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Mediterranean Music Festival: A Voyage from Venice to Athens with Classical Music Performances at Historic Sites
We are thrilled to invite you on Mediterranean Music Cruise with honorary guest Marilyn Horne, who will personally accompany this splendid musical voyage, along with remarkably talented singers and accompanists who will perform for us at historic sites.
Honorary guest Marilyn Horne personally accompanies this splendid musical voyage, along with a roster of remarkably talented singers and accompanists who will perform for us at historic sites ashore as we sail from Venice to Athens aboard the small and luxurious Corinthian II. We sincerely hope that you can join Ms. Horne on this once-in-a-lifetime voyage.
Music lovers across the globe regard Ms. Horne as a treasure, a brilliant interpreter of bel canto opera whose exquisite tone and seemingly effortless mastery of even the most difficult coloratura passages has dazzled music critics and music lovers around the world. To support young singers and promote the grand tradition of vocal recitals which, as Ms. Horne has said, “were essential to my development as a singer,” she established the Marilyn Horne Foundation in 1994. Reflecting Ms. Horne’s devotion to the art of vocal music, the theme for our cruise is “Let the Song Continue,” and the artists who will accompany us on this voyage are exceptional young talents—four singers and two pianists—who represent the next generation of excellence in music: Nadine Sierra Sasha Cooke, Kelly Markgraf, Carol Wong, Joshua Stewart, and Jerome Tan. We are also privileged to have joining us Alan Cameron, a specialist in Greek, Roman, and Byzantine history, as well as Fred Plotkin, author and expert in opera, classical music, and the culture of Italy.
During our voyage, Ms. Horne, through a series of informal conversations with Mr. Plotkin, will share her life-long love of music and recall highlights from her glorious career. We have included special visits to musical landmarks that she knows well, including Venice’s legendary opera house, La Fenice, and the classically inspired outdoor theater, the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, Italy, where she also performed.
For this once-in-a-lifetime voyage we have taken great care to design an itinerary that will immerse you in the art, history, and especially the music of the Mediterranean world. In Venice you’ll see the landmarks that were familiar to Antonio Vivaldi, Claudio Monteverdi, and the brothers Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli. At Macerata, home to one of Italy’s most popular opera festivals, our accompanying artists will perform at the renowned Arena. In addition to private concerts in other unique settings, we will enjoy private shipboard recitals presented by our artists.
Here is an unprecedented opportunity for you to enjoy exquisite music performed in some of the most glorious and evocative settings in the Mediterranean. This is much more than a cruise— it is a celebration of the Art of Song.
Book early for Special Savings:
• Free round-trip airfare from New York
• Low upgrade supplement to Business Class [$2,650 (limited capacity)]
• A savings of $4,000-$6,000 per couple
• Low single supplement ($1,995)
• A personally autographed copy of Marilyn Horne’s autobiography, The Song Continues,
(which includes a CD of rare recordings by her which not otherwise available)
Itinerary
September 29 • USA
September 30 • VENICE, ITALY | EMBARK
October 1 • VENICE
October 2 • ANCONA | MACERATA | ANCONA
October 3 • SPLIT, CROATIA
October 4 • DUBROVNIK
October 5 • AT SEA
October 6 • SANTORINI, GREECE
October 7 • RHODES | LINDOS | RHODES
October 8 • KUSADASI | EPHESUS | KUSADASI, TURKEY
October 9 • PIRAEUS | DISEMBARK | ATHENS | USA
View Detailed Itinerary
SPECIAL GUEST MARILYN HORNE
She has been called the “Star Spangled Singer” and “the Heifetz of singers.” In 2002, after a career in which for over four decades she had dominated her field, Opera News wrote, “Marilyn Horne – whose face and song have been in the light – in so many places, in so many styles, through so many media, for so many years – may be the most influential singer in American history.”
During Marilyn Horne's five-decade career as a mezzo-soprano performing in operas, concerts, and recitals throughout the world, she has been celebrated for the power and artistry of her unique and dazzling coloratura singing and for her revival of many forgotten works by Rossini, Handel, Vivaldi, and Bellini. “One of the greatest operatic mezzo sopranos in history,” Marilyn celebrated twenty-six years as a leading lady at the Metropolitan Opera, and was honored at the San Francisco Opera for her thirty-nine seasons there. She is the recipient of many other accolades, including the Kennedy Center Honor, inductee in the Classical Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame, and Italy’s first Rossini Medaglio d’Oro, created especially for her. Also, she has received numerous honorary doctorates from schools including The Juilliard School, Johns Hopkins University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2008 Ms. Horne received the prestigious Opera News Award, the highest honor given within the opera industry.
Since 1997 Marilyn has been the Vocal Program Director at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and annually leads master classes at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, and the University of Maryland at College Park. In January 2009 she celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the Marilyn Horne Foundation, which she founded to promote the art of the vocal recital and classical song across the US, while also assisting young vocalists. Since its inception, the Foundation has introduced over 120,000 students to classical song. Born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, Marilyn married conductor, Henry Lewis, and has a daughter, Angela, and three wonderful grandchildren.
This voyage will also be accompanied by experts in the fields of history and music, as well as talented performing artists.
PROGRAM INCLUSIONS
• Series of concerts and recitals throughout the voyage, performed by distinguished musicians who will accompany the trip
• 9-night cruise aboard the all-suite, 114-guest Corinthian II
•Welcome and farewell cocktail receptions aboard ship
• All meals aboard ship, including house wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
• Open bar aboard ship throughout the cruise
•Complete program of tours and excursions
• Educational program of lectures and discussions by accompanying guest lecturers
• Professional Travel Dynamics International tour staff
• Complete pre-departure materials
• Baggage handling and transfers abroad on the designated program departure and arrival dates
• Port and embarkation taxes
• Gratuities to porters, guides and drivers
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
USA
Fly from the U.S. to Venice, Italy.
Wednesday, September 30
VENICE, Italy | EMBARK
Arrive in Venice and board Corinthian II. Quite possibly the world’s most unusual and romantic city, lovely canalled Venice is a feast for the senses. At the height of its prosperity, this incomparable city of water and light possessed an empire that stretched throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Overnight docked aboard ship. (D)
Thursday, October 1
VENICE
In the morning explore the Basilica of St. Mark, ornamented with mosaics, antique bronzes, and ancient icons, and the Doge’s Palace, whose pink and white Gothic facade overlooks the Basin of St. Mark. An afternoon tour includes a special visit to Teatro La Fenice, where Marilyn Horne performed frequently during her distinguished career. Continue to Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista for our opening concert. The scuola is one of the six great guilds founded in Venice and home to artwork by Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane, and Tiepolo. Enjoy glorious views from deck as we set sail from Venice. Welcome cocktail reception and dinner aboard ship this evening. (B, L, D)
Friday, October 2
ANCONA | MACERATA | ANCONA
From the port of Ancona, drive inland to Macerata, a quaint medieval town set high atop a hill. Ms. Horne performed at the Arena Sferisterio theater in Macerata as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Explore the town and its historic buildings, including the 16th-century Loggia dei Mercanti, and the 17th-century Palazzo del Comune, with its splendid atrium decorated with sculptures, and visit the City Museum, housed in an old Jesuit college, and the Palazzo Ricci Gallery, with its excellent collection of works by modern Italian artists. Perhaps the town’s most splendid landmark is the Arena Sferisterio, a colonnaded outdoor theater built in the 1820s, where we will enjoy a concert. (B, L, D)
Saturday, October 3
SPLIT, Croatia
Arrive in Split, an ancient city centered around the formidable Palace of Diocletian, built in A.D. 295. An extensive structure, much of which is well preserved, the palace contains within its walls Split’s old town, making it the only palace that has been continuously inhabited since Roman times. After a tour of the Palace, reboard Corinthian II and spend the afternoon at sea. Enjoy an evening recital aboard as the ship makes its way to Dubrovnik. (B, L, D)
Sunday, October 4
DUBROVNIK
Explore Dubrovnik, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities and a splendid repository of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque art and architecture. Visit the Rector’s Palace, the Franciscan Monastery and its garden, the Dominican monastery, and other buildings. Continue to the medieval walls of Fort Revelin, the impressive venue for today’s performance. The afternoon is at leisure. (B, L, D)
Monday, October 5
AT SEA
Enjoy a relaxing day at sea and a concert onboard ship. (B, L, D)
Tuesday, October 6
SANTORINI, Greece
Corinthian II cruises into the flooded volcanic crater that forms the great circular bay of Santorini, the island both destroyed and preserved by volcanic eruptions in the second millennium B.C., when it was home to a sophisticated Bronze Age society. From the sea, enjoy a beautiful view of Phira, a village atop a 1,000-foot-high palisade. Visit the Prehistoric History Museum of Thera and take a drive to the unspoiled town of Oia. Today’s recital is at the Nomikos Foundation—which displays reproductions of frescoes from Akrotiri. (B, L, D)
Wednesday, October 7
RHODES | LINDOS | RHODES
The historic island of Rhodes was known in antiquity for its schools of philosophy, rhetoric, and sculpture. Explore Old Town, one of the largest medieval towns in Europe, whose labyrinthine streets and splendid open plazas owe much of their 14th-century charm to the Crusader Knights of St. John. Walk along the Street of the Knights, overflowing with mosaics, finely carved portals, balconies, and coats of arms. Then visit the Archaeological Museum, housed in what was once the Knights’ Great Hospital. In the afternoon, travel to the picturesque village of Lindos. Set high above the village, with spectacular views of the Aegean, are the remains of the Acropolis and the Doric columns of Athena’s Temple, among other structures. Enjoy a concert this evening at an historic location in old town Rhodes. (B, L, D)
Thursday, October 8
KUSADASI | EPHESUS | KUSADASI, Turkey
From Kusadasi, our excursion leads to Ephesus. Renowned as the center of worship of the mother-goddess Cybele, later known as Artemis, it was also the site where St. Paul addressed the Ephesians. Excavations continue and archaeologists are restoring the Terrace Houses, which offer a glimpse of the daily lives of the Ephesians. See the stunning facade of the Library of Celsus, the temple of Hadrian, and the Great Amphitheater. Spend a relaxing afternoon at sea. This evening we will enjoy our final concert aboard ship and a festive farewell cocktail reception and dinner. (B, L, D)
Friday, October 9
PIRAEUS | DISEMBARK | ATHENS | USA
Transfer to the airport for return flights to the U.S. (B)
