Santa Fe Opera

August 25-29, 2010

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Opera lovers REJOICE! For your trusted travel friends at UW-Madison are escorting you to one of North America’s most historic and celebrated destinations for an elegant and refined weekend at one of the most spectacular opera venues in the world: the open-air Santa Fe Opera House!

This trip is a must for the opera lover. Your weekend includes four world-class productions - Britten’s charming comedy Albert Herring; Offenbach’s melodic fantasy The Tales of Hoffman; Puccini’s intimate Madame Butterfly, and Mozart’s operatic masterpiece The Magic Flute. You will simply not find a better opera-tunity anywhere!

Your operas will be augmented with an enriching set of learning events that include a private educational seminar with Ms Desiree Mays, author of the Opera Unveiled literary series; a backstage tour of the Santa Fe Opera House where you will learn about the inner-workings of this extraordinary facility, and an informal lecture during a delightful pre-opera buffet dinner before the performance of Madame Butterfly.

You will also learn some of the history of this fascinating city on a guided Walking Tour of Historic Santa Fe, followed by lunch and an educational guided tour of the extraordinary Museum of Indian Arts and Culture on Santa Fe’s wonderful Museum Hill. If you want to strike out further afield you can also join optional day trips to Taos Pueblo and Bandolier National Monument. There is ample time built into the schedule to relax on your own, shop, or explore Santa Fe’s culture and amazing art scene on Canyon Road, too. The opportunities are almost limitless!

You will start each day with a daily breakfast at your hotel, the beautiful and historic, La Fonda, located on Santa Fe’s colorful plaza, and end each day at the peerless Santa Fe Opera House, under the beautiful desert skies.

This is going to be a first-class weekend of opera and educational travel in what is one of America’s most interesting and cultured cities. If you are an opera lover and have never made the pilgrimage to Santa Fe for their exquisite treatment of this art form then you owe it to yourself to join us for this very special weekend.

Itinerary

Wednesday, August 25

• morning
  Travel by air to Albuquerque, then transfer to the beautiful La Fonda hotel on Santa Fe’s historic Plaza.
• afternoon
  After settling in you join the group for your first educational seminar with Ms Desiree Mays as she introduces you to the subtleties of the operas you will attend.
• evening
  Tonight you’ll make your first trip out to the beautiful Santa Fe Opera House for a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring.

Thursday, August 26

• morning
  Step outside into a glorious high-desert morning for your walking tour of Historic Santa Fe. Afterwards a coach will take you up to Museum Hill for lunch and a guided tour of the wonderful Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. You may return to the hotel after the tour, or stay at Museum Hill and visit the other three museums: Museum of International Folk Art, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, and the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.
• late afternoon
  Your opera education continues as you travel out to the opera house for a fascinating look behind the scenes on a private backstage tour of the opera house, and then enjoy a delicious dinner buffet on the grounds of the opera and an informal pre-opera discussion of this evening’s performance.
• evening
  Tonight you have great seats for Puccini’s intimate and tragic opera, Madame Butterfly.

Friday, August 27

• free day
  Enjoy a day to yourself getting to know Santa Fe. Shop downtown or visit the art galleries along world famous Canyon Road, visit the spa, check out the Indian jewelry on the Plaza, visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, etc, or take an optional trip to Bandolier National Monument. The choice is yours.
• evening
  Tonight you return to the enchanting Santa Fe Opera House for Mozart’s dazzling musical fantasy, The Magic Flute.

Saturday, August 28

• free day
  Today you may want to join the optional day trip to Taos, ride the famous Santa Fe Southern Railway into the desert, or perhaps rent a car and visit a Native American Pueblo. The day is yours to design as you wish.
• evening
  Your weekend of opera concludes with a flourish at the closing performance of the Santa Fe Opera’s 2009 season, a stirring production of Jacque Offenbach’s unique love story, The Tales of Hoffman.

Sunday, August 29

• This morning you transfer to Albuquerque for your flight home.

Traveler comments

“We figured this trip to be a once-in-a-lifetime event, and it lived up to our expectations in every respect.”

“…Each day offered a rich cultural activity, time for just relaxing, exploring, dining, shopping, or touring.”

“….The UW trips are always well planned and excellent.”

General information

Price: TBD/per person based on double occupancy, plus air. Price includes premier seating at four operas, 4 nights lodging at La Fonda, 2 lectures, city tour, museum tour, backstage tour, daily breakfast vouchers, one lunch, one dinner, and all transfers. Optional day tours are not included in this price. Please call us for those details. Airfare is not included in this package price. Upon receipt of your deposit our travel agent will contact you to make your flight arrangements, regardless of your point of origin, if you wish. If you plan to make your own air arrangements please contact us first to confirm available space and ground arrangements. You are welcome to extend your stay in Santa Fe. Please let us know if we can assist you in your plans to stay beyond our travel dates.

How to register: Download the registration form

Lodging information
www.lafondasantafe.com

Performance information
www.santafeopera.org

Museum Hill information
www.museumhill.org

Your travel director

Doug Whittle, UW-Madison Director of Educational Travel, has led programs to Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Paris, and New York City. He's traveled independently in Asia, Africa, Europe, and throughout Central and North America. Doug also served for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire. Before coming to UW-Madison, he spent a decade as professor of painting and printmaking at Converse College in South Carolina. His paintings and prints have appeared in museums and galleries from Richmond, Virginia to Krakow, Poland.

How to register

There is a registration form in each program brochure. Please contact Kim Seymour at (608) 262-3731 or kseymour@dcs.wisc.edu to request the brochure, or you may download a copy of the brochure (when available). To sign up, just complete and return the registration panel along with the required deposit as directed. The brochure is not yet available, but in the meantime you can download the registration form.

Contact information

For information contact Doug Whittle, 608-263-7787, dwhittle@dcs.wisc.edu, or Kim Seymour, 608-262-3731, seymour@dcs.wisc.edu.

 

Also of interest

For additional festival and performance information visit: http://www.hotelstfrancis.com/

 

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