NEW YORK MUSIC, THEATRE & ART JANUARY 10-18, 2017 TOUR LEADER: DR MATTHEW LAING
New York
Overview Yes, it’s cold outside, but the shows are hot! Spend nine days in the Big Apple, attending the very best in opera, orchestral music, jazz, dance and drama, while visiting some of the world’s top art and history museums, and learning about New York’s dynamic history. Six performances are included. Highlights include performances at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, new-season’s stage plays and a jazz evening. Accommodation is in a four-star hotel on the neighbourly Upper West Side, perfect for theatre and concert goers, and within walking distance of the Lincoln Center. It is well connected for travel around the city and has a great range of small restaurants, cafes and unique shops. Tour leader Dr Matthew Laing will provide background information on performances and lead some walking tours. Expert art historians and curators will conduct some gallery visits. There is also plenty of free time to relax before performances and for individual sightseeing.
Your tour leader
Music, theatre & art Tour dates: January 10-18, 2017 Tour leader: Dr Matthew Laing Tour Price: $6,950 pp, twin share (land only) Single Supplement: $1,600 for sole use of double room Booking deposit: $500 per person Recommended airline: Qantas or United airlines Maximum places: 20 Itinerary: New York (8 nights) Date published: March 31, 2016
Dr Matthew Laing has a comprehensive knowledge of the history and society of the United States and has travelled the length and breadth of the country for research, personal interest and as a tour leader. Matthew holds a PhD in political studies from the Australian National University, where his research focused on leadership and the US presidency. He currently works as a research fellow at Monash University. In 2007 he spent six months in Washington as an intern at the US Congress and has provided expert advice on leadership to government agencies in Australia, the United States and the Netherlands. Matthew started leading tours to the US for Academy Travel in 2014, all including stays in New York. For Matthew New York is the quintessential city of the modern world. “Although is it not the biggest, the oldest or the wealthiest, it is by far the most richly diverse and influential. Every walk of life is represented here the city is a vast patchwork of ethnic, religious and cultural communities, and over 800 languages are thought to be spoken across the five boroughs. Its ability to harmoniously straddle the world's cultures and create something entirely new along the way is New York's greatest strength. It is an international symbol of success, a Mecca for culture and entrepot for the world's trade.” “Matthew Laing was brilliant. His knowledge and ability to present it was exceptional. He was also amiable, helpful and well organised.” Feedback from Academy Travel’s Washington, Chicago and New York tour, October 2014.
Enquiries and bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Erin Laffin at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email erin@academytravel.com.au
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New York and the Performing arts We asked tour leader Matthew Laing about the performing arts scene in New York How is the performing arts scene linked to the city’s history? New Amsterdam, as a far-flung fur trading outpost of the Dutch Empire in the 17th century, was quickly famous as a city of bawdy ale houses and cheap entertainment. As the city transformed into a British, and then American, hub of economic activity and opportunity, successive waves of poor and middle-class immigrants washed over the city. Less restricted by the state censorship, social mores and elite domination of the arts in Europe, New Yorkers relentlessly pursued the entertainment of their great masses, with vaudeville, operettas and great spectacles like P.T. Barnum's circuses that could speak to audiences that may not have a common language. The presence of many different cultures gave rise to unique art forms, like jazz music from African American migrants in Harlem such as Duke Ellington and Billie Holliday, and Broadway musicals integrating the Yiddish theatre traditions through writers like Irving Berlin and the Gershwins. Over time these art forms – music and performances for the middle and lower classes – have joined more traditional European offerings (like opera and the symphony) to become the diverse and vibrant cultural hub of America. Why is it so energetic and innovative? America is, quite unlike most other nations, a country with a deep ethic of cultural philanthropy. In New York particularly, patronage of the arts is seen as a civic responsibility amongst the elites. Much of New York's artistic vibrancy comes from the sheer fact that there is far more financial opportunity for the arts than just about anywhere else in the world. That in turn has led to a concentration of performing arts venues, actors, muscians, writers and audiences in the city that ensures a constant churn of new productions and frenetic scramble to create the next hit. It is also an art scene that welcomes - indeed encourages experimentation. How did Broadway become such a centre for musicals? The musical is one of America's most unusual cultural offerings and the one most closely associated with New York. Theatres on Broadway created a vessel for a performance art that could be both light-hearted and serious, both musically accomplished and yet more accessible for the masses than opera. When Show Boat, the story of life, love and sorrow on a Mississippi paddle steamer, premiered on Broadway in 1927, the critics agreed it was a watershed moment in performing arts, for it created for a new generation an art form that could showcase drama, comedy, music, singing and storytelling. Musicals continue to be incredibly diverse in their offerings, and one of the few 19th-century performing art forms that can still self-fund and draw large audiences in an era of cinema and television.
Tour Highlights Gounod’s sparkling opera Romèo et Juliette, with an all-star cast at the Metropolitan Opera An orchestral concert at Carnegie Hall Two new plays in the 2016-17 Broadway season, one featuring internationally-recognised performers A dance performance at the Lincoln Center An evening of jazz in Chelsea Leading small museums of New York including The Cloisters, The Neue Museum, The Tenement Museum and The Frick Collection The recently re-opened Whitney Museum of American Art in Chelsea A private viewing of the Museum of Modern Art
Above: Times Square, heart of the Theater District
Above: The Met Opera’s Romèo et Juliette
Above: The Lincoln Center, New York’s leading performance precinct
Above: Picasso’s celebrated Les Demoiselles d'Avignon at MoMA
Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Moving around New York
To get to performances in the evening we will use a private coach or walk. Most of our travel from site to site in New York in the daytime will be in taxis. Taxis are much faster than buses and give us total flexibility in the program. On one or two occasions we will also use the city’s subway system. Please note that there is a fair amount of walking on this tour and a moderate degree of fitness is required. Tuesday January 10 Arrive New York
Depending on your choice of airline, flights arrive into New York from the early to the late evening. Taxi transfers to the hotel are included for those booking flights with Academy Travel and can be arranged for those who have made their own flight arrangements. Your tour leader will make arrangements to meet you on arrival at the hotel. Wednesday January 11 Beaux Arts and Art Deco – Broadway Musical
This morning we explore some of the Art Deco architecture of New York’s Midtown district, including icons such as the Chrysler Building, the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the Rockefeller Center, whose 11 buildings comprise one of the most remarkable architectural projects of the 20th century. We then explore Grand Central Station, a magnificent Beaux Arts building, and have lunch at Cipriani Dolci, overlooking the main vestibule of Grand Central. This evening we kick off our performances with an energising Broadway musical, selected from the 2016-17 season (in January 2015 it was Bernstein’s On the Town, in 2016 An American in Paris). (B, L) Performance details Venue: A Broadway theatre Program: to be announced October 2016 Performers: to be announced October 2016 Thursday January 12 The Cloisters and the Met Museum – Stage Play
Images above: The Art Deco spire of the Chrysler Building; Grand Central Station; The iconic Washington Crossing the Delaware at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
We spend the morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The vast collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art encompasses just about all known fine and decorative arts from ancient Egypt onwards. We begin with a curator-led tour of The Cloisters, the Museum’s medieval department, located in a purpose-built building on the northern tip of
Manhattan. We then travel through Harlem to the Museum’s main campus on Fifth Avenue. Your tour leader will take you through the beautifully displayed American galleries, before free time to explore the many other galleries and temporary exhibitions independently. In the evening we return to Broadway for a stage play, a new production selected from the 2016-17 season. In previous years performers have included Glenn Close and Helen Mirren. (B) Performance details Venue: A Broadway theatre Program: to be announced October 2016 Performers: to be announced October 2016 Friday January 13 The Whitney and the High Line – Dance Performance
From the Native American through to the early colonists and the 20th century, American Art has followed its own energetic trajectory, exploring and celebrating the American landscape, the rise of the city and rapid transformations brought about by engineering and technology. This morning a curator takes us through some of the Whitney Museum, dedicated exclusively to American art and renowned for its collection of works by Edward Hopper. In 2015 the Whitney re-opened in a new building in Chelsea, designed by Renzo Piano. After a break at the Chelsea Food Markets, located in a former Nabisco factory, we stroll the High Line, an innovative urban park created from a disused industrial rail line running above the Chelsea district. This evening we head to the Lincoln Center, New York’s leading performing arts complex, for a performance by the highly regarded New York City ballet. (B) Performance details Venue: Lincoln Center Program: to be announced May 2016 Performers: New York City Ballet Saturday January 14 MoMA Private viewing – Carnegie Hall
An undoubted highlight of our tour will be this morning’s private tour of MoMA – New York’s famous Museum of Modern Art. A museum lecturer guides us through the museum’s greatest works before the museum opens its doors to the public. The museum is adjacent to our hotel and you can enter and leave as you wish during the day, exploring the collections at your own pace. This evening we head to Carnegie Hall, one of the world’s most celebrated concert venues. Carnegie Hall hosts visiting international orchestras, singers and soloists of the highest level. It has a superb acoustic. (B) Performance details Venue: Carnegie Hall Program: to be announced May 2016 Performers: to be announced May 2016
Images above: Edward Hopper, a leading 20th-century realist painter, at the Whitney Museum; the New York City Ballet; Carnegie Hall
Sunday January 15 Free morning – Stage Drama
The morning is free to relax or visit a site or gallery of personal interest. In the afternoon we head to the Theater District for a matinee performance of a stage drama, our second for the tour. The production will be a new one from the 2016-17 season. After the performance we gather for a casual dinner in a neighbourhood restaurant. (B, D) Performance details Venue: A Broadway theatre Program: to be announced October 2016 Performers: to be announced October 2016 Monday January 16 Museums of the Upper East Side – Jazz
Today we visit two small museums on the Upper East Side. The Frick Collection contains an unsurpassed range of European masterpieces assembled by coal and steel baron Henry Clay Frick and his successors. The works are displayed in Frick’s sumptuous mansion occupying a whole block of Fifth Avenue. Further uptown, but still on Fifth Avenue, is the Neue Museum, which holds an excellent collection of Viennese art nouveau and Secessionist decorative art and painting from the early 20th century, including Gustav Klimt’s portrait of ‘the woman in gold’, Adele Bloch Bauer. Tonight we return to Chelsea for an evening of jazz at the well-regarded Blue Note cafe. The Blue Note regularly hosts leading performers from around the world. (B) Performance details Venue: Blue Note Jazz Cafe Program: to be announced December 2016 Performers: to be announced December 2016 Tuesday January 17 Lower East Side – Romeo et Juliette
Late this morning we visit the Lower East Side. A tour through the Tenement Museum shows how ‘the other half lived’ and documents the lives and conditions of a sample of the millions of immigrants who came from all over the world to make a new life in New York. In recent years the Lower East Side has undergone rapid transformation to become a vibrant and fashionable neighbourhood. This evening we return to the Lincoln Center for the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Gounod’s vibrant opera, Romèo et Juliette. The all-star cast is headed by coloratura soprano Diana Damrau and dashing Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo, reprising their celebrated collaboration in Manon in 2015. The production is jointly mounted by the Salzburg Festival, Milan’s La Scala and The Met. Before the performance and during intervals we share a farewell meal at the Grand Tier restaurant located at the Metropolitan Opera. (B, D)
Performance details Venue: Metropolitan Opera House Program: Gounod Romèo et Juliette Performers: Diana Damrau (Juliette), Vittorio Grigolo (Romèo) Wednesday January 18 Top of the Rock - Departure
Late this morning we stroll to the Rockefeller Center to visit the ‘Top of the Rock’ observatory for 360-degree views over Manhattan, Long Island and New Jersey. In the midafternoon there is a transfer to JFK airport for those departing New York. (B)
The Warwick Hotel Our four-star hotel is very conveniently located in midtown Manhattan, on 54th Street. We have booked premier-plus grade rooms. These are large and comfortable, each with modern amenities. The hotel is in walking distance of many of New York’s most popular attractions. The hotel has just completed a major renovation. The Warwick has an interesting history. It was built in 1926 for newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, primarily as a residence for his Hollywood friends, among whom was his mistress Marion Davies. Over the years guests have included James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Actor Cary Grant lived in the Warwick for 12 years. www.warwickhotelny.com
Additional travel AND stopovers We are more than happy to arrange additional travel either before or after the tour dates. Stopovers on the outbound or return flight are also possible for those wishing to break their journey. Please contact Erin Laffin on (02) 9235 0023 to discuss your requirements.
Images clockwise top left: The ‘woman in gold’, Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer, today in the Neue Museum; view from the top of the Rockefeller Center; The Warwick Hotel; Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau on stage at the Met; jazz at the Blue Note Cafe.
Final program and second deposit In May 2016 an updated itinerary with all music details will be published. At this stage we will send you a second invoice for $1,500 to cover the cost of tickets. A final itinerary with stage performances will be published in October 2016. If you are not satisfied with the range and quality of performances in the final itinerary you can withdraw from the tour within 14 days and receive a full refund of your deposit.
Tour Inclusions Included in the tour price 8 nights’ accommodation at a central four-star hotel All breakfasts, and selected lunches and dinners in hotels and local restaurants Land travel by air-conditioned coach or taxi as required Best available tickets to eight performances of opera, classical music, drama and a Broadway musical Background notes and background talks Services of Academy Travel expert tour leader throughout tour All entrance fees to sites mentioned on itinerary Expert local guides at some sites Tips for all services stated as included in the itinerary Porterage of one piece of luggage Not included in the tour price International airfares (see below) Travel insurance Visa costs Meals and activities not stated as included in this itinerary Personal expenses such as laundry, phone or internet usage
Air travel The tour price quoted is for land content only. For this tour we recommend Qantas or United who have regular flights to New York. Please contact Erin Laffin for further details. Taxi transfers between airport and hotel are included for all passengers booking their flights through Academy Travel. These may be group or individual transfers.
Enquiries and bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Erin Laffin at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email erin@academytravel.com.au
Fitness Requirements of THIS tour Grade one It is important both for you and for your fellow travellers that you are fit enough to be able to enjoy all the activities on this tour. To give you an indication of the level of physical fitness required to participate on our tours, we have given them a star grading. Academy Travel’s tours tend to feature extended walking tours and site visits, which require greater fitness than coach touring. We ask you instead to consider carefully your ability to meet the physical demands of the tour. Participation criteria for this tour This Grade One tour is appropriate for travellers in good health with good mobility. You should be able to comfortably participating in up to three hours of physical activity per day on most days, including walking at an easy pace, sometimes on uneven terrain, climbing stairs and standing in galleries. You should be able to: keep up with the group at all times walk for 2-3 kilometres at a moderate to slow pace with only short breaks stand for a reasonable length of time in galleries and museums negotiate stairs and escalators get on and off a coach with steep stairs unassisted move your luggage a short distance if required A note for older travellers If you are more than 80 years old, or have restricted mobility, it is likely that you will find this itinerary challenging. You may have to miss certain activities and may not get the full value of the tour. Before submitting your booking form, please contact Academy Travel to discuss your situation and the exact physical requirements of this tour. While we will do our best to reasonably accommodate the physical needs of all group members, we reserve the right to refuse bookings if we feel that the requirements of the tour are too demanding for you and/or if local conditions mean we cannot reasonably accommodate your condition.