SPAIN: BARCELONA & VALENCIA
Wednesday, April 20th through Saturday, April 30th
Our last visit to Spain in the early spring of 2014 was completely sold out. Now two years later we have again found a rewarding spring program of operas and concerts in Spain’s foremost cultural capitals – Madrid and Barcelona. The 2016 itinerary is more leisurely than usual, extending over nine nights, in order to include all of our chosen events.
Our first city will be the Iberian Peninsula’s cultural capital of Madrid, where our four-night stay will enable us to visit the city’s two priceless art museums - the Museo del Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemiza Collection (both within a few minutes walk of our ideally located Westin Palace Hotel) and to enjoy a trio of unusual musical evenings at the beautifully refurbished Teatro Real. The operas will be Richard Wagner’s towering Easter Festival music drama, Parsifal, and Giuseppe Verdi’s melodic melodrama Luisa Miller (a concert performance). Our dates also coincide with an intriguing Recital by the acclaimed German countertenor Andreas Scholl.
Our second city – for a leisurely five nights at the 1898 Hotel on Las Ramblas – will will be the Catalan capital of Barcelona, which celebrated the 150th birthday of their beloved favorite son Antonio Gaudí in 2002. Several sightseeing excursions will focus on the fanciful ‘art nouveau’ architecture accounting for Gaudí’s reputation as both a genius and a Catholic saint during the early 1900’s – a body of work which can only be appreciated by visiting Barcelona. We are fortunate to find an irresistible program of three performances in three of the city’s major theatres. First will be Verdi’s mature operatic masterwork, Simon Boccanegra, featuring Placido Domingo and Fer r uccio Furlanetto in the leading male roles. Another evening will take us to the not-to-be-missed ornate Art Nouveau Palau de la Musica for a concert by the Russian keyboard virtuoso Vladimir Ashkenazy in the piano literature of Schubert, Brahms and Rachmaninov. Finally, our last night will take us to the contemporary L’Auditori for a concert by the Barcelona Symphony & National Orchestra of Catalonia (‘OBC Orchestra’) for a program of favorites by Bach, Handel and Mozart under the Catalan conductor Jordi Savall. For a change of pace from our classical fare, we are looking forward to an evening of sensuous dance at Barcelona’s Flamenco Cordobés.
MADRID: April 21 – 24
Accommodations for four nights with buffet breakfast at the Adeluxe Palace Hotel, which enjoys a central location within a short walk of both the Prado and the Thyssen-Bornemiza Museums. The spacious public rooms encompass several restaurants and cafés as well as a variety of shops on the premises. The Palace has long been regarded as one of Madrid’s best hotels, noted for its comfortable informality and personal service. If you wish to arrive a day early to adjust to the time change, we will be happy to reserve your room for the additional night of April 20th. You should let us know NOW if you want the early night.
BARCELONA: April 25 – 29
Accommodations for five nights with buffet breakfast at Barcelona’s Hotel 1898. We have chosen this four-star proper ty for its per fect location on the Ramblas, within a few minutes walk of our performances at the Liceu Opera. The hotel’s facilities include a bar/cafeteria and a restaurant ser ving international cuisine, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool and spa, and an attractive library and business center. The ‘1898’ has recently been com-pletely renovated and is now considered one of Barcelona’s most prestigious hotels.
Price Per Person (based on Double Occupancy): $6,250
Price Per Person (based on Single Occupancy): $7,230