USA

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

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.

Our programme of Cultural Tours has been carefully designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests – including art, architecture, archaeology, history, battlefields, gardens and wine. Each holiday is led by an expert lecturer who will help you experience the best of your chosen destination, and reveal additional insights which you might otherwise miss. Every itinerary is meticulously planned to include visits not only to the most noteworthy museums and monuments, but also to less-visited points of interest which most visitors overlook. A number of meals are included in both hotels and good local restaurants, which allow you to sample the regional cuisine, but most tours also allow for some free time for independent exploration as well – of course your Tour Leader or the Kirker Concierge would be delighted to recommend our favourite local restaurants.

EXCLUSIVE GROUPS

We operate our tours with a smaller number of participants to ensure a more personal experience. Typically, there will be between 10 and 20 passengers, with a maximum number of 22. All our Cultural Tours are in the company of a guest lecturer and, where necessary, there will also be a local guide available to help with the smooth running of your holiday.

TOUR SUBJECTS

Each holiday is designed to include the very best of the destination, encompassing a wide range of sights and subjects, from art and architecture to history and archaeology, but certain itineraries have a particular focus, and we have highlighted a few key themes below:

Art Tours

The Hill Towns of Le Marche, Page 40 Art of the Cote d’Azur, page 48 Van Gogh & Cezanne in Roman Provence, page 51 Madrid & Old Castille, page 52 Málaga – Picasso & Beyond, page 55 Nuremburg & Franconia, page 58 The Palaces & Galleries of St. Petersburg, page 60 Art, Music & Literature in Moscow, page 61

Garden Tours

Villas & Gardens around Rome, page 35 The Italian Lakes, page 37 Gardens of the Riviera, page 49 Gardens of Marrakech, page 67 The Gardens of Wicklow, page 69

Archaeology Tours

The Bay of Naples, page 44 Albania & the island of Corfu, page 64 Jordan – The Land of T.E. Lawrence, page 66

History Tours

Umbria – The Essence of Italy, page 36 Ravenna, Urbino & Ferrara, page 38 Parma, Cremona & Mantua, page 39 Lucca & the Lucchese Hills, page 41 Puglia – A Land of Conquest, page 42 Sicily – An Enigmatic Island, page 43 Liguria & the Cinque Terre, page 46 The Heritage & History of Malta & Gozo, page 47 Carcassonne & Albi, page 50 Ávila, Salamanca & Historic Castile, page 54 A Journey through Romania, page 59 Byzantine & Ottoman Istanbul, page 62 Classic Athens & the Peloponnese, page 63 Uzbekistan – The Land Beyond The River, page 65 The heart of Sri Lanka, page 68

Architecture Tours

The Grandeur of Rome, page 34 Palladian Villas & the Art of the Veneto, page 45 Seville & Andalucia, page 53

Military History & Battlefields

The Western Front, page 56 The Duke of Wellington & the Peninsular War, page 57

Wine Tours

Reims & Champagne, page 70 Wines of Rioja & Northern Spain, page 71 Wines of Sicily, page 72 A Wine Tour of Georgia & Armenia, page 73

OUR TOUR LEADERS

Each lecturer is selected for their expertise, charm and ability to communicate which allows them to share their knowledge with ease and to look after the needs of all members of the party. • Simon Monckton, an expert on art and architecture in Italy,

Spain and France, will lead tours to Seville, Carcassonne,

Provence and the French Riviera. • Christopher Monckton is an expert on art, music and gardens in particular; Christopher travels to Umbria, The Italian

Lakes, Sicily, Provence and Franconia. • Charlie Hall knows all regions of Italy intimately and will lead our tours to Rome, Le Marche, Lucca and Liguria. • Dr Neil Faulkner, historian, author and archaeologist, will take Kirker tours to Sicily and Romania. • Sian Walters, an art historian who lectures for the Arts

Societies, will lead our tour to the Veneto and Old Castille. • Robin Wallis, linguist, lecturer and long-time Hispanophile, will introduce us to Historic Castille and Málaga • Hugh Macdonald-Buchanan, military historian, will lead two different battlefields tours, focusing on The Western Front and Wellington’s Peninsular War. • Tatiana Shulga, Russian history expert, leads our popular holidays to St. Petersburg and Moscow • Andrew Allen is an experienced traveller and an expert on art history – he will lead visits to Emilia-Romagna, Athens & the

Peloponnese, Albania, Jordan and Istanbul. • Louisa Warman is an art historian and leads a tour to Lucca. • Karina Mitens is an archaeologist who will lead our tour to the Bay of Naples. • Juliet Rix is a previous author of the Bradt Guide to Malta and Gozo. She will lead our tour to these historic islands. • Stephen Nelson, an acclaimed artist, leads tours to Puglia and

The Bay of Naples. • Caroline Howard, a distinguished art historian, leads two contrasting tours to Rome. • Andrew Spira, author and historian, leads our fascinating tour to Romania. • Kirsty Fergusson, an expert horticulturalist leading tours that explore the great gardens of Marrakech and Wicklow. • Akmal Rahmonov, an expert on the history and architecture of Uzbekistan, leads our tour to this extraordinary country. • Tim Clarke needs no introduction to anyone interested in wine tours. He leads four wine tours for us in 2020, see pages 70 to 73.