Attend three world-class productions at two of Berlin’s magnificent opera houses: Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera
International stars Charles Castronovo and Anna Netrebko perform as Ricardo and Amelia in Verdi’s dramatic work
Explore the cultural sites of Berlin, from its enthralling Gemäldegalerie to the Deutscher Dom in the Gendarmenmarkt and the Jewish Museum
“Excellent talks and lectures by Paul Jackson”
– ACE customer on a 2024 tour to Germany with Paul Jackson
One of our most beloved recurring music departures, this short tour to Berlin showcases world-class opera in one of Europe’s most important cultural capitals.
Our itinerary takes in three very different operas presented at two splendid opera houses. Berlin’s Deutsche Oper will bring us an energetic performance of Rossini’s classic opera buffa The Barber of Seville, brimming with sunshine, buffoonery and vintage motifs in this enjoyable production from Katharine Thalbach.
Our second opera, at Berlin’s preeminent State Opera House on Unter den Linden, continues the humorous tone courtesy of Richard Strauss, whose wonderfully rich orchestration conjures up a fantastical version of 18th century Vienna in Der Rosenkavalier. Despite its comical surface, the opera touches on more serious themes of fleeting beauty, social class and mobility, and is often considered a swan song to the fading Belle Époque era. Christian Thielemann conducts, with Peter Rose in his preeminent role as Baron Ochs and the outstanding German soprano Julia Kleiter as the Marschallin.
We build towards a performance of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, a work whose plot – centring on the assassination at a masked ball of King Gustav III of Sweden – matches the turbulence of its development. Spanish director Rafael Villalobos and conductor Enrique Mazzola will make their debuts at the Opera House, presenting a starry cast including American operatic tenor Charles Castronovo as Riccardo, French baritone Ludovic Tézier as Renato and the widely acclaimed Russian and Austrian soprano Anna Netrebko as Amelia.
These operas will be complemented by a series of lectures given by our Tour Director, as well as a carefully chosen selection of cultural excursions around Berlin and a good amount of free time to balance later evenings. Visits will include the Museum of Musical Instruments, home to one of the largest collections of its kind in Germany, with highlights ranging from the mighty Wurlitzer theatre organ and a fortepiano owned by Carl Maria von Weber to a harpsichord possibly owned by J S Bach. We will also discover one of Berlin’s less well-known but fascinating gems, the Parliamentary Historical exhibition of the German Bundestag, which traces the evolution of Germany’s parliamentary system, housed in the Deutscher Dom.
We will stay at the comfortable three-star Martas Hotel Albrechtshof in Berlin, chosen for its convenient location close to museums and galleries.
“An ACE trip to Berlin is always a special event, and is certainly one of the highlights of my year. There’s no city quite like Berlin, a place where music, art and culture is firmly embedded within the life of the city, and where centuries of history are layered in a way that is endlessly rewarding and fascinating. There are daily opportunities to experience music-making at the very highest level, and our trip takes in operas by three of its most eminent exponents, Rossini, Verdi and Strauss, performed at the city's premier opera houses, by some of the world’s biggest stars.”
– Tour Director Paul Jackson
Paul Jackson
Paul has enjoyed an extensive career as a conductor of opera and as a chamber musician.
This tour will be led by Paul Jackson, MA, PhD, conductor, pianist, musicologist and former Director of Music at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. Paul has enjoyed an extensive career as a conductor of opera and as a chamber musician, performing widely in the UK, Europe and America. He has led several tours to Berlin and is looking forward to returning in 2026 for these superb productions.
5
£3495
OPBE-26
