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Music in Berlin - Art, architecture and music in the German capital
6
days
from
US$5,600
Book today with a deposit from
US$840
21st - 26th April 2027
Tour highlights
- Four performances in six days, moving between Berlin’s three opera houses and the Philharmonie.
- Rigoletto at the Staatsoper, George Petean as the embittered jester, Marina Monzó as Gilda, in Bartlett Sher’s staging of Verdi’s tragedy.
- Otello at the Deutsche Oper – Verdi’s Shakespeare – with Najmiddin Mavlyanov, Ruzan Mantashyan and Luca Micheletti.
- Semele at the Komische Oper: Barrie Kosky’s staging of Handel’s tale of a mortal princess and a jealous god.
- Beethoven and Bruckner at the Philharmonie, Gustavo Dudamel conducting Mitsuko Uchida.
Berlin is one of the great artistic capitals of the world – few cities offer three opera houses and a world-class orchestra within walking distance of each other, and this tour moves between all four. This tour allows us to witness glorious music-making in Berlin’s most celebrated spaces, including the three major opera houses Deutsche Oper, Staatsoper unter den Linden and the Komische Oper (currently housed at the Schiller Theater), and an orchestral concert at the Philharmonie.
Gustavo Dudamel ranks among today’s most dynamic conductors. He joins forces with legendary pianist Mitsuko Uchida and the great Berlin Philharmonic in a concert featuring Beethoven’s magical Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major and Bruckner’s mighty fourth symphony, the ‘Romantic’.
Over the successive evenings we experience three seminal operas. Barrie Kosky’s celebrated staging of Handel’s Semele, performed by Komische Oper, tells the story of a mortal princess being abducted by the God Jupiter. Handel’s music portrays the emotions of jealousy, ambition and tragedy with the utmost eloquence.
Finally, we experience two of Giuseppe Verdi’s greatest masterpieces. The Staatsoper perform Rigoletto, which follows an embittered and deformed court jester who seeks to protect his innocent daughter, Gilda, from the predatory Duke of Mantua. Deutsche Oper Berlin give a highly anticipated performance of Otello, one of the greatest operatic settings of William Shakespeare. It features the renowned dramatic tenor Najmiddin Mavlyanov in the title role, with acclaimed soprano Ruzan Mantashyan as Desdemona and Luca Micheletti as Iago. Alongside these performances, visits to Museums Island and Schloss Charlottenburg place the music within Berlin’s wider artistic and architectural history.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 1.15pm from London Heathrow to Berlin Brandenberg (British Airways). Time to settle in, before a welcome drink and dinner in the hotel.
Walk through the oldest part of the city to Museums Island, where five major collections stand within a few hundred metres of each other. At the Neues Museum, home to the Egyptian Museum, David Chipperfield’s reconstruction is as much a subject of the visit as the antiquities it houses; next door, the Alte Nationalgalerie holds Europe’s finest collection of German Romantic painting. Some free time before an evening concert at the Philharmonie with Gustavo Dudamel (conductor) and Mitsuko Uchida (piano): Beethoven, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B flat major, op. 19; Bruckner, Symphony No. 4 in E flat major ‘Romantic’ (2nd version from 1878/1880).
Schloss Charlottenburg, the earliest major building in Berlin, is an outstanding Baroque and Rococo palace with splendid interiors. The Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection of classic modern art is also here. Evening opera at the Komische Oper Berlin at the Schiller Theater: Semele (Handel) with George Petrou (conductor), Barrie Kosky (director), Orchestra and Choir of the Komische Oper Berlin, Sarah Brady (Semele), Mingjie Lei (Jupiter / Apollo), Nils Wanderer (Athamas), Alice Coote (Juno), Susan Zarrabi (Ino), Sarah Gilford (Iris), Philipp Meierhöfer (Cadmus), Daniel Noyola (Somnus).
Morning lecture on the music, before departing for a walk that takes in Unter den Linden, Friedrichstraße and the Brandenburg Gate. It ends with the Reichstag dome and lunch at the roofgarden restaurant here. Some free time before an evening opera at the Staatsoper unter den Linden: Rigoletto (Verdi) with Giacomo Sagripanti (conductor), Bartlett Sher (director), Staatsopernchor and Staatskapelle Berlin, Bekhzod Davronov (Duke of Mantua), George Petean (Rigoletto), Marina Monzó (Gilda), Taras Shtonda (Sparafucile), Anna Kissjudit (Maddalena), Jingjing Xu (Giovanna), Hanseong Yun (Monterone), Carles Pachon (Marullo), Álvaro Diana (Borsa), Irakli Pkhaladze (Count Ceprano, A Court Usher), Etīna Emīlija Saulīte (Countess Ceprano, A Page). Performed in Italian with German and English surtitles.
Europe’s greatest building project in the 1990s, Potsdamer Platz showcases an international array of architects (Piano, Isozaki, Rogers, Moneo). The Gemäldegalerie houses one of Europe’s major collections of Old Masters. Evening performance at the Deutsche Oper Berlin: Otello (Verdi) with Stefano Montanari (conductor), Kornél Mundruczó (director), Orchestra and Choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Najmiddin Mavlyanov (Otello), Luca Micheletti (Iago), Andrei Danilov (Cassio), Thomas Cilluffo (Rodrigo), Mark Kurmanbayev (Lodovico), Byung Gil Kim (Montano), Ruzan Mantashyan (Desdemona), Kristina Stanek (Emilia), Christopher Humbert Jr. (Herold). Performed in Italian with German surtitles.
Homeward journey. Return to London Heathrow from Berlin Brandenberg landing at c. 12.00 noon.
Expert speaker
Dr Paul Max Edlin
Composer, Artistic Director, Performer. Paul has taught in universities for over 30 years, most recently as a professor and then as Director of Music at Queen Mary University of London. He has been Artistic Director of both Sounds New Contemporary Music Festival and Deal Music and Arts. He was also Director of International Composer Pyramid, which has supported some of the world’s finest young composers at the start of their careers.
His music, encompassing ballet, orchestral to chamber and instrumental to electronic, has been composed for and performed by some of the world’s finest musicians and ensembles.
He is a trustee of several arts charities, including Ora Singers, City Music Foundation, Cantoris Charitable Trust and China-UK International Music Festival. In 2022 he moved permanently to Tuscany so he could concentrate on his work as a composer.
More tours led by Dr Paul Max Edlin
Practicalities
Two sharing: US$5,860 or US$5,600 without flights. Single occupancy: US$6,780 or US$6,520 without flights.
Travel by private coach throughout; accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 3 dinners with wine, interval canapés at two performance; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the tour leader and local guide.
Music: tickets to 4 performances are included, two in the 1st category and two in the 2nd category.
The Adlon Kempinski: an elegant and comfortable 5-star hotel situated on Unter den Linden. Rooms are of a generous size. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
There is a reasonable amount of walking and standing around in art galleries. Average distance by coach per day: 9 miles.
Between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Travel.State.Gov to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
21st - 26th April 2027
Speaker:
Dr Paul Max Edlin
Price:
from US$5,600
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