2154 CT&MH_2020.qxp_CT&MH 2017 2nd Edition 09/10/2019 17:04 Page 32
escorted Holidays to leading music festivals & events
the metropolitan opera & art galleries of new york a five night holiday | 30 MARCH & 28 april 2020 Our visits to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City each season are amongst our most popular tours. Our itinerary will include visits to New York’s leading art collections including The Museum of Modern Art and The Frick Collection. Although performances from the Met’s stage are now enjoyed by millions thanks to high definition broadcasts, there is nothing to match the thrill of entering the Met’s plush auditorium and settling down into your seat in the company of up to four thousand other opera lovers.There is a performance at the Met six nights a week and every Saturday afternoon so the organisation required to put on this number of performances every season is nothing short of miraculous.We will discover just how an opera house of this size and international standing functions on our enthralling backstage tour.
the Itinerary We stay at the 4 star Hotel Empire, located just across the street from the Lincoln Center, and a couple of minutes’ walk from the Met, the perfect place to stay for opera lovers.The Empire has comfortably furnished bedrooms, a lobby bar and an enclosed rooftop bar, a restaurant serving breakfast and dinner and a branch of the iconic New York restaurant, PJ Clarke’s. In addition to the three included opera performances we will have a backstage tour of the Met and visit a selection of the city’s fascinating museums and galleries. Highlights include the iconic Metropolitan Museum of Art where we shall enjoy a tour of its American Wing and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) where our private visit will take place before the museum opens to the public – a wonderful experience, which has been one of the most memorable moments for clients in previous years.We will also see one of the world’s finest private collections of art at the Frick. At the Morgan Library and Museum we see the ever-changing exhibitions of the Morgan’s stunning collections of art, manuscripts and letters.Two dinners are included, one at a Kirker favourite local restaurant and one at The Grand Tier, the Met’s own restaurant. A visit to the wonderful Botanical Garden in the Bronx is also included in our April tour.
tour information DEPARTURE DATES & PRICES DATE PRICE SINGLE SUPP 30 March £2,735 £530 28 April £2,998 £690 Our prices are per person, based on the shared occupancy of a twin/double room. Supplement for single occupancy as shown. flight details Flights with British Airways: Depart London Heathrow 13.05 arrive New York JFK 16.20 Depart New York JFK 19.20 arrive London Heathrow 07.15 the following day what we include
• Return flights to New York • Five nights’ accommodation (room only) • Three tickets in the rear stalls with uninterrupted views of the stage • Two dinners (including one at the Met’s Grand Tier) • All transfers, entrance fees and gratuities • The services of the Kirker Tour Leader NB: Biometric passports are required for entry to the USA
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opera PROGRAMME 30 March 2020 departure: Two Puccini dramas are performed alongside Rossini’s sparkling La Cenerentola. Madama Butterfly by Puccini (1 April). Ana Maria Martinez is the betrayed Co-Cio-San, Andree Care is the cynical Pinkerton and Markus Bruck is Sharpless. The conductor is Pier Giorgio Morandi. Tosca by Puccini (2 April). Anna Netrebko is the diva Tosca, Najmiddin Mavlyanov is Cavaradossi and George Gasnidze is the lustful Baron Scarpia. The conductor is Bertrand de Billy. La Cenerentola by Rossini (3 April). Irish soprano Tara Erraught takes centre stage in the title role, She is joined by Javier Camarena, Davide Luciano, Maurizio Muraro and Christian Van Horn.The performance is conducted by James Gaffigan. 28 April 2020 departure: The world’s most popular opera is performed alongside a relative Puccini rarity together with the most dramatic of Donizetti’s Tudor Queens trilogy. Maria Stuarda by Donizetti (30 April). Diana Damrau is Mary Queen of Scots and Jamie Barton is her cousin and rival, Queen Elizabeth. Stephen Costello is The Earl of Leicester, Michele Pertusi is Talbot and Andrej Filonczyk is Cecil. Maurizio Bernini conducts. Manon Lescaut by Puccini (1 May). The title role is sung by Sonja Yoncheva, Elchin Azizov is her cheating brother and Marcelo Alvarez is Des Grieux. Brindley Sherratt is Germont. Richard Farnes conducts. La bohème by Puccini (2 May). Mimi is sung by the Met’s favourite diva, Ailyn Perez and Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is Rodolfo, Jennifer Rowley is Musetta and Donald Maxwell is Benoit. Emmanuel Villaume conducts.
