From $16,995 AUD Single $19,995 AUD $18,995 AUD Twin share $17,995 AUD $16,995 AUD 22 days Duration British Isles, Europe Destination Level 1 - Introductory to Moderate Activity Theatre-Opera-Ballet and Classical Music Small group tours 29 Dec 18 to 19 Jan 19 Classical Music small group tours The offered by Odyssey Travellers Australia is unique. This Theatre-Opera-Ballet and Classical Music Small group tour is a 24 day extravaganza, which often encompasses two continents. However, this year the tour has a European focus. We have also 15-Apr-2018 1/13
chosen to use the high speed rail network once in Europe to travel around on to reach each centre. Each year Odyssey Travellers Australia seeks to put together the very best of the performing arts into one program to celebrate the start of the new year. Going into 2018 the program will not be any different.this year the tour spends 24 days in these 4 great locations: Berlin (6 nights) Hamburg (4 nights) Amsterdam (6 nights) London (7 nights ) This tour from Odyssey Traveller Australia includes tickets to at least 12 performances during the 24 days as well as guided city tours to the main museums and art galleries in most locations. The group is limited to a maximum of 10 people. Robert Wickham, who led the tour last year and received some great reviews, will lead the tour again this year. Performances range from Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic on New Year eve with Joyce DiDonato. With her flexible, slender but darkly timbred mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato has already delighted audiences at the Philharmonie on several occasions. Now she is the star guest at Sir Simon Rattle s side during the New Year s Eve Concert, singing Richard Strauss s lavishly beautiful orchestral songs. The programme also includes works by Dvořák, Stravinsky, Bernstein and Shostakovich full of virtuosity, gracefulness and humour. Whilst in Berlin we attend on New Years day Beethoven symphony no.9 in D minor choral, op.125. Daniel Barenboim conducts, Simon O Neill sings tenor and 15-Apr-2018 2/13
Rene Pape bass. We also attend two performances in Hamburg. We will see Wagner s Die Walküre at the Staatsoper. This really is an all-star production. Kent Negano is conducting, Lisa Lindstom, who recently sang Brunnhilde in the Melbourne Ring Cycle to great acclaim, encores her performance of this role. Liang Li, recently seen in Sydney with Jonas Kauffmann in Parsifal, sings Hunding, and Matthias Goerne, one of the great bass-baritones of our time, sings Wotan. As well we expect to attend a performance in the new Hamburg concert hall, at the Elbphilharmonie As well as visiting new places this performing arts tour spends 6 days in Amsterdam, visiting the galleries and attending performances. In London, where we stay for a week we attend a mix of performances at the theatre, ballet, and opera. Included for the London section of the tour are the following performances: Antony & Cleopatra by the Royal Shakespeare company at the Barbican Tosca, at the Opera house Opening night of Giselle also at the Covent garden Opera house Odyssey Traveller Australia secures good to better than average seats on this program and will typically provides taxis back to the hotels after evening performances. These classical music small 15-Apr-2018 3/13
group tours travels by high speed rail from Berlin to London and all intermediate locations. The cost for this classical music small group tour of 24 days including at least 12 concerts is priced from AUD $16,995 per person for a twin share excluding international flights to and from Europe. For a single traveller the price $19,495, excluding flights. For more details about these classical music small group tours, click the Top 5 or Itinerary buttons above! If you re keen to experience this tour, please call or send an email. Or, to book, simply fill in the form on the right hand side of this page. Check out the blog post in which we profiled some new recently opened European concert halls here! This tour is featured as Winter Odyssey with a Twist in Odyssey Travellers Australia brochure. Tour Notes Once performances have been finalised the itinerary will be updated and forwarded to registered participants. Group size is limited to 10 participants. Top 5 1. Attend performances at the new Concert hall in Hamburg 2. Attend opening night of Giselle at the Royal Opera House Covent garden 3. Enjoy Joyce DiDonato perform with Sir Simon Rattle and Berlin philharmonia 4. Back stage tours of major theartes, including The National in London and the Paris Opera. 15-Apr-2018 4/13
5. Visit major art museums in Berlin, Amsterdam & London including current special exhibitions. Itinerary Day 1 Locations: Berlin Overview: After arriving in Berlin, we make our own way to the hotel. Once here, we come together for a welcome dinner and program orientation. Accommodation: Stay four nights in Berlin. Hotel to be confirmed Day 2 Locations: Berlin Overview: Today, we are attending this evening the Philharmonie. Philharmonie: Großer Saal, BerlinDvo?ák, Stravinsky, Strauss, Bernstein,ShostakovichMORE INFO Dvořák, Carnival Overture, Op.92 Stravinsky, Apollo (Apollon musagète) (Pas de deux) Strauss R., Orchestral SongsBernstein, On the Town: Three Dance Episodes Bernstein, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: Take Care of This House Shostakovich, The Golden Age: suite, Op.22a Berliner Philharmoniker Sir Simon Rattle, Conductor Joyce DiDonato, Mezzosoprano Accommodation: To be confirmed Day 3 Locations: Berlin Overview: A day touring around Berlin with local guides. Visiting 15-Apr-2018 5/13
museums galleries and relevant historic locations. Accommodation: To be confirmed Day 4 Locations: Berlin Overview: Tonight we attend a performance of Beethoven' symphony no.9 in D minor "choral", op.125. Daniel Barenboim conducts, Simon O'Neill sings tenor and Rene Pape bass. Accommodation: To be confirmed Day 5 Locations: Berlin Overview: Today is free day to explore Berlin. Day 6 Locations: Berlin Overview: A day touring around Berlin with local guides. Visiting museums galleries and relevant historic locations. Tonight we attend a performance of the Nutcracker performed by the Staatballett Berlin. When the curtain rises for "The Nutcracker", the audience meets the Stahlbaum family at Christmas eve and the celebration is already in full swing. Guests wear fine robes in the style of the Belle Epoche and move with elegance through a spacious Art Nouveau apartment. Without much ado, Nacho Duato has transferred the plot to the year 1913. This rather unusual time travel the ballet is normally set in the late 19th century does not only influence the set and costumes design by Jérôme Kaplan, but also the dance movements: The elegant fashion of the early 20th century gives the ensemble more freedom of movement than the stiff costumes of the previous century. 15-Apr-2018 6/13
A congenial idea, which also lets a magical Christmas wonderland unfold on stage, full of wooden toys and little sailor suits, which in this way can only be imaged in our most beautiful dreams. Day 7 Locations: Travel to Hamburg Overview: The group leaves Berlin mid-morning for the short journey to Hamburg. Tonight we enjoy a group dinner.. Day 8 Locations: Hamburg Overview: A day touring around Hamburg with local guides. Visiting museums galleries and relevant historic locations. Day 9 Locations: Hamburg Overview: Tonight we will see Wagner s Die Walküre at the Staatsoper. This really is an all-star production. Kent Negano is conducting, Lisa Lindstom, who recently sang Brunnhilde in the Melbourne Ring Cycle to great acclaim, encores her performance of this role. Liang Li, recently seen in Sydney with Jonas Kauffmann in Parsifal, sings Hunding, and Matthias Goerne, one of the great bassbaritones of our time, sings Wotan. 15-Apr-2018 7/13
Day 10 Locations: Hamburg Overview: Tonight we attend a performance in new concert hall Elbpphilharmonie Hamburg grosser Salle. Blechschaden is Bavaria s best export after beer and the football club Bayern München; the 11 brass players plus a percussionist from 6 different countries also refer to themselves as»the foreign legion of the Munich Philharmonic«. They are virtuosi to a man, always up for a lark and able to perform pièces de résistance effortlessly. Blechschaden is a mixture of the Last Night of the Proms and the New Year s Concert in Vienna. Day 11 Locations: Travel to Amsterdam Overview: Leaving Hamburg mid morning by train we travel to Amsterdam. We have a group meal tonight Day 12 Locations: Amsterdam Overview: Today is a free day in Amsterdam, where we can continue to explore the city at our own pace. Day 13 Locations: Amsterdam Overview: Tonight we enjoy a concert at the Concertgebouw. The 15-Apr-2018 8/13
first program is Bruch - Eerste vioolconcert in g, op. 26 Mahler - Eerste symfonie in D 'Titan' The conductor is Daniele Gatti. Janine Jansen is the violinist for this performance. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is widely considered one of the very best orchestras in the world. Time and time again, critics have lauded its unique sound. The extraordinary acoustics of The Concertgebouw and the exceptional musicians themselves play an important role in this respect. Another important contributing factor is the influence exerted on the orchestra by its chief conductors, of whom there have been only seven since 1988. Daniele Gatti was appointed chief conductor in September 2016. The orchestra has its own in-house label, RCO Live, and the RCO Academy successfully trains talented young orchestral musicians. Day 14 Locations: Amsterdam Overview: Today local guides assist the group in exploring Amsterdam. Day 15 Locations: Amsterdam Overview: Today we spend the day exploring Amsterdam. 15-Apr-2018 9/13
Day 16 Locations: Amsterdam Overview: Tonight we attend our second performance at Concertgebouw. Martin Frost plays clarinet. Nicholas Collon is the conductor. The program for the evening is as follows. De Graaff - Café de nuit (wereldpremière) Borisova-Ollas - Golden Dances of Pharaohs Hillborg - Peacock Tales Stravinsky - Petroesjka Day 17 Locations: Travel to London Overview: Today we travel from Amsterdam to London via Brussels. Their will be a group dinner this evening. Day 18 Overview: Tonight we attend Tosca at the Covent garden Opera house. Three casts, led by Adrianne Pieczonka, Angela Gheorghiu and Martina Serafin and conducted by Dan Ettinger and Plácido Domingo, star in The Royal Opera s production of Puccini s thriller. Day 19 Overview: The day is free to explore at your leisure. Tonight's 15-Apr-2018 10/13
performance is yet to be announced. Day 20 Overview: Today we visit with local guides relevant museums and art gallery exhibitions. Day 21 Overview: Tonight we head to the Barbican to watch the Royal Shakespeare company's production of Antony & Cleopatra. Day 22 Overview: Today we visit relevant galleries and museums to the tour. Local guides assist the group. Day 23 Overview: Returning to the Royal Opera House. Tonight we watch the Japanese dancer Akane Takada who is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. She danced with the Company on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship in 2008 and in 2009 entered the Company as an Artist. She was promoted to First Artist in 2010, Soloist in 2011, First Soloist 15-Apr-2018 11/13
in 2014 and Principal in 2016. Tonight Akane Takada is the principal dancer in the ballet Giselle. The greatest of all Romantic ballets, Peter Wright s production of Marius Petipa s classic Giselle is a tale of betrayal, the supernatural and love that transcends death. Accommodation: Day 24 Overview: The program concludes after breakfast. Accommodation: Inclusions / Exclusions What's included in our Tour 23 nights hotel accommodation in Europe and the UK. Breakfast daily and 7 dinners. Tickets to selected performances. Transport Passes in London Transport, field trips, concerts and excursions as indicated. Touring by comfortable and modern coach as well as public transport. Rail services Applicable entry fees and services of local guides. Detailed Tour Information Booklet. Services of a study / group leader. Gratuities and necessary tips. What's not included in our Tour 15-Apr-2018 12/13
Comprehensive travel insurance. Items of a personal nature, such as telephone calls and laundry. International airfares and departure taxes. Meals not specified in the itinerary. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any requests for further information about this tour or any others offered by Odyssey Travel. 15-Apr-2018 13/13