PARIS

Price Per Person:
Based on double occupancy:
$3,860.00
Single Supplement:
$840*
Super-Apex round-trip air fair:
$919

*We regret the high single supplement charged by the Lutetia. We encourage you to let us know if you are willing to share a room to avoid the single supplement.










THE PARIS OPERA
April 6- April 14, 2003
L’Opéra National de Paris has risen to new international heights during the past few years, galvanized by the leadership of Music Director James Conlon, who has been responsible for dazzling appearances by Renée Fleming and Natalie Dessay together in Handel’s ‘Alcina’, Bryn Terfel essaying his first portrayal of Don Giovanni, and last spring’s spectacular ‘War and Peace’ and ‘Rosenkavalier’.
L'Opéra National de Paris

Of equal significance for the Parisian music scene, the beloved French Châtelet theatre has re-opened after extensive renovation, and has given us such French rarities as Charpentier’s ‘Louise’ and Thomas’ ‘Hamlet’; and the Palais Garnier (the ‘Old’ Opera House) continues to be utilized for Baroque and classical operas from the 17th and 18th centuries. Paris has become one of our most popular destinations, with sold-out Tours during each of the past few springs.


Now we have chosen a marvelously varied program for April of 2003, which will include four major operas and an exciting orchestral concert. We are pleased that this variety will take us to three of the city’s glamorous theatres – the Bastille Opera, the Palais Garnier, and the Mogador Theatre.
Bastille Opera

We will encounter three major works of the Opéra National de Paris, all at the state-of-the-art Bastille Opera House. First, Rossini’s rarely staged grand opéra William Tell (especially composed for the Paris Opera in 1829) will receive a new production by the innovative director Francesca Zambello, showcasing the American baritone Thomas Hampson in the demanding title role. Second, Tchaikovsky’s romantic Eugene Onegin will feature Britain’s baritone Simon Keenlyside as Pushkin’s Russian anti-hero opposite the Kirov Opera’s prima donna Olga Guryakova as Tatiana. Third, Wagner’s towering music-drama Parsifal will be revived in the evocative Graham Vick production, under the leadership of Music Director James Conlon.
Hotel Lutétia
Interior Sainte Chapelle

Our fourth opera will be a landmark of the French Baroque. In the more intimate ambience of the Belle Epoque Palais Garnier, the National Opera will stage a new production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s five-act tragedy Les Boréades. The radiant American soprano Barbara Bonney will be heard as the protagonist, and the conductor will be the revered Early Music specialist Sir William Christie.

Maestro Christoph Eschenbach is Music Director of the city’s foremost instrumental ensemble, the Orchestre de Paris.

We are delighted to include a concert under Eschenbach’s leadership in the Mogador Theatre, where the program will embrace virtuoso works of Bela Bartok and Serge Rachmaninov.

Our Paris Tours have all sold out in recent years, reflecting the high quality of musical performance throughout the city’s beautiful theatres. We have again chosen April to include the operatic and orchestral high points of the season, and to experience Paris in the early spring before the hordes of tourists descend on the French capital. Museums and restaurants will be relatively uncrowded during our optimum week.
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