Opera and the Arts in South America

Thanks to its European colonial heritage and immense wealth in the 18th and 19th centuries, South America has a long tradition of the performing arts. The capitals of Chile, Argentina and Brazil all possess some of the great opera houses of the world, including the famous Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, which reopened recently following a major restoration.

Beginning in Santiago and finishing in Rio de Janeiro, experience all the natural, scenic and cultural highlights of this extraordinary continent, including the awe-inspiring Iguassu Falls, Chile’s colourful coastal city of Valparaiso and Rio’s fabled Sugar Loaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay.

Enjoy a panorama of cultural highlights including Ben Stevenson’s ballet Dracula, a tango performance, and concerts in Santiago, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. For opera lovers, there will be three highlights: in São Paulo, enjoy a new production of Stravinsky’s rarely performed opera, The Nightingale; in Argentina, at the famous Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, attend the world premiere season of Katharina Wagner’s seven-and-a-half-hour rendition of her great-great grandfather’s Ring Cycle, plus the maestro’s Die Walküre at the Teatro Argentino in La Plata.

At a glance ...
• Katharina Wagner’s Colón Ring, and Die Walküre in Buenos Aires
• Stravinsky’s The Nightingale in São Paulo
• Ben Stevenson’s ballet Dracula by the Ballet de Santiago and Chile’s National Youth Orchestra at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago
• Concerts by the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra
• Santiago’s Museum of Fine Arts; Buenos Aires’ Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA) and São Paolo’s Maria Luisa and Oscar Americano Foundation.



Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires in Argentina



ITINERARY ...

Tue 27 Nov / Australia – Santiago
Depart Sydney on LAN flight LA800 to Santiago de Chile at 09.25 (via Auckland). Arrive the same day in Santiago at 11.30 and transfer to your hotel located in the heart of the city close to the city’s museums and squares. In the early evening, attend a welcome briefing followed by dinner at the hotel. (D)

Wed 28 Nov / Santiago
Join a full-day tour to the historic coastal city of Valparaiso, Chile’s oldest port and home to the Chilean Senate and Congress. Thanks also to its fine 19th century architecture, the historic centre of Valparaiso has also been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. The city’s many hills are a multi-coloured panorama of painted houses crowding every nook and cranny that provide Valparaiso’s unique flair. The upper and lower sections of the city are connected by 15 funicular elevators that were built at the turn of the 19th century and still provide good service today. During the tour, you will travel to a viewing point with one of them, in addition to visiting the parliamentary building and Plaza Sotomayor’s memorial to the heroes of the War of the Pacific. Lunch is included at a local restaurant. Return to Santiago in the late afternoon; remainder of the evening at leisure. (BL)

Thu 29 Nov / Santiago
Following a pre-performance talk after breakfast, join a morning orientation tour of the city of Santiago. You will begin with a visit to the presidential palace, called La Moneda, because the splendid building once housed the national mint.

Many other sights in the historic centre are clustered around the always-bustling Plaza de Armas: the impressive cathedral; the beautiful old post office; the Palácio de la Real Audiencia, now home of the National History Museum, and Casa Colonial, once the Spanish governor’s residence.
Lunch will be at a local restaurant, before returning to the hotel in the early afternoon; the remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.

This evening attend a performance by the Ballet de Santiago of Ben Stevenson’s ballet Dracula at the beautiful Teatro Municipal de Santiago. (BL)

Fri 30 Nov / Santiago
After breakfast depart on a morning tour including first a guided backstage visit of the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, followed by a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Santiago Museum of Fine Arts. Afternoon at leisure.

This evening attend a concert by Chile’s National Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Conductor: José Luis Domínguez)

Programme
José Pablo Moncayo García – Huapango
Arturo Márquez – Danzón nº 2
Alberto Ginastera – Suite Estancias: cuatro danzas, opus 8a
Beethoven – Symphony no. 7, opus 92

Sat 01 Dec / Santiago – Buenos Aires
Transfer to the airport for a morning flight to Buenos Aires. (N.B. If international fare is not purchased in conjunction with the tour, an additional cost will apply for this flight Santiago – Buenos Aires)
On arrival in Buenos Aires, transfer to your hotel for the next four nights. The afternoon is at leisure.

This evening, join Trevor for a talk on Wagner’s Die Walküre, followed by dinner at the hotel. (BD)

Sun 02 Dec / Buenos Aires
After breakfast depart on a city highlights tour that will introduce you to the beautiful parks and gardens of Palermo, the old quarters of San Telmo, the historical Government House (Casa Rosada), Congress and the Recoleta cemetery. Enjoy lunch in a local bodegon.

In the late afternoon depart for the nearby city of La Plata, about 60 km from Buenos Aires, for a performance of Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Teatro Argentino. (BL)

The Teatro Argentino in La Plata is the second most important lyric opera house in Argentina, after the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Inaugurated in 1999, the modern European horseshoe theatre seats 2,000 and features an enormous three-tonne bronze chandelier with 400 light-bulbs that hangs over the main floor, in an exact replica of the one featured in the original building, opened in 1890 but destroyed by fire in 1977.

Die Walküre is part of a two-year project to present Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold was presented in March 2012, Siegfried and Götterdämerung will be presented in 2013). The work is brought to the stage by the theatre’s youthful, dynamic music director, Alejo Peréz, and Marcelo Lombardero, a singer and director, who was previously artistic director at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Mon 03 Dec / Buenos Aires
After breakfast visit the newly restored Teatro Colón, among one of the world’s great opera houses, including a visit of the theatre’s costume workroom, followed by a visit to the Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA); remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.

In the evening enjoy dinner and a tango show. (BD)

Tue 4 Dec / Buenos Aires
Join Trevor in the late morning for a talk on today’s performance of the ‘Colón Ring’ at the Teatro Colón. Enjoy an early lunch before leaving the hotel for the performance, which commences at 2.30 pm. Return to your hotel following the performance in the late evening. (BL)

The ‘Colón Ring’ ...
On the eve of the bicentenniary of opera maestro Richard Wagner’s birth, his epic 15-hour Ring Cycle has been innovatively ‘arranged’ to a seven-hour rendition by Hamburg record producer Cord Garben and directed by Katharina Wagner, the composer’s great-great-granddaughter. Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires will host the world premiere of this production (hence ‘Colón Ring’). According to both Garben and Wagner, the rationale for a ‘reduced’ Ring Cycle was that such a version of this operatic masterpiece would allow the staging of this opera masterpiece to be more affordable for many opera houses, thereby making the experience accessible to more audiences around the world.

World Premiere: 27 November 2012, Teatro Colón
Music Director: Julien Salemkour
Musical adaptation: Cord Garben
Artistic and Stage Direction: Katharina Wagner

Wed 5 Dec / Buenos Aires – Iguassu Falls
Transfer to the airport for a morning flight to Puerto Iguazu on the Argentinian side of the mighty Iguassu Falls. In the afternoon enjoy a guided walk of the area around the falls. Dinner tonight will be at your hotel. (BD)

Thu 6 Dec / Iguassu Falls
Enjoy a guided morning walk around this side of the mighty Iguassu Falls. Over 75% of the falls is located in Argentina and from your hotel there are many other walks that you can take to view different aspects of the falls. For the more adventurous, there are also exhilarating boat rides up the rapids towards the famous Devil’s Throat. (BD)

Fri 7 December / Iguassu Falls – São Paulo
Check out of your hotel and cross over the border to the Brazilian side. Visit the Iguassu River Canyon, walking down pathways, which take you over the falling water up to a special area with a fantastic panoramic view of the Devil’s Throat and surrounding area. Embark on a boat cruise near the falls followed by lunch. In the early evening fly from Foz do Iguassu to São Paulo. Transfer to your hotel. (BL)

Sat 8 December / São Paulo
After breakfast attend a pre-performance talk before embarking on a half-day city tour. Return to the hotel in the early afternoon for some free time before attending a late-afternoon performance of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra at the excellent Sala São Paulo concert hall and conducted by Marin Alsop. After the performance, enjoy dinner at a well-known locale. (BD)

Programme
Bach – Chaconne (orchestration by Nathan Rachlin)
Shostakovich - Symphony No. 7 (‘Leningrad’)

Sun 9 December / São Paulo
This morning visit the Maria Luisa and Oscar Americano Foundation. First be taken on a guided walk through the wonderful gardens by the park biologist. The vegetation and birdlife of the parklands are rich in species from the ‘Mata Atlântica’ (Brazil’s virgin coastal vegetation). The Foundation is also one of the few art spaces in this city with a fine collection of works from the colonial, Imperial and Modern periods. Return to your hotel in the early afternoon.

In the evening attend a performance of a new production of Igor Stravinsky’s rarely performed opera, The Nightingale, at the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. The theatre is regarded as one of the city’s prime landmarks, significant both for its architectural as well as historical value, having been the venue for the Week of Modern Art in 1922, which revolutionised the arts in Brazil.

Return to the hotel after the performance for dinner. (BD)

Mon 10 Dec / São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro
Check out of your hotel and fly from São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro in the late morning. Arrive in Rio, Brazil’s glittering jewel. Transfer to your hotel located near the famous Copacabana beach; remainder of the afternoon is at leisure.

Following an early dinner at the hotel, this evening enjoy a concert at Rio’s Theatro Municipal including the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra accompanying well known Brazilian opera singers in an operatic repertoire. (BD)

Programme
Brazilian Symphony Orchestra ‘Opera & Repertoire’
Conductor: Bruno Procópio

Tue 11 Dec / Rio de Janeiro
Today embark on a full-day tour of some of Rio’s most famous highlights, including the statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top of Corcovado Mountain, and a cable car ride up the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain. The first stage of the cable car ride, Morro da Urca (170 meters), offers a panoramic view of the Yacht Club and Botafogo Bay, while the second stage takes you up to the top of Sugar Loaf (270 metres). Return to the hotel in the late afternoon; remainder of the evening at leisure. (BL)

Wed 12 Dec / Rio de Janeiro
Enjoy a full-day visit to the inland town of Petrópolis, where the imperial family built its summer residence. This fine mountain resort city is famous for its Imperial Museum and beautiful cathedral, with its magnificent stained glass windows. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon with the remainder of the evening at leisure. (BL)

Thu 13 Dec / Rio de Janeiro
This morning board a two-masted schooner for a boat ride around Guanabara Bay. En route you will pass the bay beaches of Botafogo and Flamengo, and pass in front of Sugar Loaf mountain and the Santa Cruz Fortress that guards the entrance to the bay. After the cruise, enjoy a farewell seafood lunch at a well known beach-side restaurant. The remainder of the afternoon and evening is at leisure. (BL)

Fri 14 Dec / Rio de Janeiro – Australia
Enjoy a free morning to do some last-minute shopping or to enjoy a final walk on the beach before transferring to the airport in the early afternoon for your return flight to Australia. Depart Rio at 5.20 pm on LAN flight LA773 to Santiago, connecting with LA 801 to Sydney (via Auckland).

(N.B. If international fare is not purchased in conjunction with the tour, an additional cost will apply for this flight Rio de Janeiro – Santiago). (B)

Sat 15 Dec / In flight

Sun 16 Dec / Arrive Australia
Early morning arrival in Sydney.