Overview
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden, under renovation since 2009, has finally reopened for the 2017–18 season and this tour provides an unmissable opportunity to experience the newly refurbished house with its extended proscenium and improved acoustics. On the roster are productions of Falstaff and Parsifal under Daniel Barenboim, widely regarded as the greatest living Wagner conductor. The operas are interspersed with two concerts at the Berlin Philhamornie where Barenboim and Martha Argerich combine to perform works by Debussy.
Berlin possesses some of the finest art galleries and museums in the world and offers the highest standards of music and opera performance. It is endowed with a range of historic architecture and is the site of Europe’s greatest concentration of first-rate contemporary architecture. Once again a national capital, it is also one of the most exciting cities on the Continent, recent and rapid changes pushing through a transformation without peacetime parallel.
One of the grandest capitals in Europe for the first forty years of the last century, it then suffered appallingly from aerial bombardment and Soviet artillery. For the next forty years it was cruelly divided into two parts and became the focus of Cold War antagonism, a bizarre confrontation between an enclave of western libertarianism and hard-line Communism.
Since the Wall was breached in 1989 the city has been transformed beyond recognition. From being a largely charmless urban expanse still bearing the scars of war, it has become a vibrant, liveable city, the very model of a modern major metropolis. The two halves have been knitted together and cleaning and repair have revealed the patrimony of historic architecture to be among the finest in Central Europe.
The art collections, formerly split, dispersed and often housed in temporary premises, are now coming together in magnificently restored or newly-built galleries. Berlin possesses international art and antiquities of the highest importance, as well as incomparable collections of German art. The number and variety of museums and the quality of their holdings make Berlin among the world’s most desired destinations for art lovers.
With three major opera houses and several orchestras, Berlin is a city where truly outstanding performances can be virtually guaranteed.
Day 1
Fly at c. 10.50am from London Heathrow to Berlin Tegel (British Airways). Take an orientation tour by coach: the New Embassy quarter, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Pariser Platz and Unter den Linden. Dinner in the hotel.
Day 2
Walk through the oldest part of the city to ‘Museums Island’, a group of major museum buildings. Visit the Neues Museum, the stunning new home to the Egyptian Museum, restored and recreated by British architect David Chipperfield and the Alte Nationalgalerie which superbly displays European painting of the 19th century including the finest collection of German Romantics. Some free time before an evening performance of Falstaff (Verdi) at the Staatsoper with Daniel Barenboim (conductor) Mario Martone (director), Staatskapelle Berlin, State Opera Choir, Michael Volle (Falstaff), Simone Piazzola (Ford), Francesco Demuro (Fenton) Jürgen Sacher (Dr Cajus), Stephan Rügamer (Bardolfo), Jan Martiník (Pistola), Maria Agresta (Mrs Alice Ford), Nadine Sierra (Nannetta), Daniela Barcellona (Mrs Quickly), Katharina Kammerloher (Mrs Meg Page).
Day 3
Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, is an outstanding Baroque and Rococo palace with splendid interiors. The Berggruen Collection of Picasso and classic modern art is also here. Evening concert at the Philharmonie with Daniel Barenboim (conductor), Martha Argerich (piano), Anna Prohaska (soprano), Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano), Anna Lapkovskaja (alto), Staatskapelle Berlin, Berlin State Oper Choir: Claude Debussy, Fantaisie for piano and orchestra, Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (mystery play for soloists, choir and orchestra).
Day 4
The morning is free for independent exploration. Afternoon performance at the Staatsoper: Parsifal (Wagner) with Daniel Barenboim (conductor), Dmitri Tcherniakov (director), Staatskapelle Berlin, Berlin State Opera Choir, Lauri Vasar (Amfortas), René Pape (Gurnemanz), Andreas Schager (Parsifal), Nina Stemme (Kundry), Falk Struckmann (Klingsor), Reinhard Hagen (Titurel).
Day 5
Europe’s greatest building project in the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz showcases an international array of architects (Piano, Isozaki, Rogers, Moneo). Scattered around the nearby ‘Kulturforum’ are museums, the State Library and the Philharmonie concert hall (Hans Scharoun 1956–63). The Gemäldegalerie houses one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Afternoon concert at the Philharmonie with Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich (piano): Wagner, Overture to Der Fliegende Holländer (transcribed for two pianos by Claude Debussy); Debussy, ‘Six épigraphes antiques’ for piano duet, ‘En blanc et noir’ for two pianos, ‘Lindaraja’ for two pianos, ‘Prélude à l’après-midi d’un Faune’ (piano duet version), ‘La mer’ for two pianos. Dinner is in the rooftop restaurant of the Reichstag.
Day 6
Homeward journey. Return to London Heathrow from Berlin Tegel landing at c. 1.15pm.
Price– per person
Two sharing: £2,980 or £2,860 without flights. Single occupancy: £3,310 or £3,190 without flights.
Included
Flights with British Airways (Airbus A320); travel by private coach throughout; accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 3 dinners with wine, interval canapés at one performance; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the tour leaders.
Music
First and second category tickets to 4 performances are included, costing c. £675. Tickets for concerts at the Philharmonie and Parisfal are well-placed and in the second category. Falstaff tickets are a mixture of first and second category and are allocated in order of date of booking. There is a £50 reduction for second category tickets for this performance.
Accommodation
The Regent Berlin: elegant 5-star hotel decorated in Regency style, close to Unter den Linden. Rooms are of a good size and excellent standard. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
How strenuous?
There is a reasonable amount of walking and standing around in museums and art galleries. Average distance by coach per day: 9 miles.
Are you fit enough to join the tour?
Group size
Between 10 and 22 participants.
Travel advice
Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.
