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Canadian Fall Festivals October
5th – 12th, 2002 |
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458
West 52nd Street #1D
New York, NY 10019 (800) 916-0312 |
Saturday October 5th
Independent arrivals in Toronto at the Crowne Plaza Toronto Centre, perfectly
situated in the Theatre District, close to a wide variety of
shopping and sights. Coach arrival from Ottawa, Canada. We join together for
a lovely Wine and Cheese Reception to meet fellow tour members.
Our first performance together is Tchaikovsky’s riveting drama Queen
of Spades. The captivating production from the Welsh National Opera has received
rave reviews around the globe. The Canadian Opera Company has assembled a
cast of the foremost interpreters of the complex roles that make up Tchaikovsky’s
rich score based on the novel by Pushkin. Richard Bradshaw conducts: Judith
Forst, Hamkik Papian, Viktoria Vizin, Vadim Zaplechny, Igor Morosov, and John
Fanning.
Sunday October
6th
This morning, we will enjoy a private guided tour of the renowned collection
of the Art Gallery of Ontario. We are fortunate to see the final day of the
highly anticipated exhibition, “Cologne Dada”. The collection forms
a unique record of remarkable depth and richness, of a significant moment
in the history of the Dada period. The prints and drawings date primarily
from 1919 to 1923, the period when Max Ernst, Franz Seiwert, Angelika Hoerle
(née Fick), Heinrich Hoerle and Willy Fick, worked together in the
Hoerle’s home in Cologne. The collection was recently rediscovered and
its significance reconstructed. Following our tour of the special exhibition,
you will have the opportunity to further explore AGO’s permanent collection.
This afternoon,
we return to the Hummingbird Centre for the COC double bill of Stravinsky’s
stunning Oedipus Rex alongside his Symphony of Psalms. The opera’s text
is by Jean Cocteau and Jean Daniélou, after Sophocles. Sophocles based
his play on Homer's Odyssey and on a play by Aeschylus. The English translation
of the Speaker's text is by e. e. cummings. A stellar cast has been assembled
for this fascinating production. Bernhard Kontarsky conducts: Ewa Podle´s,
Michael Schade, Peteris Eglitis, Robert Pomakov, and Michael Colvin.
Evening at leisure.
Monday October
7th
This morning, we will explore Toronto by land and by sea! We begin our day
with an expert guided tour of the unique sights and neighborhoods that make
up Ontario’s capital city. We will then enjoy a delightful harbor cruise
from which one can truly take in the majesty of this beautiful city.
This afternoon,
we will enjoy a private guided tour of Toronto’s famous Casa Loma. The
balance of the Afternoon and evening are at leisure for further personal exploration
of Toronto.
Tuesday October
8th
We depart by private coach for the charming Victorian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
where we will check into the centrally located Royal Park Hotel. This afternoon
we present the option of attending Noel Coward’s Hay Fever at the Shaw
Festival. With an eye toward possible romance, four members of the Bliss family
each invite a guest to their country house for what turns out to be a very
unusual weekend with a very unusual family. This will be the last production
directed by Christopher Newton in his 23-year run as The Shaw's Artistic Director.
(Supplemental Ticket Price $30 US)
This evening, we are delighted to attend George Bernard Shaw’s Candida
at the Festival Theatre. In one of Shaw's most popular plays, a spellbinding
minister and an aristocratic young poet seemingly struggle for the love of
the minister's wife. Following the performance, you will have an opportunity
to meet cast members in a question and answer session at the theatre.
Wednesday October
9th
This morning, we will drive along the magnificent Niagara Parkway to visit
the delightful Butterfly Sanctuary, and enjoy a wine tasting and private tour
at a premiere vineyard, as well as stopping at the ever popular Kurtz Orchard
Country Market. We then proceed to Niagara Falls to view the beauty of the
area, and the power and magnificence of this natural wonder.
This afternoon,
we present the option to attend the Shaw Festival’s production of Sondheim’s
musical romp, Merrily We Roll Along. This musical, in which the action unfolds
in reverse order, is based on Kaufman and Hart's 1934 play about a successful
but shallow Broadway playwright who betrays friends, lovers, and his own talent
in his quest for success. (Supplemental Ticket Price $ 30 US)
This evening, we return to the Festival Theatre for George Bernard Shaw’s
Caesar and Cleopatra. In one of Shaw's greatest plays, the consummate politician
Julius Caesar teaches his trade to the headstrong teenager who will become
one of the most famous rulers in history. Shaw's play is a timely study in
power politics.
Thursday October
10th
This morning, our private coach transfers us to Stratford, another lovely
Victorian city, and home of the celebrated Stratford Festival – North
America’s largest classical repertory theatre. After checking in to the
Arden Park Hotel, the afternoon is at leisure to explore the lovely shops
and grounds of Stratford. Christopher Plummer takes on the title role in William
Shakespeare’s King Lear this evening. "Nothing will come of nothing,"
says King Lear when his youngest and best-loved daughter refuses to "heave
her heart into her mouth." Yet each of the main characters, variously
reduced to nothing in the course of this unflinchingly bleak play, discovers
how much there is to learn by losing everything. Forced by his own careless
folly to feel for the first time "what wretches feel," Lear reconciles
himself to the fact that, without the robes and rituals of monarchy, a king
is little more than "a poor, bare, fork'd animal."
Friday October
11th
This morning, we will enjoy a private behind the scenes look at the Scenic
Warehouse and Costume Shop to see the work of the Festival’s world class
designers, followed by a backstage tour of the Festival Theatre.
Two families divided
by hatred; two young people, smitten at first sight. Thus the stage is set
for the greatest love story of all time: a tale of secret joys and tragic
mischance, culminating in a desperate plan to steal happiness from the grave
itself. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, love conquers all - except
the destiny written in our stars. This afternoon’s performance is directed
by Miles Potter. We will enjoy a lovely private dinner together in the Eaton
Lounge before this evening’s performance of The Threepenny Opera. Kurt
Weill’s savory score and Bertolt Brecht’s powerful book in a translation
by Marc Blitzstein take the stage of the newly renovated Avon Theatre. The
rakish gang leader Macheath - "Mack the Knife" - is justly renowned
as the slipperiest criminal in London. But even he finds it hard to stay ahead
of the game of intrigue and betrayal after he elopes with Polly Peachum, daughter
of the dangerously unsavoury boss of the city's beggars - and the corrupter
of its police.
Saturday October
12th
Following breakfast, our private coach will transfer tour members to Toronto’s
Pearson International Airport for return flights home this afternoon. The
coach will then continue on to Ottawa for tour members from the Capital Area.
TOUR PRICE
Land Arrangements
US $ 1795 / CD $2750
(Based On Double Occupancy)
Single Supplement US $450 / CD $650
$500 Deposit due by August 1st, 2002 to secure your space on tour.
Balance due September 1st, 2002.
INCLUDED MEALS
Welcome Reception, 1 Dinner.
TRANSPORTATION
Lowest Airfare at time of booking is available directly through Pro Musica,
at cost, for your convenience.
A Saturday night
stay is included to assure you the lowest airfare possible.
Private Coach Transportation for tour members from Ottawa, Canada is included.
Please call for details.