“I can’t live without Opera in Munich. . . . Yes, Munich, city where North meets South, is where opera thrives through tradition, enterprise and a lust for life.”
- Alan Blyth, Opera

Richard Strauss: “The greatest purely musical quality of Strauss’s genius is manifested in the pith and pregnance of his musical ideas, which . . . burst forth with an almost Beethoven-like explosive inevitability and naturalness that disarm criticism, and bear upon the face of them the stamp of the great personality from which they spring.”
- Percy Grainger, introduction to Henry Finck’s Richard Strauss: The Man and his Works

Adrianne Pieczonka: “A natural for Strauss and the more lyric Wagner roles. In timbre her soprano is an even, clear lyric with appreciable strength and narrow, controlled vibrato.”
- Opera News

“Anja Harteros as the Countess: in both her poignant singing and vulnerable presence, she conveyed hurt and shame over the loss of her husband’s affection. . . Miss Harteros can shape phrases with melting pianissimo tenderness.”
- NY Times, Nov. ’07

This summer, Munich’s traditionally star-studded Opernfestspiel for 2008 offers a richly varied Festival of five major Richard Strauss operas within a compact seven-night period. Seldom do we encounter such an enticing choice of pivotal works by a single composer, featuring many of the world’s leading singers. Our Richard Strauss ‘aficionados’ are well aware that Munich, Dresden and Vienna remain the world’s most important Strauss venues. Many of his operas were premiered in Munich, and the city’s historic Nationaltheater is steeped in the tradition of his towering music-dramas.

In March of ’07, Great Performance Tours turned away many friends for our sold-out Tour to Dresden for an unprecedented cycle of ten Strauss operas. Now we look forward to Munich’s more focused Festival of five of his most popular and enduring masterworks as the undisputed highlight of the Nationaltheater’s annual summer Opera Festival. In chronological order of their premieres, the operas will be Salome (1905), Elektra (1909), Der Rosenkavalier (1911), Ariadne auf Naxos (1916), and Arabella (1933). Among the revered Strauss interpreters assembled for this Festival will be Adrianne Pieczonka, Diana Damrau, Gabriele Schnaut, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Angela Denoke, Anja Harteros, Agnes Baltsa, Wolfgang Schmidt, Wolfgang Brendel, Alan Held, and John Tomlinson. The experienced conductors will be Kent Nagano, Johannes Debus, Peter Schneider, and Stefan Soltesz.

The Munich Opera Festival has long been recognized for distinguished presentation of the international opera repertoire during the month of July. Opera enthusiasts from all over the world congregate in Germany’s most beautiful city to enjoy the superlative performances, the cultural heritage of Bavaria, and the wide variety of excellent restaurants. Now under the musical leadership of the charismatic conductor Kent Nagano (named Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera in September of ’06), all of our opera performances will be given in the imposing Nationaltheater with its lush interior décor and perfect acoustics. It is an unadulterated joy to encounter the company’s rich orchestral palette in the exuberant scores of the Strauss canon.

Munich is ideally situated for our excursions in southern Bavaria. We have also left ample time for independent museum visits and for relaxing at our luxurious hotel.

Saturday, July 19th, departure from New York’s Kennedy Airport at 5:40 pm on Lufthansa flight #411, scheduled to arrive in Munich at 8:10 am on the morning of the 20th. (Or independent travel.)

Accommodations for a full seven nights at the deluxe Vier Jahreszeiten (‘Four Seasons’) Hotel, with a grand European buffet breakfast included. The Vier Jahreszeiten ranks as Munich’s finest, offering a wide variety of services in an old-fashioned Bavarian atmosphere. The hotel’s cuisine is renowned throughout Europe, and an indoor pool is situated on the penthouse floor with an open balcony for sunbathing. The ideal location is only two blocks from the opera house and a short walk from the central Marienplatz shopping area. For many reasons, the Vier Jahreszeiten remains everyone’s first choice in Munich.

IMPORTANT: Because there will be a performance on our first evening, you may wish to arrive a day early to adjust to the time change. We will be happy to reserve your room for the optional additional night of July 19th if you notify us early of your request.