TOUR CODE: OA-HAMBURG

DEPOSIT: $1000 per person

FINAL PAYMENT DUE:
31 January 2011

TOUR PRICES

	DBL / TWN	SGL
Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten (Deluxe Lake View)	$5,390	$8,280
Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten (Deluxe Courtyard)	$4,540	$6,590
Grand Elysee	$4,540	$6,210
Radisson Blu	$3,620	$4,900
Reduction for Cat 3 tickets	-$50	-$50

Download Cast List

Download Tour Brochure

TOUR PRICES INCLUDE:
• 11 nights accommodation with daily breakfast (B = breakfast) .
• Cat 2 tickets for the Hamburg Ring Cycle ($50 reduction for Cat. 3 tickets).
• Welcome Reception (R)
• Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck tours
• Pre-performance talks
• Full day Symposium on the Hamburg Ring Cycle, including morning / afternoon teas and lunch (L)
• Assistance of tour leaders and Renaissance Tours support staff

NOT INCLUDED:
• Flights to/from Hamburg (please contact Renaissance Tours for assistance).
• Airport or hotel porterage
• Transfers on arrival / departure.
• Optional tour to Berlin
• Items of a personal nature (e.g. drinks, telephone calls, taxis, laundry etc.).
• Travel insurance.

HOTELS

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten

Lobby

Founded in 1897, the Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (“Four Seasons”) is recognized as one of the great hotels of the world, featuring historic charm and impeccable service. Overlooking the Inner Alster Lake, all 156 rooms and suites were renovated in 2008.

Deluxe Double Room

Grand Elysee

Exterior

This recently renovated and privately owned five-star hotel offers the largest rooms in Hamburg (min 30 sqm) along with a wide range of restaurants, Elyseum Wellness and Spa, and banquet and meeting areas. The hotel offers a warm and traditional feel.

Grand Standard Room

Radisson Blu Hotel

Exterior

Hamburg’s tallest hotel, the Radisson Blu is located next to the Botanic Gardens and minutes from Lake Alster, the Jungfernstieg shopping district and the Hamburg State Opera. All 556 rooms and suites have just undergone extensive refurbishment. The hotel offers a choice of dining options, comprehensive business and conference facilities, a fitness centre and spa.

The Hamburg Ring Cycle

Hamburg, Germany

31 March - 11 April 2011 (12 days)

The Hamburg State Opera presented its first Ring Cycle back in 1879. 130 years later Australian-born Simone Young, Music Director and General Manager, is making her mark with a new production by Claus Guth with lighting by Michael Bauer and sets and costumes by Christian Schmidt. A superb final cast for the Ring Cycle has now been announced. Click here to view a PDF of the cast list.

Our tour arrangements include excellent tickets in combination with a selection of 4- and 5-star hotels in close proximity to the Hamburg State Opera and a program of events and sightseeing in and around Hamburg. In addition to a welcome reception and a Hamburg orientation tour, there will be day trips to Bremen and Lübeck, a full-day Symposium on the Hamburg Ring Cycle and a choice of optional three-day tours to Berlin, Amsterdam and Rostock, between Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.

Following the Hamburg Ring Cycle, there is a choice of optional post-tours, to Munich and Salzburg Easter Festival, Poland, and Riga and St Petersburg.

Hamburg State Opera's Das Rheingold I Photo Monika Rittershaus

Hamburg State Opera's Die Walküre I Photo Monika Rittershaus

ITINERARY

Thu 31 March 2011 Arrive Hamburg
On arrival in Hamburg, make your way to your hotel for check-in. All hotels selected for this tour are within 10 minutes walking of the Hamburg State Opera and the other tour hotels.

This evening, you are invited to join your tour leaders and fellow opera lovers at a welcome cocktail reception at one of the hotels.

(Meals included – R)

Fri 01 April Hamburg
Following pre-performance talks (09.00 – 10.00am) join a local guide for a half-day orientation tour of Hamburg by coach. Home to approximately 1.8 million people, Hamburg’s official name is the ‘Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg’ which refers to Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, and also to the fact that Hamburg was a city-state and is one of the sixteen States of Germany. Hamburg is located on the River Elbe at the confluence with the Alster and Bille. The port of Hamburg is the second-largest port in Europe after Rotterdam, and the ninth largest in the world. A major transportation hub in Northern Germany, Hamburg has developed into a media and industrial centre.

During the tour you will see the Town Hall Square, the Inner Alster Lake and elegant Jungfernstieg, the shopping street Mönckebergstrabe, the churches of St Peter, St Michael and St Nicholas, the notorious Reeperbahn, the harbour and the fascinating century-old Speicherstadt warehouse complex. You will also see the extraordinary new Elbphilharmonie concert hall, currently under construction (opening May 2012).
Afternoon at leisure.

Wagner’s Ring Cycle begins this evening with Das Rheingold (7.30pm).

(Meals included – B)

Sat 02 April Hamburg
Day trip to the 1,200 year old port city of Bremen (9.30am – 5.30pm), located 95 km (approx 1.5 hrs from Hamburg). On arrival, join a local guide for a walking tour of the historic centre. See the ornate Weser-Renaissance town hall and the grand old statue of Roland on the market square (both UNESCO World Heritage-listed) then continue via Böttcherstrasse to the Schnoor, the oldest district in Bremen. Enjoy a break for lunch on your own on the Schlachte Embankment along the River Weser and later see the Überseestadt district, one of the largest dockside urban regeneration projects in Europe.

(Meals included – B)

Sun 03 April Hamburg
10.00am Pre-performance talk on Die Walküre.

Rest of day at leisure to stroll along the Jungfernstieg and take a cruise on the Inner Alster Lake. The Jungfernstieg is Hamburg’s most popular promenade, its name dating back to the time when families would come to this street on Sundays for a walk with their unmarried daughters (in German “Jungfer”). Today there is a vibrant array of shops ranging from the long-established Alsterhaus, the prestigious department store, to specialist stores large and small. From the Jungfernstieg you can take a 1-hr cruise on Inner Alster Lake.

The Hamburg Ring Cycle continues this evening with Die Walküre (5.00pm).

(Meals included – B)

Mon 04 April Hamburg
09.30 – 5.00pm Full day Symposium on the Hamburg Ring Cycle. Arranged and chaired by Peter Bassett the Symposium will bring together a range of speakers and participants in the Hamburg Ring Cycle. A detailed Symposium programme will be available late-2010. Morning and afternoon teas and lunch are included.

(Meals included – B,L)

Tue 05 April Hamburg
Day trip to Lubeck (9.30am – 4.30pm). Founded in 1143, Lübeck was for several centuries the capital of the Hanseatic League ("Queen of the Hanse"). Situated on the Trave River, Lübeck is the largest German port on the Baltic Sea.

On arrival, join a local guide for a 2-hr walking tour of the well-preserved medieval Old Town, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. See the Town Hall, Cathedral, Marienkirche, Saint Catherine’s Church, the Burgkloster convent complex, the impressive Holsten Gate and the salt warehouses on the left side of the Trave river.

Time for lunch on your own and to visit some of the numerous small museums including Thomas Mann's house, Günter Grass' house and the Willy-Brandt-House.

(Meals included – B)

Wed 06 April Hamburg
10.00am Pre-performance talk on Siegfried.

Rest of day at leisure to explore Hamburg’s rich collection of museums and galleries.

The Hamburg Ring Cycle continues this evening with Siegfried (5.00pm).

(Meals included – B)

Thu 07 April Hamburg
Day at leisure. Our suggestion is to head down to the Port of Hamburg. First take a 1-hr cruise around this bustling commercial port. Then, on land, explore HafenCity (Port City), the Fish Market, the 125-year-old Speicherstadt (the world’s largest storehouse complex), the Old River Elbe Tunnel and Blankenese, the picturesque former fishing village.

(Meals included – B)

Thu 07 / Fri 08 / Sat 09 April - optional tours to Berlin OR Amsterdam OR Rostock

To enhance your visit to Hamburg for the Ring Cycle, we are delighted to offer a selection of optional ‘out-of-town’ tours between Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.
For a further Wagner experience, plus the excitement of Europe’s most happening city, then our tour to Berlin will appeal. The highlight will be the concert performance of Parsifal by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marek Janowski, with a stellar cast and the BRSO Choir.

Our tour to Amsterdam offers the opportunity to hear rare and unusual works from the French musical repertoire in a concert by the acclaimed Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Netherlands Opera’s new production of Rameau’s Platée. You will also visit Keukenhof at the peak of the tulip bloom and have time to visit all those wonderful art galleries for which Amsterdam is renowned.

For those wanting to relax and to experience a relatively undiscovered corner of Germany, we invite you to spend two nights at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm on the Baltic Coast which evokes the privilege and ambience of the European seaside resorts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the way, you will also discover the charming mediaeval towns of Schwerin, Rostock and Wismar.
Whilst away from Hamburg, you may retain your room, or you may check-out and save two night’s accommodation (your luggage will be stored by the hotels). Please indicate at time of booking your preference.

Click here for a detailed brochure.

Sun 10 April Hamburg
10.00am Pre-performance talk on Götterdämmerung.

A final day at leisure to explore Hamburg.

The Hamburg Ring Cycle concludes this evening with Götterdämmerung (5.00pm).

(Meals included - B)

Mon 11 April Depart Hamburg
Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

(Meals included – B)

Optional post-tours will depart Hamburg today (details available mid-2010).

YOUR HOTELS:
Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten*****D
(Tour leader: Peter Bassett)

Grand Elysee*****
(Tour leader: Christopher Lawrence)

Radisson Blu Hotel****+
(Tour leader: Dr Robert Mitchell)

YOUR TOUR LEADERS

PETER BASSETT
Peter Bassett is a writer, speaker and broadcaster on opera - particularly the works of Richard Wagner. He was Dramaturg and Artistic Administrator for the 2004 Adelaide Ring and consultant for West Australian Opera’s 2006 Tristan und Isolde. He has written four books on Wagner’s operas, is a regular contributor to opera journals and programs, compiles and edits publications for the State Opera of South Australia, and has lectured on Wagner’s works in Australia and abroad.

Peter served for twenty years in the Australian Foreign Service in embassies in East and West Europe, Asia and the Pacific and was, for a further decade, Official Secretary to two Governors of South Australia and Director of Projects in Arts South Australia. He has led fourteen tours for Renaissance Tours since 2001, including to Germany, France, Switzerland, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, China, and within Australia.

CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE
Christopher Lawrence is one of Australia's best-known broadcasters and commentators on classical music. In some of his hundreds of interviews on ABC Radio National Christopher discussed cooking spaghetti with Stéphane Grappelli, Bach's eye operations with Professor Fred Hollows, and the problems of singing while running up a mountain near Salzburg with Julie Andrews. The Swoon Collection CDs that evolved from his popular breakfast program on ABC Classic FM achieved Platinum status and continue to keep the peace in hundreds of thousands of homes. He has also been a guest conductor of all the Australian capital city symphony orchestras, much to their amusement.

Christopher's work as a record producer has earned him three ARIAs (Australian Recording Industry Awards) for Best Classical Recording, and an International Emmy for Performing Arts. His first book, Swooning: a classical music guide to life, love, lust and other follies (Random House Australia, 2001) became an instant best-seller. Christopher also writes for the international magazines 'Opera' and 'Opera Now'. In 1999 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Communications from Central Queensland University.

DR ROBERT MITCHELL
Dr Robert Mitchell is a Senior Chorister and soloist with Opera Australia, with whom he has sung since 1973. He has also been a soloist for the Sydney and G&L Mardi Gras Festivals, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Chamber Soloists of Sydney and the Warringah and Wollongong Symphonies. Robert holds a DipMusEd., and MCA. For his PhD he prepared a critical edition of Offenbach’s La Vie parisienne. A past state and national president of the Australian National Association of Singing Teachers, Robert has taught at Macquarie and Western Sydney Universities. He has lectured and written on a wide variety of musical subjects, teaches singing privately, adjudicates singing competitions and is chair of the Opera Australia Benevolent Fund.

Simone Young I Photo Reto Klar
courtesy of Hamburg State Opera