Opera And Beyond

Benvenuti in Italia! Arrive in Milan, where your Tour Manager will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel to store your luggage until the rooms are ready. Meet your local guide to begin your exploration of Italy’s richest and second largest city! Your guide will reflect on Milan’s culture and history, highlighting the cultural significance of Opera in particular. Later today, you will have reserved entrance to Teatro alla Scala and the La Scala Museum, where you can visit their extraordinary collection of works documenting both opera and Teatro alla Scala’s history as one of the world’s most famous opera houses! Return to your hotel for check in and your arrival briefing before having dinner together.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, provided each morning of your tour. This morning, enjoy a guided visit of the Ansaldo workshop, followed by some time at leisure to have lunch on your own. This afternoon transfer to the Casa Verdi, a well-known retirement home for musicians (many from La Scala), founded by Verdi in 1899. Option to perform for ensembles may be possible. Afterward, have a chance to visit the Museum and the Crypt of Verdi. Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, board your private motor coach for the transfer to Bergamo. Upon arrival, begin a guided tour of the city including the Donizetti Museum. Afterward, enjoy a highlight of the tour; your Opera Masterclass with a professional Opera singer at Museo Storico! Afterward, return back to Milan and have some free time. Tonight, you will have reserved admission to the famed Last Supper. Enjoy dinner together.

Leave Milan this morning and travel to the Veneto region of Italy. First, stop at the town of Cremona. Meet a local guide for a visit of the birthplace of Monteverdi and Antonio Stradivari. Cremona houses a private collection of valuable violins including a 1715 Stradivarius. Enjoy a guided visit of string-making artisans workshops as well as admission to the Violin Museum for a violin demonstration. Depart for Verona in the late afternoon. Check in to your hotel and have dinner together.

Today’s travels lead you to the resort town of Sirmione, well-situated on a peninsula within beautiful Lake Garda. Suggestions for your free time include taking a cruise on the lake, enjoying the beach, shopping in the village, or maybe visiting the Castle Scaligero. This afternoon, return to the hotel to dress, followed by an early dinner. Tonight, you will transfer to the Arena di Verona and attend an opera performance as part of the opera festival (summers only)! Late night transfer to the hotel after the opera.

Return to the U.S.