New York Public Library for a guided tour. Our visit will focus on the architecture and history of the institution, as well as some of the major collections. Afterward, we make the short walk to the Morgan Hotel, where we take lunch at the chic Asia de Cuba. Post-lunch we tour the Morgan Library and the highlights of its superb collection. We pay special attention to the collection (the world's largest) of Mahler manuscripts and substantial holdings of Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Mozart, Schubert, and Richard Strauss. The collection spans six centuries and many countries. Although Pierpont Morgan is not on record as evincing any notable interest in music, he did make two important purchases that began his collection: the two earliest dated letters of the thirteen-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the manuscript of Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Sonata no. 10 in G Major, op. 96. Following our tour, independent returns to the hotel. In the evening, we gather and transfer by private limousine to Lincoln Centre for a performance of Eugene Onegin at The Metropolitan Opera (Karita Mattila, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Piotr Beczala, Thomas Hampson, James Morris. 8pm curtain). Private limousine return to the hotel post-performance.

Friday, February 6
Mid-morning, we meet and transfer to Lincoln Center to peruse some of the major collections in the Music Division of the New York Library for the Performing Arts. Holdings include papers, letters and manuscripts belonging to Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, John Cage and Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn. We then transfer to the Frick Collection for a tour of the main holdings and Art Reference Library. The Frick includes some of the best-known paintings by the greatest European artists, major works of sculpture (among them one of the finest groups of small bronzes in the world), superb eighteenth-century French furniture and porcelains, Limoges enamels, Oriental rugs, and other works of remarkable quality. Following the tour, we enjoy lunch at Café Boulud, the most charming of renowned chef Daniel Boulud’s four restaurants in the city. This evening, we gather and transfer once again to the Met, this time for a performance of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur (Maria Guleghina, Olga Borodina, Marcelo Álvarez, Roberto Frontali. Plácido Domingo conducts. 8pm curtain). Private limousine return to the hotel post-performance.

Saturday, February 7
Enjoy the full day at leisure in New York. This evening, we meet and transfer to dinner at the refined and intimate Picholine, close to The Met. Afterward, we attend our final performance, Verdi’s Rigoletto (Aleksandra Kurzak, Victoria Vizin, Giuseppe Filianoti, Željko Lucic. 8 pm curtain).

Sunday, February 8
Following breakfast, transfer is included to the airport required for your departure. Those wishing to stay in New York for the Westminster Dog Show will be accommodated.

WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

Sunday, February 8
Arrive in New York. You will be met at the airport and transferred to the Iroquois Hotel. Evening at leisure.

Monday, February 9
Breakfast included daily at the hotel. 8am-6pm: individual breed judging at the Westminster Dog Show. Return transfer.

Tuesday, February 10
8am-6pm: individual breed judging. 7:30pm: Best in Show competition. Return transfer.

Wednesday, February 11
Following breakfast, transfer is included to the airport required for your departure.