Tanglewood and the rolling hills of the Berkshires
in Western Massachusetts offer a plethora of superlative performing
arts during the compact summer season. During the busy weekends
of July and August, cultural aficionados are hard-pressed
to choose between the glorious concerts of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra (BSO) in Tanglewood’s open-air Shed and more
intimate Seiji Ozawa Hall and several fine theatre festivals.
The choice of a strategically located hotel puts all of these
events within convenient striking-distance, but reservations
for tickets and rooms must be made very early for the popular
sold-out summer weekends. This year we are including a total
of four performances – with a matinee or evening program
on each day.
Our
visit in 2009 will again concentrate on the famed Boston Symphony
Orchestra and will include a pair of concerts in the Tanglewood
Shed as well as an extremely sought-after performance of Mozart’s
immortal Don Giovanni in Tanglewood’s intimate 200-seat
Theatre. The orchestral programs in the Shed will include
Johannes Brahms’ towering German Requiem, conducted
by Music Director James Levine international opera stars Soile
Isokoski and Matthias Goerne as the vocalists; and an all-American
program of 20th century classics conducted by David Robertson
and featuring baritone Thomas Hampson and pianist Orli Shaham
as the soloists. For our performance of ‘Don Giovanni’,
we are fortunate that James Levine will be leading the Vocal
Fellows and Orchestra of Tanglewood’s Music Center.
The
Williamstown Theatre Festival has long been regarded as one
of the best repertory companies in the U.S. Tickets are notoriously
difficult to obtain, but our early reservation will assure
us of an exciting evening in the relaxed summer ambience of
the Adams Memorial Theatre. This year will mark the Festival’s
55h season. (The play has not yet been announced.) Museum
enthusiasts will also be rewarded by our appointment at the
Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown,
with its treasures of French Impressionist and American painting.
This summer will mark the 53rd anniversary of the Clark with
a major exhibition devoted to the art of Georgia O’Keeffe.
Finally, literary and architecture aficionados will be grateful
for our visit to ‘The Mount’, Edith Wharton’s
gracious 1902 mansion outside Lenox.
Tanglewood’s
covered Shed has attracted music-lovers from all over the
world for many years and was the original model which has
spawned similar outdoor summer festivals throughout the country.
The revered Boston Symphony Orchestra has always been the
resident ensemble, under such acclaimed conductors as Serge
Koussevitzky, Charles Munch, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa,
and now James Levine. In addition to the Shed, Tanglewood’s
extensive grounds overlooking the area’s lovely lake
also contain Seiji Ozawa Hall, a small Recital Hall, and the
intimate Theatre where we will enjoy ‘Don Giovanni’.
The
Albany (N.Y.) Airport is the closest terminal to our hotel
in Stockbridge, a little more than an hour by car. Independent
arrivals should be on Saturday, July 25th. (A Saturday night
stay-over is included to allow for optimum air fares.) Taxis
are readily available at the Albany Airport (estimated $100
one-way to Stockbridge, but we suggest you call Abbott’s
Limousine in Lee, Massachusetts (800 551-5509) to coordinate
the least expensive transfer to the Red Lion Inn. Stockbridge
is about three hours by car from New York City. (Please see
our concluding paragraph regarding our bus transfer from N.Y.)
