Opera in Southern Sicily, 5–11 November 2019 by Martin Randall Travel

Opera in Southern

Sicily

CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE 5â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11 NOVEMBER 2019

Five operas and five historic theatres in beautiful Baroque cities.

MARTIN RANDALL FESTIVALS

It is hard to articulate the joy of our festivals. World-class musicians playing wonderful music in glorious historic buildings. A thrilling sequence of private performances, each contrasting with or complementing the others, receptivity deepened by talks by experts. Anxieties about practicalities – where to eat? where to park? will we miss the last train home? – all fall away. Everything is highly organised, without the feeling of being regimented. You relax in a bubble of untroubled leisure. The MRT staff are incredible, both at planning these festivals and at looking after everyone during the event. Artistically, our festivals rank with all but the grandest. None surpasses them for the merry totality of the experience.

THE J.S. BACH JOURNEY 13–19 MAY 2019 WEST COUNTRY CHORAL FESTIVAL 7–11 JULY 2019 MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE 31 AUGUST–7 SEPTEMBER 2019 SACRED MUSIC IN SANTIAGO 26 or 28 SEPTEMBER–2 OCTOBER 2019 THE THOMAS TALLIS TRAIL 1–3 NOVEMBER 2019 OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY 5–11 NOVEMBER 2019

Martin Randall Chief Executive

ABOUT THIS FESTIVAL: OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY, 5–11 NOVEMBER 2019 Five diverse operas, Baroque, Classical and Romantic, unknown and well known, unstaged and staged. Some of Europe’s finest ensembles and soloists. Just glance at pages 12–16.

A sixth concert: a Scarlatti requiem mass performed in front of a Caravaggio masterpiece. Based on the island of Ortygia in Syracuse, one of the loveliest city centres in Italy.

All are private performances, all in beautiful historic theatres – Sicily’s best-kept secret. 2

Packages including flights (optional), coach transfers, meals, and accommodation in 3- and 4-star hotels. Talks, a comprehensive programme booklet, optional art history walks, optional pre- and postfestival tours.

CONTENTS

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FESTIVAL Discover the festival packages and locations.

17. DISCOVER THE PLACE

20.

TRAVEL OPTIONS Travel to and from Sicily on one of our festival flights, or independently.

South-Eastern Sicily: Baroque cities, dramatic hill country, stunning coastline.

THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME The day-by-day itinerary including details of the performances.

18.

ACCOMMODATION & PRICES

21.

PRE- & POSTFESTIVAL TOURS Extend your stay in Italy with a tour that has been designed to link with the festival.

Choose between five 3- and 4-star hotels on the island of Ortygia, Syracuse.

12. MEET THE MUSICIANS

International musicians of the highest calibre.

25. BOOKING

This brochure was produced in-house. Text compiled by Hannah King and Martin Randall, with contributions from Charlotte Crow, Christopher Newall and Lizzie Watson. Designer: Jo Murray (template devised by Silver Leopard, London). Printed: 1st November 2018.

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The booking form, details of our booking process, and the booking conditions.

Photograph, opposite: Ragusa, ©Jonas Tebbe. Inset photo of Martin ©Emmie Scott. 3

INTRODUCTION

OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY AN INTRODUCTION

Sicily is an island of many surprises, and its collection of historic opera houses must rank high among them.

Few visitors ever make it into any of the bewitchingly beautiful auditoria, many of which are well restored and in serviceable working order. With the exception of the three biggest cities on the island, performances and events are rare and of little interest to an international audience.

The unique formula pioneered by Martin Randall Festival enables us to mount operas in five of these theatres – three Baroque (Charpentier, Conti and Handel), one Classical (Mozart) and one Romantic (Verdi). Most will be concert performances, one will be fully staged.

Nineteenth-century by date if basically seventeenth-century in design, these theatres are characterised by a horseshoe plan, several tiers of boxes and sumptuous decoration. Some are white and crimson and gold, others are elaborately painted with mythological scenes and symbols and trompe-l’oeil ornamentation.

A sixth performance, a requiem mass, takes place in a church.

Owing their genesis to the surge of pride and optimism that followed the unification of Italy in 1860, they were community facilities, funded by public subscription. Most, however, are tiny, echoing the court theatres which were their model, and can only comfortably seat between 100 and 300. So in the 21st century they are hopelessly uneconomical for classical music concerts of any ambition.

The audience is accommodated in hotels on the Island of Ortygia, the ancient heart of Syracuse, one of the largest areas of unremittingly picturesque townscape to be found in Italy. From here you travel by coach to performances in the other towns. Perhaps the most amazing feature of the festival is the extraordinarily high quality of the singers, orchestras and directors we have chosen to perform for you. It would be invidious to name names: just keep reading through this brochure.

L’ISSIPILE (1732) Francesco Conti Teatro Tina di Lorenzo, Noto La Nuova Musica LA TRAVIATA (1853) Giuseppe Verdi Teatro Comunale, Vittoria Hampstead Garden Opera ACTÉON (1685) Marc-Antoine Charpentier Teatro Garibaldi, Avola Early Opera Company MISSA DEFUNCTORUM (1717) Alessandro Scarlatti Chiesa di Santa Luca alla Badia, Syracuse Odhecaton ACIS & GALATEA (1718) George Frideric Handel Teatro Garibaldi, Modica Early Opera Company COSÌ FAN TUTTE (1790) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Teatro Massimo Comunale, Syracuse Classical Opera

INTRODUCTION

THE SPEAKER

THE FESTIVAL PACKAGE Access to the concerts is exclusive to those who take our festival package, which includes: —A ll six performances (five of which are operas). — A ccommodation for six nights – choose between five options. See pages 18–19. —C hoice of flights between London and Sicily (reduced price if you arrange your own). See page 20. —B reakfasts, four dinners (including one picnic), one lunch and interval drinks.

In addition, there are extra services which can be booked: — A choice of pre- and post-festival tours or a London Day. See pages 21–24. — A rriving a day early at your festival hotel. See pages 18–19. — E xtra dinners, so that each evening is spent in the company of other participants. Details will be available at a later stage.

Dr David Vickers. Author, journalist, broadcaster and lecturer. He is co-editor of The Cambridge Handel Encyclopedia and is preparing new editions of several of Handel’s music dramas. He is a critic for Gramophone and BBC Radio 3 and teaches at the Royal Northern College of Music.

— A range of walks and visits led by art historians. Details will be available at a later stage.

— Talks on the music by Dr David Vickers. — Travel by comfortable private coach. — T he assistance of festival staff and a detailed programme booklet.

‘ Thank you for such a great experience. Now I know why friends speak so highly of MRT.’ Illustration: Copper engraving c. 1770.

Participant on an MRT festival in 2018.

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THE PROGRAMME

THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Arrive a day early Monday 4 November

Day 1 Tuesday 5 November

Day 2 Wednesday 6 November

We are offering the option of arriving at your hotel in Syracuse a day before the festival begins.

Fly from London to Catania, via Milan or Rome, or make your own way independently. Coach transfer to Syracuse. For travel options, see page 20.

You have a free morning in Syracuse before setting off by coach at c. 1.45pm for the early afternoon opera in Noto. There is the option, however, of leaving for Noto at 10.00am to have time to see something of it before the performance.

Fly from London to Catania, via Milan or Rome, or make your own way independently. Coach transfer to Syracuse. For travel options, see page 20.

The Island of Ortygia, the ancient heart of Syracuse, is densely packed with structures from ancient Greek to Stile Liberty. Meandering alleys lead to little piazze and seaside promenades, past romantically crumbling or lovingly restored Baroque palaces and churches. Depending on the arrival of your flight, there is free time to become acquainted with Ortygia. Settle into your chosen hotel before a drinks reception and dinner.

Spread across a broad hillside, Noto was rebuilt after an earthquake in 1693 to become one of the loveliest and most homogeneous Baroque towns in the world. A striking feature is the extraordinary number of religious foundations that built for themselves premises of palatial grandeur. The whole city is constructed of honey-coloured stone, with façades enlivened with sculpted balconies and elaborate ironwork. The opera house opened in 1870 and is dressed in exceedingly pretty, enriched Neo-Classical garb. As with most of the other opera houses in this festival, four tiers of boxes surround the horseshoeshaped auditorium. Pre-performance talk, 3.15pm Performance, 4.00pm Teatro Tina di Lorenzo, Noto

Travelling to the venues For the performances that are outside Syracuse, there are drives in comfortable coaches of between 30 minutes and an hour – and one (only) of two hours. These are mostly through attractive green countryside, with the longer journeys being largely on fast motorways.

Francesco Conti, L’ISSIPILE (1723) La Nuova Musica David Bates conductor, Lucy Crowe Issipile, Raffaele Pe Giasone, Lawrence Zazzo Learco, Patricia Bardon Eurinome. Employed for over 30 years at the Hapsburg court in Vienna, Francesco Bartolomeo Conti, originally from Florence, was one of the most gifted composers of his time. But there have been very few modern revivals of his works. The score of L’Issipile, Conti’s last opera, languished in the

THE PROGRAMME

‘ We enjoyed every minute. No detail left to chance.’ Participant on an MRT festival in 2018.

Day 3 Thursday 7 November

Leave by coach at c. 10.30am and drive to Ragusa, where lunch is included for everyone. There is also the option of leaving for Ragusa at 9.00am, for free time there before lunch.

Austrian National Library until its first modern revival at Wigmore Hall in 2014 revealed its magnificence. As today, David Bates was the director and La Nuova Musica the ensemble. Conti’s arias are richly contrapuntal, and there is an unusual abundance of orchestrally accompanied recitatives. The plot is based loosely on a story from Ovid’s Heroïdes and other classical sources: Jason and the Argonauts arrive on the island of Lemnos, where the women seem to have murdered all men in revenge for their adultery with Thracian women while away at war. Queen Hypsipyle falls in love with Jason, but a pirate suitor returns…. Dinner in Noto is included for everyone, during a long interval. Coaches return to Syracuse by c. 10.00pm.

Illustrations & photographs: Left: Syracuse, the Duomo, steel engraving c. 1850. Above: audience members at an MRT Festival ©Bill Knight. Above right: Noto, Teatro Communale ©Hannah King.

Ragusa Ibla is a wonderfully picturesque hilltop city surmounted by the great dome of the cathedral of St George. The street pattern remains that of a medieval hilltown, a maze of stepped streets with breathtaking views. (Ragusa Superiore, occupying a neighbouring hilltop, was rebuilt after 1683 on a regular grid plan.) After lunch, continue by coach to Vittoria. Vittoria is one of those small towns in Sicily whose allure is enhanced by the absence of tourists. While pleasant enough, it possesses no set piece to draw the crowds, and the one exception is hidden – the opera house. Behind an imposing Neo-Classical façade in the tree-lined Piazza del Popolo there lies an auditorium of breathtaking beauty: white, pale blue and gold with red plush drapes and upholstery. Pre-performance talk, 3.45pm Performance, 4.30pm Teatro Comunale, Vittoria

Alexandre Dumas the younger. It tells the story of the tempestuous and ill-fated love affair of the courtesan Violetta Valéry and young gentleman Alfredo Germont. Marking Verdi’s development towards a new kind of operatic drama, closer to spoken theatre, La Traviata is the apex of the composer’s fusion of innovation and tradition. This fully staged production was first performed in Jacksons Lane Theatre in Highgate in 2018 to widespread acclaim. Drive back to Syracuse, arriving by c. 9.30pm. A picnic dinner is provided on the coach.

Giuseppe Verdi, LA TRAVIATA (1853) Hampstead Garden Opera Sam Evans conductor, Sophie Gilpin director, Anna Bonomelli designer, Eleanor Ross Violetta, Alex Aldren Alfredo, Lawrence Wallington Germont. La Traviata was first performed in Venice in 1853. The libretto by Francesco Maria Piave was based on La dame aux camélias, a semi-autobiographical stage play by WWW.MARTINRANDALL.COM

THE PROGRAMME

THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Day 4 Friday 8 November

Day 5 Saturday 9 November

Avola is another rarely visited little town half an hour from Syracuse. A poem in gold and crimson, the auditorium of the Teatro Garibaldi is the smallest of the festival, seating comfortably not many more than a hundred. The audience therefore splits, and the ensemble performs the hour-long opera twice. Half the group have free time in Syracuse in the morning followed by an afternoon performance; the other half attend the opera in the morning and return to Syracuse at lunchtime.

There is an entirely free morning in Syracuse, before departing for Modica at 1.30pm. Alternatively, depart at 9.30am for time to explore Modica.

Pre-performance talk, 11.00am or 2.30pm Performance, 11.30am or 3.00pm Teatro Garibaldi, Avola Marc-Antoine Charpentier, ACTÉON (c. 1685) Early Opera Company Christian Curnyn conductor, Mark Milhofer Actéon, Mhairi Lawson Diane & Daphne, Hilary Summers Junon, Rowan Pierce Hyale & Arthebuze, Nick Pritchard & Edward Grint Deux Chasseurs. Charpentier composed Actéon in c. 1685, possibly for a performance hosted by his Parisian patron Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise. Charpentier lived at the Hôtel de Guise as her resident composer and haute-contre from about 1670, soon after returning from his studies in Italy, until the Duchess’s death in 1688.

Dinner is independent, unless you choose to attend an optional dinner. The Baroque church of Santa Lucia alla Badia in Piazza del Duomo houses Caravaggio’s Burial of St Lucy. Concert, 9.00pm Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia, Syracuse Alessandro Scarlatti, MISSA DEFUNCTORUM (1717) Odhecaton Paolo da Col conductor

Based on a tale from Ovid, the hunter Actaeon inadvertently stumbles across Diana and her virgin companions bathing naked in a spring, and the incandescent goddess transforms him into a stag; he is then devoured by his own hounds. Much musical diversity and dramatic intensity is packed into this hour-long pastoral.

Sicily was the birthplace of several composers who had a considerable impact on Italian music, none more so than Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 –1725). A pioneer of the chamber cantata and a master of dramatic oratorio, his Missa defunctorum (1717) is a requiem mass in the polyphonic stile antico with exquisite dissonances and harmonic twists, and four-part polyphony that represents a late baroque updating of the Renaissance liturgical music of Palestrina and Lassus. Although sung at Stravinsky’s funeral (Venice, 1971), it is rarely performed. It was recorded for the first time by Odhecaton in 2016.

The exceedingly lovely town of Modica is dramatically situated at a conjunction of valleys at the foot of Monti Iblei. The theatre is in a broad meandering tree-lined avenue in Modica Bassa (‘lower Modica’), the more recent (though still historic) part of the town. Its gorgeous interior was recently restored and is embellished with trompe l’oeil decoration and paintings. The land rises steeply to the east, where there is a delightful congestion of amber buildings, including the great churches of San Pietro and San Giorgio (the cathedral). A net of alleys, narrow streets and steps leads to the oldest part of the town, Modica Alta (‘Upper Modica’). Pre-performance talk, 3.30pm Performance, 4.00pm Teatro Garibaldi, Modica George Frideric Handel, ACIS & GALATEA (1718) Early Opera Company Christian Curnyn conductor, Mark Milhofer Acis, Mhairi Lawson Galatea, Nick Pritchard Damon, Edward Grint Polyphemus. A tragic-pastoral tale in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the sea nymph Galatea and the shepherd Acis are blissfully in love, but the monstrous Polyphemus burns with lust for Galatea. When his grotesque serenade fails, he resorts to violence; while Mount Etna shakes, he crushes Acis to death with a boulder. By godly

THE PROGRAMME

Day 6 Sunday 10 November

intervention his gushing blood becomes a bubbling spring, the source of the River Aci – thereby the tragic lovers are united eternally in the Sicilian sea. Having already set the story to music in Naples (1708), Handel returned to it with entirely new music for an English masque as an entertainment hosted by the Earl of Carnarvon at his country estate, Cannons, in midsummer 1718. Handel’s first great English masterpiece is a charming journey through pastoral, affectionate, ardent, sentimental, ominous, hilarious, tragic, cathartic and magical elements that was both unprecedented and never replicated by him in his settings of the English language. Coaches return to Modica in time for an independent dinner, or an optional dinner if you choose to attend.

The day is free until the final performance in the afternoon. Syracuse’s Teatro Comunale is the largest and grandest of the theatres engaged for this festival – though there are only about 300 seats with good sightlines. Unused for 70 years, the recent refurbishment allows occasional access to an auditorium with sumptuous ornamentation and an elaborate ceiling painting. Pre-performance talk, 2.15pm Performance, 3.00pm Teatro Massimo Comunale, Syracuse Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, COSÌ FAN TUTTE (1790) Classical Opera Ian Page conductor, Ana Maria Labin Fiordiligi, Emily Edmonds Dorabella, Benjamin Appl Guglielmo, Ilker Arcayurek Ferrando, Rebecca Bottone Despina, Mark Stone Don Alfonso. Alternatively titled La scuola degli amanti (‘The school for lovers’), Lorenzo da Ponte’s libretto is descended from stories in Boccaccio, Ariosto, Cervantes and Shakespeare, with hints from Ovid. Set in Naples, the philosopher Don Alfonso wagers with two naïve young men, Ferrando and Guglielmo, that their fiancées (sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella) are not as perfect as they insist. The cynical Alfonso enlists the aid of the ladies’ servant, Despina, in order to instruct the four innocent youths in a cruel lesson about love.

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It was Mozart’s last opera buffa: the characterful arias, ensembles and hilarious finales – illustrated by his mature orchestral writing at its most sensitive – are paced flawlessly throughout each of its two acts. The drama explores every possible facet of love and fidelity (and various shades of their opposites), a lesson that people invariably must learn the hard way. Dinner for everyone follows the performance.

Illustrations & photographs: Left, centre: Avola, Teatro Garibaldi, courtesy of the venue. This page, left: audience members on an MRT Festival. Above: W.A. Mozart, German woodcut c. 1930.

THE PROGRAMME

THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Day 7 Monday 11th November

Coaches take participants to Catania airport. Fly to London via Milan or Rome, or leave the festival independently. For travel options, see page 20.

Participation in our festivals is a very different experience from conventional group travel.

Fitness for the festival This is a physically demanding festival and fitness is essential. Within towns and cities, you will be expected to walk for anything up to 20 minutes and at a pace which is unlikely to slow others down when moving together.

No repetitive or redundant announcements, no herding by elevated umbrella, no unnecessary roll calls, little hanging around. We work on the assumption that you are adults, and our staff Many streets are uneven or cobbled and there are some ascents and descents, cultivate the virtue of unobtrusiveness. although mostly you will only need to be Though there will be up to 220 participants, capable of this if you opt to spend more you will often find yourself in smaller groups free time in Noto, Ragusa or Modica. There are often stairs to negotiate in the theatres, – the audience is divided between five which do not have lifts. hotels, and into different restaurants for some of the dinners. There is a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day (not including airport For those who are not averse to group transfers): 63 miles. Some hotels are a activities there are extra meals, walks and 20-minute walk from where we can stop. visits to sign up to. You choose the level of participation that suits you. Optional walks and visits: If you think you will need a wheelchair at lecturers We provide sufficient information to enable any stage, including at the airport, then this festival is unlikely to be suitable for you. you to navigate the festival events without Dr Roberto Cobianchi. Art historian needing to be led. However, festival staff specialising in the art and architecture If you have a medical condition or a disability are also stationed around the events to of the Renaissance and Baroque. His which may affect your holiday or necessitate direct you if needed. interests also span from the iconography special arrangements being made for you, of the late Middle Ages to the sculpture of please discuss these with us before booking Neo-Classicism. – or, if the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before John McNeill. Architectural historian of Why November? departure. There is no age limit but we do the Middle Ages and Renaissance. ask that you assess your fitness by trying the He lectures for Oxford University’s November is relatively low simple exercises on the booking form. Department of Continuing Education season in Sicily. Fewer visitors and is Honorary Secretary of the British and fewer cruise ships make it a Archaeological Association. very pleasant winter destination. Temperatures are mild and blue If you choose to arrive on Monday 4 skies can be expected (rain is Photographs: November, a range of visits will be available possible, though less likely). Left: audience members on 5 November. Where there is free time in on an MRT Festival. Syracuse and elsewhere, optional walks and Right: Avola, Teatro visits will usually be offered. Full information Garibaldi ©Hannah King. will be sent to all participants. 10

THE PROGRAMME

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC; The music was exceptional. Venues well chosen and beautiful.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Participant on an MRT festival in 2018.

More about the concerts All five theatres were built in the 19th century, and though they have been refurbished, some of the seats may be less comfortable than those in a modern opera house. Many are in boxes rather than in the stalls (orchestra), though we are limiting audience capacity so everyone has good sight-lines. If you are uneasy with the idea of sitting anywhere other than in the stalls, please talk to us before booking.

Private. All the performances are planned and administered by us, and the audience consists exclusively of those who have taken the festival package. Seating. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you want. Capacity. There will be up to 220 participants on the festival. At the one venue which cannot accommodate this number, the opera is repeated.

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Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with locale and authenticity than with acoustic perfection. The venues may have idiosyncrasies or reverberations of the sort not found in modern concert halls. However, as most are theatres and therefore purpose-built for this genre of music, acoustics are generally very good. Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues may close for repairs, airlines alter schedules: there are many circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur. 11

THE MUSICIANS

MEET THE MUSICIANS

THE MUSICIANS

Photographs, this page from left: David Bates ©Andy Staples; Patricia Bardon; Raffaele Pe ©Kaupo Kikkas; Lawrence Zazzo ©Justin Hyer; Lucy Crowe ©Marco Borggreve.

LA NUOVA MUSICA Since its foundation in 2007, La Nuova Musica has rapidly established itself as one of the most versatile performing groups of its kind. Under the direction of founder and Artistic Director, David Bates, LNM has placed dynamism and discovery at the heart of every performance. Drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking 17thcentury Italian treatise – ‘Le nuove musiche’ – La Nuova Musica strives for audiences to experience musical works as if hearing them for the first time. Masterpieces of the Baroque era sit at the heart of LNM’s repertoire, but the ensemble’s breadth of influence results in concert programmes drawing works from across the Classical period alongside new music from LNM’s active commissioning programme.

ODHECATON A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Schola Cantorum in Basel, David Bates has rapidly established himself as one of Europe’s most exciting directors of Baroque music and a figurehead for a new performing generation. Having initially embarked on a professional singing career, Bates founded La Nuova Musica in 2007, driven by a desire to articulate his own musical vision.

Irish mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon studied in Dublin, and her distinguished career has embraced an impressive diversity of roles. An acclaimed Baroque and bel canto singer, highlights include the title role in Giulio Cesare at Barcelona Liceu, Orlando at Opéra National de Paris and lead roles at the Met, ENO, Theater an La Nuova Musica’s performance der Wien and LA Opera. of L’Issipile at Wigmore Hall was described by Tim Ashley Born in Staffordshire, Lucy in The Guardian as ‘A knock-out Crowe studied at the Royal Academy of Music, to which she performance…Bates and La Nuova Musica go from strength has recently been appointed to strength.’ a Fellow. With repertoire ranging from Purcell, Handel and Mozart to Donizetti and Verdi, Crowe has sung with opera companies throughout Photograph, left: La Nuova Musica ©Nick Rutter.

the world, including the Royal Opera, Glyndebourne, ENO and the Met. ‘Lucy Crowe…brings down the house with a soprano artistry beyond compare.’ The Independent. Italian-born Raffaele Pe began his vocal and organ studies as a chorister at Lodi Cathedral. He continued his training in London, where he became a member of the Monteverdi Choir’s Young Artist programme. Hailed by critics for his versatile and expressive voice, his repertoire spans from recitar cantando to contemporary opera. Lawrence Zazzo studied English Literature at Yale University, followed by Music at King’s College, Cambridge. He continued his education at the Royal College of Music in London, and has since enjoyed a diverse and thriving international opera career. ‘Lawrence Zazzo’s outstandingly imperious title hero [Giulio Cesare] is the best sung and acted counter-tenor performance of the part I’ve encountered.’ Gramophone.

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Since its debut in 1998, Odhecaton has won many prestigious prizes for its recordings, reflecting critical recognition of the group’s pioneering new interpretative approach to the performance of polyphonic music: a fluid and expressive reading based on textual declamation. The name of the group is taken from the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton, the first printed book of polyphony, published in 1501 in Venice by Ottaviano Petrucci. Their core repertoire encompasses the work of Italian, French, Flemish and Spanish composers of the 15th century. Directed by Paolo Da Col, Odhecaton brings together some of the best Italian male voices specialising in the performance of Renaissance and Baroque music. The ensemble has made recordings dedicated to the music of Gombert, Isaac, Josquin, Peñalosa and Compère, and has helped rediscover the repertoire of 17th-century Spanish and Portuguese composers active in the Canary Islands.

THE MUSICIANS

HAMPSTEAD GARDEN OPERA Singer, organist, conductor and musicologist Paolo da Col completed his studies in performance and musicology in Bologna. Interested in Renaissance and Baroque music since his youth, for more than 20 years he has been a member of various Italian vocal groups, including the Cappella di San Petronio of Bologna and Ensemble Istitutioni Harmoniche. Since 1998 he has directed Odhecaton, alongside leading various Baroque vocal and instrumental ensembles. He is a professor at the conservatory of Trieste and runs (with Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini) the magazine L’Organo. He also contributes as a music critic to many specialised magazines (including Giornale della Musica) and oversees the catalogue of the Bolognese music publisher Arnaldo Forni.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: Odhecaton; Eleanor Ross; Lawrence Wallington; Alex Aldren.

Founded in 1990, Hampstead Garden Opera has risen to become one of London’s leading independent opera organisations, devoted to providing high-quality fully staged productions enabling rising young opera professionals to perform to an enthusiastic public. Critical acclaim has included regular nomination for the Off West-End Opera Awards (Offie), with HGO winning the award for its production of Così fan tutte. Recent productions, apart from La Traviata, have included Handel’s Partenope and Cimarosa’s The Secret Marriage. In late 2018, HGO will present La Bohème at Jacksons Lane Theatre, Highgate, London. Sam Evans is a professional baritone, conductor and singing teacher. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music International Opera School, graduating with the Tagore Gold Medal. A soloist at the BBC Proms, Opéra Comique and Sydney Opera House, he was formerly Music Director of Riverside Opera.

He is Music Director of Battersea Choral Society, Teddington Choral Society and other London choirs. He has acted as Chorus Master for the BBC Singers, the Swedish Radio Choir and the Monteverdi Choir. He is a Head of Vocal Studies at Highgate School.

Alex Aldren began his career as a doctor, but joined the Royal Academy of Music Opera School and is now in his second year of study there. Roles to date include Oronte (Alcina), Mercury (Orphée) and Bill (Flight). Alex is a Britten-Pears young artist.

Sophie Gilpin is Artistic Director of HeadFirst Productions and Co-Founder of SWAP’ra: Supporting Women and Parents in Opera. She has directed productions for companies including Riverside Opera/Rose Theatre Kingston, Celebrate Voice and Re:Sound Music Theatre/ Oxford Lieder Festival. She has worked as an Assistant Director for companies including Opera North, OperaUpClose, and Iford Arts.

Eleanor Ross trained at the Royal College of Music in London, Wales International Academy of Voice and at ENO OperaWorks. Notable engagements include Shepherd Boy (Tosca) with English Touring Opera; Handel’s Messiah at St John’s Smith Square; Cover Dalinda (Ariodante) at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; and Konstanze (Die Entführung) for Pop-Up Opera.

Anna Bonomelli trained with award-winning designer Paul Brown. She designed a production of Don Giovanni for Pleasance Theatre and Falstaff for Les Azuriales Opera. Future work includes a revival production of Idomeneo with director Graham Vick at Lithuanian Opera Theatre.

Lawrence Wallington studied languages at Magdalen College, Oxford and voice at the Royal Academy of Music, London. He is a Lay Clerk at Westminster Abbey, and sings in the Monteverdi Choir.

THE MUSICIANS

EARLY OPERA COMPANY Founded by its current Artistic Director Christian Curnyn, Early Opera Company’s vision is to celebrate Baroque music in ways that delight and inspire audiences. The ensemble collaborate with world-class partners, inspire audiences with outstanding productions, recordings and broadcasts of Baroque opera and Early music, and invest in the professional development of the next generation of Baroquespecialist musicians. EOC is proud to work closely with the Royal Opera and has performed Handel’s Solomon at Covent Garden. It has a strong reputation for performances of Handel operas, and regularly features music of the French Baroque. Christian Curnyn is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading conductors specialising in the Baroque and Classical repertoire. He founded Early Opera Company in 1994 and the last 24 years have seen notable performances throughout the UK, along with award-winning recordings.

He has conducted for English National Opera, and has appeared at Scottish Opera (Handel’s Semele), Opera North (Handel’s Saul), Grange Park Opera (Semele and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro) and with numerous productions at the Royal Opera House. British bass-baritone Edward Grint was a choral scholar at King’s College Cambridge, and went on to study at the International Benjamin Britten Opera School at the Royal College of Music. He was a finalist in the 2014 London Handel Competition, and won the Clermont Ferrand competition in France. Mhairi Lawson has performed in opera houses and concert halls worldwide with such companies as English National Opera, The Gabrieli Consort & Players, The Academy of Ancient Music, Philharmonia Baroque and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She regularly performs with the Early Opera Company.

One of the most versatile tenors of his generation, Mark Milhofer is as much at home in the music of Rossini as in the repertoire of Monteverdi, Mozart, Strauss or Benjamin Britten. He was a choral scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, before continuing his studies at Guildhall School of Music. Yorkshire-born Rowan Pierce was awarded the President’s Award by the Prince of Wales at the Royal College of Music in 2017. She won both the Song Prize and First Prize at the inaugural Grange Festival International Singing Competition, and is a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and a Harewood Artist at English National Opera.

Nick Pritchard read music as a choral scholar at New College, Oxford, and studied at the Royal College of Music International Opera School. He won the 2017 Whatsonstage Opera Poll award for Breakthrough Artist in UK Opera. Born in South Wales, contralto Hilary Summers has recorded over 40 CDs spanning works from the early Baroque period to the present day and has sung in most of the major concert halls and opera houses around the world.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: Christian Curnyn conducting Early Opera Company ©Claire Shovelton; Edward Grint ©Jan Rebuschat; Mhairi Lawson; Mark Milhofer; Hilary Summers ©Claire Newman Williams; Nick Pritchard ©Nick James; Rowan Pierce ©Gerard Collett.

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THE MUSICIANS

CLASSICAL OPERA Classical Opera and conductor Ian Page specialise in the music of Mozart and his contemporaries, and are widely acclaimed as foremost exponents of the Classical period. Together with their outstanding period-instrument orchestra they have attracted considerable critical and public recognition for the high quality of their performances, their intelligent and imaginative programming, and their ability to discover and nurture worldclass young singers. In 2017 they launched The Mozartists, a new brand under which they are developing their ever-expanding concert work. The company performs at leading London concert venues including Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre, the Barbican and Cadogan Hall, and has toured to Austria, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic. In 2012 it embarked upon an ongoing recording cycle of the complete Mozart operas, and in 2015 it launched MOZART 250, an epic chronological journey following the composer’s life, works and influences.

Ian Page is the founder, conductor and Artistic Director of Classical Opera and The Mozartists. As well as conducting many of Mozart’s operas, he has also directed the UK premières of Gluck’s La clemenza di Tito, Telemann’s Orpheus, Jommelli’s Il Vologeso and Haydn’s Applausus, and the first new staging for 250 years of Johann Christian Bach’s Adriano in Siria. In 2009 he made his Royal Opera House début conducting Arne’s Artaxerxes at the Linbury Theatre, and he has devised and conducted numerous recordings for Classical Opera and The Mozartists.

Born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna, tenor Ilker Arcayurek was a finalist in the 2015 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and was a BBC New Generation Artist in 2017. He was hailed by Opera Now for his ‘golden tenor’, and described by The Guardian as ‘in a class of his own’.

Benjamin Appl has been described by Gramophone as ‘the current front-runner in the new generation of Lieder singers’. The German baritone was a BBC New Generation Artist and an ECHO Rising Star artist. He records exclusively for SONY Classical, and his recordings include ‘Heimat’ with pianist James Baillieu and Bach cantatas with Ensemble Concerto Köln.

Australian mezzo-soprano Emily Edmonds was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House from 2015 to 2017, and is a current Associate Artist of Classical Opera. She attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and was the Dame Nellie Melba Scholar and Patrick & Vivian Gordon awardee for the Melba Opera Trust.

Rebecca Bottone was one of Classical Opera’s first Associate Artists in 2006, and has also performed regularly at the Royal Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, ENO, WNO and Scottish Opera. She studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music.

Soprano Ana Maria Labin is emerging as one of the leading Mozart singers of her generation. As a student, she won First Prize at the inaugural Concours Ernst Haefliger in Switzerland. She has appeared as Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) in Marc Minkowski’s acclaimed Mozart – Da Ponte cycle. Baritone Mark Stone studied maths at King’s College, Cambridge, and singing at the Guildhall. In 1998 he was awarded the Decca Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier awards, and has had an extensive and varied career throughout Europe and the USA.

Photographs, clockwise from top left: Ian Page conducting Classical Opera; Benjamin Appl ©Falk Castell; Ilker Arcayurek ©Janina Laszlo; Rebecca Bottone ©Esther Adjust; Mark Stone; Ana Maria Labin; Emily Edmonds ©Kurt Sneddon.

THE PLACE

DISCOVER THE PLACE

The south-eastern corner of Sicily – from the ancient city of Syracuse southwards to Capo Pássero and including the Baroque towns of Modica, Ragusa and Noto – is distinctive in so many ways.

The landscape is varied and beautiful, with a limestone scarp running parallel to the shore and with hill country and great ravines to the interior. This is the most fertile and well managed part of the island, with dry-stone walls reminiscent of the Cotswolds, and a prosperous and diverse agriculture. Evidence of the ancient past is all around, never more strikingly than in the Doric temples and fortifications of Ortygia in Syracuse and the Greek theatre a mile away on the mainland. As Cicero informed the Roman Senate: ‘You will often have been told that Syracuse is the largest of Greek cities and the loveliest of all cities. Gentlemen, what you have been told is true’. This is the base we have chosen for this festival.

Illustration: Detail from a map of Magna Graecia (Italy and Sicily) engraved by D’Anville for ‘Rollins Ancient History’ 1838.

In 1693 an earthquake devastated Sicily’s Ionian seaboard. In the following half century the huge campaign of rebuilding that occurred was testament to the native wealth of the island, even though in the hands of feudal landlords and religious orders.

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A very particular form of Baroque architecture, based on Roman prototypes of a hundred years earlier, is manifest in sumptuous palaces, churches and monastic houses. Locally quarried limestone was used – although friable and vulnerable, its golden yellow colour is distinctive and beautiful. These Baroque cities are also astonishing for their dramatic streetscape: churches with soaring belfries, such as San Giorgio at Modica, or the surging curvilinear façade of San Domenico at Noto. The many theatres, opera houses and concert halls that were constructed are indicative of the sophistication and love of entertainment of the Sicilian aristocracy and townspeople, and of the aesthetic elegance they valued so highly.

ACCOMMODATION & PRICES

There is a choice of five hotels in Syracuse (Ortygia): 3- or 4-star. These are the best hotels on the island. They differ in size, architecture and style, and have Sicilian charm of varying degrees, but none is luxurious. Coaches cannot enter Ortygia, and so stop at the bridge that connects the island with mainland Syracuse. Walking distances are indicated on the following pages. Luggage is transferred separately by minivan. Your choice of hotel is the sole determinant of the different prices. The prices given are all per person. Price without f lights: subtract £180.

Optional extras. Two extra dinners and a programme of walks and visits will be offered nearer the time.

HOTEL ROYAL MANIACE (3/4*)

HOTEL GUTKOWSKI (3*)

Situated on the curve of the Lungomare at the tip of the island, looking southeast. This is the much quieter side of town. Corridors and stairways have cream-coloured marble floors and steps, white walls and modernist dark furniture. Bedrooms have parquet floors. It is a comfortable hotel but rather plain, and more the standard of a 3-star. All of the 21 rooms are reserved for our audience.

This boutique hotel occupies two 19th-century palazzi located on the Lungomare which looks onto the open sea. Decor is minimalist but quirky, featuring local art and artefacts. It has the feel of a seaside hotel, light and airy with wood painted in greys and blues, exposed sandstone and terracotta tiles. There is a roof terrace. Some rooms are quite small, and there may be details in need of maintenance or renewal, but most guests would feel the charm of the people who run it compensates for such minor defects.

Rooms have all modern amenities: airconditioning/heating, hairdryer, safe, WiFi. Bathrooms mostly have showers.

There is a small restaurant, which has become known locally for its good authentic food. The barman mixes a mean Negroni.

There is no restaurant, but good restaurants are nearby. Walk to coach: c. 20 minutes.

All rooms have air-conditioning/heating, hairdryers, safes, WiFi. Some have showers, some have baths.

www.maniacehotel.it PRICES, per person

Walk to coach: c. 10 minutes. ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER www.guthotel.it

Two sharing Superior double (sea view) Deluxe double (sea view)

£3,250 £3,380

Single occupancy Classic double Superior double Superior double (sea view) Deluxe double (sea view)

£3,300 £3,400 £3,510 £3,640

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER Two sharing Superior double (sea view) Deluxe double (sea view)

£3,160 £3,270

Single occupancy Classic double Superior double Superior double (sea view) Deluxe double (sea view)

£3,180 £3,270 £3,380 £3,490

PRICES, per person ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double (sea view) ‘Plus’ double ‘Plus’ double (sea view)

£3,250 £3,270 £3,410

Single occupancy Classic double Classic double (sea view) ‘Plus’ double ‘Plus’ double (sea view)

£3,380 £3,440 £3,460 £3,620

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double (sea view) ‘Plus’ double ‘Plus’ double (sea view)

£3,160 £3,180 £3,300

Single occupancy Classic double Classic double (sea view) ‘Plus’ double ‘Plus’ double (sea view)

£3,250 £3,320 £3,340 £3,480

ACCOMMODATION & PRICES

‘ Excellent. Actually, better than excellent.’ Participant on an MRT festival in 2018.

ANTICO HOTEL ROMA 1880 (4*)

GRAND HOTEL ORTIGIA (4/5*)

A relatively basic 4-star hotel situated near the cathedral in a pretty pink palazzo. Despite sometimes haphazard service, the location could not be more convenient and staff are friendly in the main – most are local and have worked here for a long time, so are able to give extensive and reliable advice.

The Grand Hotel Ortigia is in a Stile Liberty palazzo, on the waterfront overlooking the sheltered bay of Syracuse. It is the best-located of the festival hotels, close to both the coach stop and the Duomo. What was once Ortygia’s grand hotel now feels dated, but with a f in de siècle nostalgia that is welcoming rather than depressing. It retains its 5-star status but we do not feel this is merited any longer, not having been renovated since 1995. Decor is old-fashioned but bright, light and comfortable, and the hotel is well maintained. Staff are exceptionally friendly.

Decor is simple, featuring a peach/yellow palette. Standard rooms have parquet floors and slightly dated furnishings, but are comfortable and well maintained. Most rooms only have showers although a bath may be available on request. All rooms are equipped with air-conditioning/ heating and have safes and hairdryers. Free WiFi is accessible in the rooms as well as in the public areas. There is a restaurant.

Free WiFi is available throughout the hotel, and all rooms have safes, airconditioning/heating and hairdryers. The restaurant is on the top floor and has fabulous views to mainland Sicily. Junior suites have a mezzanine (where the bed is) which is reached by a slightly vertiginous metal staircase. Suites may be available on request and for a supplement.

Walk to coach: c. 15 minutes. www.algila.it PRICES, per person

The price also includes lunch in a 2* Michelin restaurant in Ragusa.

ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double Superior double Junior suite Deluxe double

£3,390 £3,630 £4,000 £4,050

Single occupancy Classic double Superior double

£3,750 £4,110

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double Superior double Junior suite Deluxe double Single occupancy Classic double Superior double

£3,280 £3,490 £3,810 £3,860 £3,590 £3,900

A delightful 4-star hotel in two adjacent Baroque palazzi overlooking the Ionian Sea. There are sea views from many rooms (those listed below as ‘sea view’ have direct views, but many not in this category have lateral sea views from windows or balconies). Designed by Syracuse-born theatre designer Manuel Giliberto, decor features majolica tiles, kilims and antique furniture. It has the most charm and best taste of all the hotels on Ortygia. It is slightly further from the Duomo than some of the other hotels (c. 10 minutes on foot). All the rooms are air-conditioned/heated, and are equipped with hairdryers and safes. All rooms have walk-in showers (not many have baths) and WiFi is available throughout the hotel. The hotel also has a restaurant. Junior suites and suites are available on request and for a supplement. The price also includes lunch in a 2* Michelin restaurant in Ragusa. Walk to coach: c. 10 minutes.

Walk to coach: c. 5 minutes.

www.algila.it

www.grandhotelortigia.it

PRICES, per person

ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER

ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double Classic double (sea view) Junior suite Junior suite (sea view)

£3,610 £3,910 £4,040 £4,180

Single occupancy Classic double

£3,890

Two sharing Classic double Superior double Classic double (sea view)

£4,000 £4,140 £4,280

Single occupancy Classic double Superior double

£4,410 £4,650

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER Two sharing Classic double Classic double (sea view) Junior suite Junior suite (sea view)

£3,490 £3,760 £3,870 £3,990

Single occupancy Classic double

£3,730

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ALGILÀ ORTIGIA CHARME HOTEL (4*)

Two sharing Classic double Superior double Classic double (sea view)

£3,830 £3,950 £4,070

Single occupancy Classic double Superior double

£4,180 £4,390 19

TRAVEL OPTIONS

TRAVEL OPTIONS JOINING & LEAVING THE FESTIVAL

Flights with Alitalia from London to Catania, via Milan or Rome, are included in the price.

ARRIVING 4 NOVEMBER (A DAY EARLY)

There is the option to fly out on 4 November, the day before the festival begins – see the previous two pages for accommodation details and prices.

Option 1. 4 November: London City to Catania via Milan Linate (AZ215 & AZ1721), depart 11.55 and arrive 17.20. 11 November: Catania to London City via Milan Linate (AZ1714 & AZ222), depart 12.05 and arrive 16.20.

We have opted to travel to and from Sicily indirect with Alitalia because the only direct flights to the island in this period are with low-cost airlines, with whom it is not currently viable for us to make a group booking. Alternatively you can choose to make your own travel arrangements, for which there is a price reduction. It is not possible for us to book f lights until early 2019 so times are subject to change.

Option 2. 4 November: London Heathrow to Catania via Rome Fiumicino (AZ211 & AZ1733), depart 12.25 and arrive 18.15.  11 November: Catania to London Heathrow via Rome Fiumicino (AZ1756 & AZ204), depart 11.50 and arrive 16.00. Option 3. 4 November: London City to Catania via Milan Linate (AZ227 & AZ1727), depart 13.55 and arrive 20.20. 11 November: Catania to London City via Milan Linate (AZ1716 & AZ220), depart 13.50 and arrive 19.25.

THE NO-FLIGHTS OPTION You can choose not to take any of these flights and make your own arrangements for joining and leaving the festival. Price reduction: £180.

Illustration: From ‘World Pictures’ by Mortimer Menpes, publ. 1903.

In November, some low-cost carriers operate direct flights to Catania. We are happy to advise on timetables and routes. If you book your own flight, you are welcome to join our airport transfers from Catania to Syracuse, if your flight times coincide with ours. CONTACT US: +44 (0)20 8742 3355

ARRIVING 5 NOVEMBER Option 4. 5 November: London City to Catania via Milan Linate (AZ217 & AZ1723), depart at 09.00 and arrive at 16.10. 11 November: Catania to London City via Milan Linate (AZ1714 & AZ222), depart 12.05 and arrive 16.20. Option 5. 5 November: London City to Catania via Milan Linate (AZ215 & AZ1721), depart 11.55 and arrive 17.20. 11 November: Catania to London City via Milan Linate (AZ1716 & AZ220), depart 13.50 and arrive 19.25. Option 6. 5 November: London Heathrow to Catania via Rome Fiumicino (AZ211 & AZ1733), depart 12.25 and arrive 18.15. 11 November: Catania to London Heathrow via Rome Fiumicino (AZ1734 & AZ208), depart 14.40 and arrive 19.10. Note that if you choose options 5 or 6, there is a chance that you may miss the welcome drink on the f irst day of the festival.

PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS Those on pre- and post-festival tours have different flight arrangements. In each case you can opt to make your own flight bookings and to pay the ‘no-flights’ price.

PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS

HISTORIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Pre-festival tour: 1– 4 November 2019 (mf 873) 4 days • £1,840 Lecturer: Professor Robert Adelson Some of Italy’s finest collections of musical instruments, some in private properties and viewed only by special arrangement. Based in Milan and Cremona, with some free time to explore these historic cities, and excursions to Briosco and Bologna. Recitals on period instruments and the opportunity to meet the collectors. Lecturer Robert Adelson is Professor of Music History and Organology at the Conservatoire de Nice.

ITINERARY Day 1: Milan. Fly at c. 10.30am from London Heathrow to Milan. Visit the Musical Instruments Museum at Castello Sforzesco, with a vast collection of over 800 instruments, including a rare double virginal by Ruckers (Antwerp c. 1600), numerous examples from the Lombard lute and viol tradition and many African and Asian instruments. In the evening, visit a collection in a private palazzo where there is a harpsichord recital and dinner. First of two nights in Milan. Day 2: Milan, Briosco. Drive to Briosco to visit Villa Medici-Giulini, a 17th-century stately residence which houses one of the most important private collections of European keyboard instruments and harps, many of which have been restored to playable condition. There are demonstrations and performances on the instruments, followed by lunch in the villa. Some free time in Milan in the afternoon.

Day 3: Cremona. This glorious town in the Po Valley was home to the Stradivari, Amati and other families of luthiers whose stringed instruments have been the world’s best for more than 300 years. Learn about the violin in situ at the Museo del Violino (with a performance on a historic violin), and visit a violin-maker’s workshop. Cremona has a splendid central square formed of cathedral, campanile (Italy’s tallest), baptistry and civic palaces; some free time to explore. Overnight Cremona. Day 4: Bologna. Continue to Bologna. The Museo della Musica houses a rich collection of scores, portraits and instruments. The private collection of the late-Bolognese scholar Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, long-admired by specialists, has recently been made available to the public. It is housed in one of Bologna’s oldest churches and traces the history of keyboard instruments from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Fly from Bologna to London Heathrow, arriving c. 8.00pm. If you are joining the festival, fly from Bologna to Catania (Alitalia), landing c. 10.30pm. A transfer to Ortygia is provided. Spend the night of 4 November in your festival hotel. Final day of the festival, 11 November: fly from Catania to London Heathrow, via Rome Fiumicino, arriving c. 4.00pm.

Illustration: Milan Cathedral, watercolour by C.T.G. Formilli, publ. 1925. WWW.MARTINRANDALL.COM

PRACTICALITIES Price, per person. Two sharing: £1,840 or £1,730 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,040 or £1,930 without flights. If combining this tour with the festival, add £120 per person for the flight from Bologna to Catania. We will assume that you require festival accommodation on the 4 November (‘arriving a day early’) unless you advise us otherwise – see pages 18–19 for prices. Flights are charged as part of your pre-festival tour booking, so you take the ‘no f lights’ price for the festival. Included: flights (Euro Traveller) with British Airways (Airbus 320); private coach; hotel accommodation; breakfasts; 1 lunch, 3 dinners with wine; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager. Accommodation. Hotel Rosa Grand, Milan (starhotels.com): smart 4-star hotel located behind the Duomo. Rooms are well appointed, clean and modern. Dellearti Design Hotel, Cremona (dellearti.com): small, modern boutique hotel, located just metres from Piazza del Duomo. Rooms are large and bright with modern fittings. How strenuous? There is quite a lot of walking and standing in museums. Some of the walking is uphill or over cobbles. The coach cannot be used within town centres. Average coach travel per day: 53 miles. Group size: 10 –22 participants. 21

PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS

GASTRONOMIC SICILY

‘ Marc is such an expert. It is a pleasure to hear his enthusiasm and love of his subject.’ Participant on a gastronomic tour led by Marc Millon in 2018.

Post-festival tour 11–18 November 2019 (mf 885) 8 days • £3,060 Lecturer: Marc Millon Colourful Palermo street markets, authentic salt flats near Trapani, historic cellars in Marsala. Learn about making wine, olive oil and artisan foods from the craftsmen and women who carry on these age-old traditions. Spectrum of culinary experiences from street food in Palermo to dinner in a palace. Emphasis on authentic methods rather than haute cuisine. Lecturer Marc Millon is a wine, food and travel writer. Widely published, his books include ‘The Food Lover’s Companion to Italy’.

ITINERARY If combining this tour with the festival, a transfer from Ortygia to Palermo is provided on 11 November. If you require flights, please choose an outbound option (i.e. with the festival) on the booking form. Day 1: Palermo. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City to Palermo, via Milan. Palermo is the largest and most interesting city on the island: capital of Sicily from the period of Saracenic occupation in the 9th century, it reached a peak under the Normans and again during the Age of Baroque. First of four nights in Palermo.

Day 2: Palermo. A morning walk to the city’s best market, sampling authentic street food. See also key cultural sites such as the cathedral, a building of many periods, and the church of S. Cataldo. In the afternoon see outstanding mosaics at the 12th-century Palace of the Normans, including the Palatine Chapel. Dinner at a private palazzo. Day 3: Monreale, Mondello. Monreale dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo, and its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches with the largest scheme of mosaic decoration to survive from the Middle Ages. Lunch is at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Mondello, a charming seaside town known for its Art Nouveau villas, once the seat of the Palermitano high bourgeoisie and aristocracy. In the early evening the lecturer leads a wine tasting in the hotel. Day 4: Segesta, Partinico. With its magnificently sited temple and theatre, Segesta is one of the most evocative of Greek sites. Travel on to visit Mary TaylorSimeti’s organic farm in Partinico, one of the earliest of its kind in Sicily, to have a simple, abundant lunch with the freshest produce from the farm and local area. Day 5: Erice. Depart Palermo, stopping for lunch and a wine-tasting at a superb winery. Continue to Erice, a medieval town perched on top of a hill, which boasts spectacular views of the coast and surrounding area. Demonstration and

tasting of traditional pastries here, before continuing on to the charming port town of Marsala where the following three nights are spent. Day 6: Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Menfi. Take a morning tour of Marsala, including a visit to the archaeological museum, most of which is taken up by an extremely well preserved Punic warship. Visit Il Museo del Satiro Danzante in Mazara del Vallo after a couscous cooking demonstration and lunch. The afternoon is spent at an awardwinning olive oil estate, discovering their methods and tasting the oil. Day 7: Mozia. Drive north of Marsala to see the saltpans that have been in use since Phoenician times, and take a boat across the lagoon to see the ancient ruins of Mozia. Visit also the small Whitaker Museum which houses the 5th-century bc Auriga (charioteer), one of the most exquisite of surviving Greek sculptures. Free afternoon in Marsala. Private dinner, visit and tasting at the cellars of a historic Marsala producer. Day 8. Fly from Palermo to London City Airport, via Milan, arriving at c. 3.45pm.

Illustration, opposite: Segesta, watercolour by Alberto Pisa, publ. 1911.

PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS

More pre- & post-festival options: The Thomas Tallis Trail 1–3 November 2019 (mf 875) Please ask us for a quote if you require additional hotel nights in London before the start of Opera in Southern Sicily. Florence Revisited 11–17 November 2019 (mf 883) Lecturer: Dr David Rosenthal Art History of Venice 11–17 November 2019 (mf 882) Lecturer: Dr Susan Steer Please contact us for full details, or visit www.martinrandall.com.

PRACTICALITIES Price, per person. Two sharing: £3,060 or £2,780 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,300 or £3,020 without flights. If combining this tour with the festival, add £50 per person for the transfer from Ortygia to Palermo. Flights are charged as part of your post-festival tour booking, so you take the ‘no f lights’ price for the festival (though you still need to choose an outbound f light option for the festival, unless you are making your own arrangements). Included: flights (Euro Traveller) with Alitalia (Airbus 32S); private coach; hotel accommodation; breakfasts; 4 lunches and 5 dinners with wine; all tastings; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer. Accommodation. Eurostars Centrale Palace, Palermo (eurostarshotels.co.uk): centrally located 4-star hotel housed in a historical building with recently renovated rooms. Hotel Carmine, Marsala (hotelcarmine.it): small, charming 3-star hotel, with occasionally erratic service. How strenuous? There is a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground and cobbled or uneven paving. Fitness and surefootedness are essential. Some days involve a lot of driving. Average distance by coach per day: 47 miles.

POST-FESTIVAL LONDON DAY: THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE – IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY 12 November 2019 (lf 886) Price: £205 Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott A full day studying the finest collection of Italian Renaissance art outside Italy. Group size limited to 14 participants. London’s National Gallery possesses the finest collection of Italian Renaissance paintings outside Italy. Unlike most other national collections in Europe, it was formed (over nearly 200 years) by connoisseurs and art historians rather than princes and nobles whose less discerning eyes allowed the admission of a proportion of second- and third-raters. There’s no dross on show in Trafalgar Square. There are four sessions in the galleries of approximately an hour each. While most paintings commissioned then were of a religious nature, the call for portraits and mythologies speak of the burgeoning humanistic interests of patrons. Meaning, context, scale and innovation and what it was that marked out images by the great masters in this period will all be considered.

Between the sessions there are leisurely adjournments for refreshments. With no more than fourteen in the group, radio guides to eliminate problems of audibility, and the presence of an MRT staffer to oversee the arrangements, this should be a highly agreeable and efficacious way to enhance your knowledge and appreciation of Renaissance painting.

PRACTICALITIES Price: £205 per person. Included: lunch; mid-morning and midafternoon refreshments; all admissions; all tips; the services of the lecturer. Start: 10.15am, National Gallery, Sainsbury Wing. Finish: 5.15pm, National Gallery. Group size: maximum 14 participants. Booking: you can book London Days over the telephone, or by visiting our website: www.martinrandall.com. Full payment is required at the time of booking.

Group size: 10 –22 participants.

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PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS

PALERMO REVEALED

Post-festival tour: 12–17 November 2019 (mf 888) 6 days • £2,360 Lecturer: Christopher Newall A captivating city, richly encrusted with the art and architecture of many periods. Exclusive visits: meals at two private palaces and drinks at another; see the outstanding Palatine Chapel outside public opening hours. Includes an excursion to see the spectacular mosaics at Monreale. Lecturer Christopher Newall is an art historian, lecturer and writer, with a deep interest in the art, architecture and political and social history of Sicily.

ITINERARY If combining this tour with the festival, a transfer from Ortygia to Palermo is provided on 11 November, and an extra night at the tour hotel. If you require flights, please choose an outbound option (i.e. with the festival) on the booking form. Day 1. Fly at c. 9.00am from London City via Milan or Rome to Palermo. Day 2: Palermo. A morning walk through the old centre includes a visit to several oratories. The afternoon is spent at the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia (Palazzo Abatellis), which has an excellent collection of 15th-century pictures, and at La Martorana and S. Cataldo, two outstanding Norman buildings. Dinner at a private palazzo.

Day 3: Monreale, Palermo. Monreale dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo, and its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches with the largest scheme of mosaic direction to survive from the Middle Ages. Free afternoon before a private evening visit to the Palatine Chapel. Day 4: Palermo. Visit the Chiesa del Gesù, an extraordinary example of Palermitan Baroque with a profusion of marble inlay, stucco and sculpture. S. Giovanni degli Eremiti is a Norman church with five cupolas and a charming garden. The cathedral, a building of many periods, has grand royal and imperial tombs. Free afternoon. In the evening, there is a visit and reception by special arrangement to an otherwise inaccessible palazzo, with astonishing Rococo interiors and many original furnishings (used as a set in Visconti’s film of The Leopard). Day 5: Palermo. Spend most of the day with the Duchess of Palma in an 18thcentury palazzo facing the Bay of Palermo. The palace is the former residence of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author of The Leopard, now the home of his adoptive son. Visit the city’s best market to select fresh seasonal produce, before returning to the palazzo for a cooking class, lunch in the grand dining room and a tour with the Duke and Duchess. Day 6: Palermo. Visit the Castello della Zisa, an Arab-Norman palace. Fly from Palermo via Milan or Rome to London City, arriving c. 7.15pm.

PRACTICALITIES Price, per person. Two sharing: £2,360 or £2,180 without flights. Single occupancy: £2,700 or £2,520 without flights. If combining this tour with the festival, add £160 per person (two sharing) or £230 (single occupancy). This includes the transfer to Palermo and extra hotel night. Flights are charged as part of your post-festival tour booking, so you take the ‘no f lights’ price for the festival (though you still need to choose an outbound f light option for the festival, unless you are making your own arrangements). Included: flights (economy class) with Alitalia (Airbus 319, Embraer 90); private coach; accommodation; breakfasts; 1 lunch, 4 dinners with wine; cooking class; drinks reception; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer. Accommodation. Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, Palermo (piazzaborsa.it): centrallylocated 4-star hotel housed in an assortment of historical buildings. How strenuous? This tour would not be suitable for anyone who has difficulties with everyday walking or stair-climbing. Average coach travel per day: 10 miles. Group size: 10 –22 participants.

Illustration: Palermo, mosaics in the Palatine Chapel, engraving c. 1880.

BOOKING FORM

OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY 5–11 NOVEMBER 2019 NAME(S) – We do not use titles on documents issued to festival and tour participants unless you want us to by including them here: Participant 1: Participant 2: Contact details for all correspondence: Address Postcode/Zip Country Telephone (home) Mobile ick if you are happy to receive your tour and T booking documents online, where possible.

E-mail Marketing preferences – I would like to receive regular updates on MRT tours and events: By post (once a month at most) Yes

By e-mail (weekly)

Yes

What prompted your booking? e.g. an advert in a specific publication, an e-mail from us, receiving this brochure:

ACCOMMODATION & ROOM-TYPE – see pages 18–19. Please tick: HOTEL ROYAL MANIACE

HOTEL GUTKOWSI

ANTICO HOTEL ROMA 1880

GRAND HOTEL ORTIGIA

ALGILÀ ORTIGIA CHARME HOTEL

Two sharing:

Superior double (sea view) Deluxe double (sea view)

Classic double (sea view)

Classic double

‘Plus’ double

Superior double

‘Plus’ double (sea view)

Junior suite

Classic double (sea view)

Single occupancy:

Deluxe double

Classic double

Single occupancy:

Superior double

Classic double (sea view)

Superior double (sea view)

‘Plus’ double ‘Plus’ double (sea view)

Deluxe double (sea view)

Junior suite (sea view) Classic double Superior double

H istoric Musical Instruments 1– 4 November 2019 (mf 873) You will require accommodation on 4 November – please tick to conf irm this in the accommodation section above. G astronomic Sicily 11–18 November 2019 (mf 885) P alermo Revealed 12–17 November 2019 (mf 888) I require return flights from London. If booking a post-festival tour, please also select a festival f light option (for outbound). I will make my own travel arrangements.

Single occupancy: Classic double

Single occupancy:

Superior double

Classic double

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS – applicable to all hotels Arriving a day early?

Sharing a room? Tick one:

Tick if you require accommodation on the 4 November PRE- & POST-FESTIVAL TOURS. Pages 21–24.

Classic double (sea view)

Junior suite

Twin beds

Double bed

FLIGHT OPTION – see page 20 for full details. Arriving 4 November (a day early) O ption 1: London City to Catania via Milan, and return.

Arriving 5 November O ption 4: London City to Catania via Milan, and return.

O ption 2: London Heathrow to Catania via Rome, and return.

O ption 5: London City to Catania via Milan, and return.

O ption 3: London City to Catania via Milan, and return.

O ption 6: London Heathrow to Catania via Rome, and return.

No flights: making own arrangements.

FURTHER INFORMATION and special requests, including any dietary requirements:

BOOKING FORM

PASSPORT DETAILS & NEXT OF KIN Essential for airlines and hotels, and in case of emergency. Please use capital letters for your passport details. Title

Surname

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Forename(s)

Place of birth

1. 2.

Passport number

Place of issue

Next of kin name

Relation to you

Issue date (dd/mm/yy)

Expiry date (dd/mm/yy)

1. 2.

Telephone number(s)

1. 2.

PAYMENT. We prefer payments by bank transfer, cheque or debit card. We can also accept payment by credit card. All money paid to us is fully protected regardless of payment method. Please tick one option: BANK TRANSFER. Please use your surname and the festival code (mf 876) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges. Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Bank: Handelsbanken, 2 Chiswick High Road, London W4 1TH. Account number: 8663 3438. Sort code: 40-51-62. Transfers from non-UK bank accounts: please instruct your bank to send payment in pound sterling (GBP). IBAN: GB98 HAND 4051 6286 6334 38. Swift/BIC code: HAND GB22. CHEQUE. I enclose a cheque payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd – please write the festival code (mf 876) on the back. DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX. Please tick payment amount: EITHER Deposit 10% of total booking cost.

OR Full balance Required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure.

Carbon offset donation: tick to add £5 per person. We support the India Solar Water Heating project (visit www.martinrandall.com/sustainable-tourism for details). TOTAL: £ I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions and Privacy Policy (www.martinrandall.com/privacy) on behalf of all listed on this form. Signature: Date:

FITNESS TESTS Please also read ‘fitness for the festival’ on page 10. By signing this form, you conf irm that you have taken these tests. 1. C hair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in 30 seconds.    2. S tep test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in two minutes.    3. A gility test. Place an object three yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds. An additional indication of the f itness required, though we are not asking you to measure this, is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of three miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand for at least 15 minutes.

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF, United Kingdom

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia

North America 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 USA

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

Tel 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085

BOOKING DETAILS

Making a booking 1. B ooking option. We recommend that you contact us first to make a booking option which we will hold for seven days. To confirm it please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 10% of your total booking price. Alternatively, make a definite booking straight away through our website. 2. Definite booking. Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the booking form. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of departure. 3. O ur confirmation. Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.

Booking Conditions Please read these. You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form. Our promises to you: — We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity. — We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, usually going far beyond the minimum obligations. — We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly. — If something does go wrong, we try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services. What we ask of you. That you read the information we send to you. Specific terms: Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. You must be in good health and have a level of fitness that would not impair other participants’ enjoyment by slowing them down or by absorbing disproportionate attention from festival staff. Please read Fitness for the festival (p.10) and take the selfassessment tests described on the booking form; by signing the booking form you are stating that you have passed these tests. If during the festival it transpires, in the judgement of our staff, that you are not able to cope, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits or to leave altogether. This would be at your own expense. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason. Foreign Office advice. Before booking, please refer to the FCO website (fco.gov.uk) to ensure you understand the travel advice for Italy. Non-UK citizens should look at the advice issued by their governments, which may differ significantly. Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance cover. This must cover, at minimum, medical treatment, repatriation, loss of property and loss of payments to us in the event that you cancel your booking. If you are making your own

arrangements for international travel, please ensure you have insurance that protects you in the rare event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the festival. Experience indicates that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not to be relied upon. Passports and visas. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. Visas are not required for Italy for UK or other EU citizens, or for citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required in their case, and obtain them if they are. If you cancel. If you have to cancel your booking after confirmation, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit would be forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of your booking will be due: up to 57 days: between 56 and 29 days: between 28 and 15 days: between 14 days and 3 days: within 48 hours:

deposit only 40% 60% 80% 100%

If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate, the companion would have to pay the single-occupancy price. We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation. If we cancel. We may decide to cancel the festival or tour if there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable (though this would always be more than eight weeks before departure). We would refund you with everything you had paid us. Safety and security. Cancellation may also occur if civil unrest, war, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure arise in the region to which the festival or tour was due to go. If the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travel, we would either cancel or adjust the itinerary to avoid risky areas. We would also treat sympathetically a wish to withdraw from a tour or festival to a troubled region even if the FCO does not advise against travel there. In the event of cancellation before departure we would give you a full refund; costs incurred due to curtailment after departure should be covered by your individual insurance policy. Health and safety. We subscribe to the health and safety legislation of the countries visited. The generally high standards of the UK are not found everywhere; regulations may diverge in particular in the areas of accessibility, handrails and seatbelts. With rare exceptions, all the hotels and ships we use have undergone a safety audit, by our staff or by independent consultants on our behalf. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates. If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating a tour or festival exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the tour or festival we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not in your view an adequate substitute, we would give a full refund. WWW.MARTINRANDALL.COM

Financial protection. Any money you have paid to us for a tour or festival which includes an international flight is protected by our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL, number 3622). Payments for tours or festivals which do not include a flight from/to the UK are protected by ABTA – The Travel Association. So, in the (highly unlikely) event of our insolvency before departure, you would get your money back, or if we failed after the tour or festival had begun, it would be able to continue and you would be returned to the UK at its conclusion. Clients living elsewhere who have arranged their own flights should ensure their personal travel insurance covers repatriation in the event of holiday supplier failure. Financial protection: the official text. We are required to publish the following. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays which include international flights, by way of our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 3622. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. Most of our flights and flightinclusive holidays on our website and in our brochure are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. In order to be protected under the ATOL scheme you need to be in the UK when you make your booking and/or one of the flights you take must originate or terminate in the UK with the group. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight, by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association. We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we aren’t able do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the nonprovision of the services, including any claim against us (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims maybe re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. Privacy. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy, which can be found online at www.martinrandall.com/privacy.

MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL

is Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world. MRT aims to produce the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available. They focus on art, architecture, archaeology, history, music and gastronomy, and are spread across Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Japan and the Americas. Each year there are about 250 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10 –20 participants), six or seven music festivals (such as this festival, Opera in Southern Sicily), a dozen music and history weekends in the UK and over 100 single-day events in London.

OPERA IN SOUTHERN SICILY 5–11 NOVEMBER 2019 MID-WEEK & WEEKEND CHAMBER MUSIC Rising Stars, 25–27 January 2019 The Nash Ensemble, 1–3 March 2019 The Heath Quartet, 5–7 April 2019 Fitzwilliam String Quartet, 14–16 May 2019

Please contact us for more information.

For nearly 30 years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, setting the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards. To see our full range of cultural tours and events, please visit www.martinrandall.com

Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House Barley Mow Passage London W4 4GF, United Kingdom

Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia

North America 1155 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 USA

Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 Fax +44 (0)20 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com

Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 Fax +61 (0)7 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au

Tel 1 800 988 6168 usa@martinrandall.com