“Whether the Salzburg Easter Festival, with prices even higher than its summer counterpart, is socially exclusive, is no longer the point. What matters is that it is artistically exclusive: it has finally set a standard which the world can envy.”
-- Opera

“With exceptional performances from all the principals, playing from the Welsh National Opera orchestra worthy of specialist Baroque instrumentalists and with the chorus achieving a sound weighty enough to uphold its long-held traditions, this was an immensely satisfying experience.”
-- Opera, July ’03 review of Handel’s ‘Jephtha’

“Cecilia Bartoli dazzled and bewitched, relishing every work, throwing off her coloratura like a tornado, only to calm down so that we could hear the heartbeat of the music, accompanied so softly and tenderly that one hardly dared breathe. I cannot remember another opera-house performance so dominated by pianissimos.”
-- Opera, May ’03

“There was another highlight in the Eva of Amanda Roocroft; this was her first foray into Wagner, and the role seemed well suited to her even, luminous singing.”
-- Opera, Jan. 03 review of Covent Garden’s ‘Die Meistersinger’

“. . . Nuccia Focile, who must be one of the most fragile and touching Cio-Cio-Sans ever, her slender, keen-edged soprano harking back to a long-lost tradition of light-voiced Butterflys. The joy of hearing a real Italian in this role can’t be overestimated: Focile gives full value to the words and binds them inextricably with the melodic line into arching, shapely, lyrical – Italianate – phrases. . . She had the audience weeping buckets by the end.”
-- Opera, April ’02 review of the Welsh National Opera’s ‘Madama Butterfly’

“Thomas Allen was an imperturbable, suave and tireless Don Alfonso, who enjoyed the game from start to finish.”
-- Opera News, July ’03 review of ‘Così fan Tutte’ in Brooklyn

SALZBURG & SOUTHAMPTON:

Price Per Person
(Based on double occupancy):
$4,280

Single room supplement:
$610*

Super Apex Economy Air:
(NY-Heathrow-Salzburg-NY)
$1,239**

*The Sacher Salzburg Hotel has a limited number of singles. Therefore, a few of our single travelers may have to be upgraded into twin rooms for single occupancy at an additional cost. Please indicate if you PREFER this large type of occupancy.

**While current air fares may be reduced at a later date, air reservations should be made earl during the very busy Easter period.

For the past eight years, we have offered an annual visit to the prestigious Salzburg Easter Festival encompassing the complete four-performance cycle of opera (Mozart’s Così fan Tutte this year, starring the irrepressible Italian coloratura Cecilia Bartoli) and concerts by the Berlin Philharmonic – conducted this spring by Music Director Sir Simon Rattle and the revered French maestro Pierre Boulez. Each year, we have combined Salzburg with a second city where the opera program is the most enticing of the season – sometimes Munich, Vienna, Prague or Zürich. In April of 2004, we have chosen the British seaport of Southampton for a four-night stay prior to Salzburg, where we will encounter a trio of exciting performances by the rich voices of the Welsh National Opera (WNO). This beloved company will be visiting Southampton for a lyric season featuring a new production of Tchaikovsky’s romantic version of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, Puccini’s poignant tragedy Madama Butterfly, and Humperdink’s popular post-Wagnerian opera Hänsel und Gretel. The WNO casts will showcase the consummate British soprano Amanda Roocroft as Tchaikovsky’s Tatyana and the Italian Puccini interpreter Nuccia Focile as an unforgettable Cio-Cio-San. We look forward eagerly to these performances by the Welsh National Opera after too long a hiatus since our last encounter with its high standards. This will mark our first visit to the environs of Southampton, where our excursions will take us to the celebrated Gothic Cathedral of Salisbury and to the idyllic coastal scenery of the Isle of Wight.

Our accommodations in Salzburg are for four nights at the deluxe Hotel Sacher Salzburg, sister hotel of the famous Sacher in Vienna and still familiarly known by its former name, the Oesterreichischer Hof (the ‘O. H.’). By far the town’s leading hotel and gracefully situated on the Salzach River in the heart of the town, it has been completely renovated during the past few years and serves an outstanding buffet breakfast and gourmet meals during Festival periods. Many of our friends consider the Sacher Salzburg their preferred hotel in all of Europe – for its beautiful location, its superior food, and its exceptional personal service. Cecilia Bartoli

Accommodations for four nights at Southampton’s leading hotel, the De Vere – Grand Harbour spa hotel. This fully serviced property overlooks the city’s harbour and offers such spa facilities as an indoor pool and a fitness center with Finnish sauna and Turkish steam room. A generous British breakfast is included with our reservations. Southampton boasts a fine natural harbor and has been England’s premier sea-port for centuries. The city’s extensive maritime history stems from such famous ventures as Henry V’s expedition to Agincourt, the emigration of the Pilgrim fathers, and the maiden voyage of the Titanic. After heavy bombing raids during World War II, extensive reconstruction has yielded modern shopping centres and the waterside development of Ocean Village.