THE TOUR INCLUDES: Orchestra stalls seats for all performances 7 nights accommodations at the 5-Star Hotel Ambassador Wien Full breakfast daily, 3 lunches and 2 dinners Private airport-hotel transfers On-site Tour Direction Custom (private) tour of Vienna’s Old Town (Stephansdom, Mozart sites, Imperial Library, Albertina Museum) plus a full-day excursion to Budapest A comprehensive Tour Guidebook, containing travel info, performance synopses and a detailed daily itinerary Cost: $6875 US Single Supplement: $1175 US Deposit: $2500 US Balance due: February 15, 2009

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 made to Vienna, departing May 14, returning May 22. 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.

Vienna is the City of Music, no question, and this highly-anticipated Sven-Eric Bechtolf production, conducted by Cleveland Orchestra's Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, will be right at home in this great city’s soundscape. The cast features Ain Anger, Johan Botha, Nina Stemme, Walter Fink, Stephen Gould, Eric Halfvarson, Eva Johansson and Juha Uusitalo. In addition to excellent seats for Wagner’s masterwork, we enjoy stellar accommodations at the elegant Hotel Ambassador Wien, a stone’s throw from the Staatsoper in the heart of Old Town. We will also tour the important historic sites, walk in the footsteps of Mozart, take in the higlights of the superb Albertina Museum, and embark on a full-day excursion to Budapest. And as always, we will enjoy repasts at some of the city’s very best restaurants.

Vienna’s role as the seat of the Hapsburg Empire for centuries can be seen in the wealth of architecture and in the city’s artistic and musical heritage. Many of the world’s most important composers, including Beethoven and Mozart, have lived and performed behind Vienna’s Baroque façades. In addition to this Baroque splendour, there are excellent examples of the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) architecture that also flourished here. Vienna’s location on the east-west trade route along the River Danube played an important part in its history – an empire that once covered a large part of Europe was ruled from here. Even today, Vienna is the financial and administrative capital of Austria and home to a number of international organizations. In the New European Community, Vienna is once again at the centre.

THE ITINERARY

Thursday, May 14...Departures
Independent departures from North America for Vienna. We can assist with flight arrangements if desired.

Friday, May 15...Arrival in Vienna
Upon arrival in Vienna, you will be met and transferred to the 5 star Ambassador Wien, an elegant and historic property in the heart of Old Town Vienna's pedestrian Kärntnerstrasse. After settling into your room, the afternoon is at leisure to rest or explore. This evening, we gather for introductions in the hotel lobby and make the short walk to the charming Griechenbeisl for a cheery Welcome Dinner. One of Vienna’s oldest inns (since 1447), the Griechenbeisl has been patronized by the likes of Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Strauss, Brahms, the painters Waldmüller and Schwind, the opera singer Schaljapin, and Mark Twain.

Saturday, May 16...Vienna
After breakfast we meet for a guided walking tour of Old Town Vienna, for a unique insight into the city's rich history and musical past. We visit St. Stephen's Cathedral, Austria's most eminent Gothic edifice and home to a wealth of art treasures, some of which can only be seen during a guided tour. We will also walk in the footsteps of Mozart, who spent his last ten years in Vienna. We then tour the Albertina Museum, considered to be one of the most important museums in the world. Following the tour, we enjoy lunch at an historic inn in the Old Town, near the Hofburg Palace. In the evening we meet and walk to the first night of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen: a performance of Das Rheingold at the Staatsoper Wien (Uusitalo, Eröd, Baechle).

Sunday, May 17...Vienna
Enjoy the day at leisure in Vienna. We will suggest activities for your leisure time. This evening we attend Die Walküre at the Staatsoper (Botha, Anger, Stemme, Uusitalo, Johansson).

Monday, May 18 ..Vienna (Budapest Excursion)
Today we enjoy a full-day excursion to Budapest. We will hear of the city’s history whilst making stops at Deák Square, Heroes Square, St. Stephen’s Basilica and the Opera House. We will walk through Váci Street (which is a promenade shopping street only for pedestrians), and we will cross the Chain Bridge over the Danube to the Buda side, where we visit the Castle. Here we can see the Fishermen’s Bastion, the Matthias Church and the curiosities of the castle district. Lunch is included, and we return to Vienna in time for dinner. Tonight we offer an optional Don Giovanni at the Staatsoper (Michael Schade, Soile Isokoski, René Pape; $350 US. Please book well in advance).

Tuesday, May 19...Vienna
Today we tour the great palaces of Vienna, including Schönbrunn, one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria, and the picture gallery at Upper Belvedere Palace, the former summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy which houses a superb collection of Austrian and international art from the last two centuries, including works by Klimt (in including his famous The Kiss), Schiele, Waldmüller, Hundertwasser and many others. Lunch is included at a renowned Viennese restaurant following the tour. This evening we gather and depart for a performance of Siegfried at the Staatsoper (Gould, Stemme, Uusitalo, Pecoraro).

Wednesday, May 20...Vienna
Enjoy the full day at leisure in Vienna. This evening we enjoy an unforgettable meal at the famous Restaurant Imperial in the Imperial Hotel. Optional Werther at the Staatsoper this evening (Rolando Villazon, Elina Garanca; $350 US. Please reserve well in advance).

Thursday, May 21...Vienna
Following a day at leisure, we meet for a Farewell Reception in the hotel lounge before departing for our final performance, Götterdämmerung, at the Staatsoper Wien (Gould, Halfvarson, Johansson).

Friday, May 22...Departures
Departures to the airport are included.