Sunday, July 8 Departures
Departures from North America to Munich.
Monday, July 9 Munich
Upon arrival at Munich Airport, you will be met and transferred to our hotel, the luxurious Bayerischer Hof in the city center. After settling in, we gather in the hotel’s famous Garden Restaurant, for a Welcome Dinner of fine seasonal cuisine prepared by acclaimed chef Sven Büttner.
Tuesday, July 10 Munich
Breakfast is included at the hotel each morning. This afternoon we embark on a private, guided walking tour of the city's historic center, including Marienplatz – the square that is the heart of Munich, the Mariensäule (the Marian Column topped with the golden statue of Virgin Mary), the Church of St. Peter, The Viktualienmarkt and the Frauenkirche. Following the tour we enjoy lunch at the excellent Zum Franziskaner. In the evening we attend our first performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Nationaltheater, Das Rheingold, conducted by Kent Nagano. 19.30 curtain.
Wotan: Johan Reuter
Donner: Levente Molnár
Froh: Thomas Blondelle
Loge: Stefan Margita
Alberich: Wolfgang Koch
Mime: Ulrich Reß
Fasolt: Diogenes Randes
Fafner: Phillip Ens
Fricka: Sophie Koch
Freia: Aga Mikolaj
Erda: Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Woglinde: Eri Nakamura
Wellgunde: Angela Brower
Floßhilde: Okka von der Damerau
Wednesday, July 11 Munich
This morning we trek to Nymphenburg Palace, the Baroque jewel that was the summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria. Mozart performed one of his first concerts in Munich in the tiny hunting lodge on the grounds. Late afternoon we make our way to the Nationaltheater for Die Walküre. 17.00 curtain.
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Production: Andreas Kriegenburg
Siegmund: Klaus Florian Vogt
Hunding: Ain Anger
Wotan: Juha Uusitalo
Sieglinde: Anja Kampe
Brünnhilde: Katarina Dalayman
Fricka: Sophie Koch
Helmwige: Erika Wueschner
Gerhilde: Danielle Halbwachs
Waltraute: Heike Grötzinger
Siegrune: Roswitha C. Müller
Roßweiße: Alexandra Petersamer
Grimgerde: Okka von der Damerau
Schwertleite: Anaïk Morel
Thursday, July 12 Munich
Today we tour the collections at the Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek (Old and New Picture Galleries). These collections combine to make for one of the truly great gallery experiences in the world. In the Old Gallery we will see masterpieces by Titian, Hals, and Rubens; in the New: Goya, Monet and van Gogh to name but a few. Lunch is included at the gallery's Café Klenze. Tonight we return to the Nationaltheater, but this time for a change of pace we will enjoy Gioachino Rossini’s beloved La Cenerentola (Cinderella) featuring Joyce DiDonato in the title role. 19.00 curtain.
Conductor: Antonello Allemandi
Don Ramiro: Lawrence Brownlee
Dandini: Nikolay Borchev
Don Magnifico: Alessandro Corbelli
Clorinda: Evgeniya Sotnikova
Tisbe: (TBA)
Angelina (Cenerentola): Joyce DiDonato
Alidoro: Alex Esposito
Friday, July 13 Munich
Following breakfast we take a private, guided tour of the stunning Residenz, the largest city palace in Germany and today the home of room decorations and displays from former royal collections. The complex of buildings contains ten courtyards and the museum includes 130 rooms. A wing of the Festsaalbau contains the Cuvilliés Theatre, a Baroque opera house that is an absolute gem. It also houses the Herkulessaal (Hercules Hall), the primary concert venue for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the late afternoon we return to the Nationaltheater to attend the third opera of Wagner’s cycle, Siegfried, with Lance Ryan in the title role. Dinner is included at Spatenhaus an der Oper, directly across from the opera. We will have main courses during the first interval and dessert during the second.
Saturday, July 14 Munich
Following breakfast we embark by coach for a guided tour of the Royal Palace at Herrenchiemsee. Modelled after Versailles, this exquisitely ornate palace was built as a "Temple of Fame" for King Louis XIV of France, whom the Bavarian monarch King Ludwig II admired. Highlights include the State Staircase, the State Bedroom, the Great Hall of Mirrors and the King's own rooms, in the intimate Small Apartment, designed in the French Rococo style. Lunch will be included following the visit. Tonight we have the pleasure to attend a Joyce DiDonato “Festspiel-Liederabend” recital at Prinzregententheater. (20.00 curtain)
Sunday, July 15 Munich
Today we return to the Nationaltheater for our final performance, Götterdämmerung featuring Stephen Gould as Siegfried and Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde. (17.00 curtain). We enjoy an elegant Farewell Dinner in the theater's dining room during the intervals.
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Production: Andreas Kriegenburg
Siegfried: Stephen Gould
Gunther: Iain Paterson
Hagen: Hans-Peter König
Alberich: Wolfgang Koch
Brünnhilde: Nina Stemme
Gutrune: Erika Wueschner
Waltraute: Michaela Schuster
Woglinde: Eri Nakamura
Wellgunde: Angela Brower
Monday, July 16 Departures
Individual transfers to Munich Airport for departure flights.