Opera tour – escorted or independent

Day 1 HELSINKI – FINLAND

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Welcome to Scandinavia and Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Helsinki is a city of contrasts, a high-tech metropolis by the sea with proximity to peaceful and quiet natural surroundings.

In the morning, enjoy a guided tour showing the most important and interesting parts of the city, such as the historical centre and the diplomatic quarters at Kaivopuisto Park, the Presidential Palace, the City Hall, the Parliament building, and Finlandia Hall. The tour will stop at Senate Square, where the University and Lutheran Cathedral display neo-classical architecture of the 1840s. This is followed by a walk to the colorful Market Square by the sea in the South Harbor, with a visit to the indoor Market Hall (weather permitting). The next stop will be at the magnificent Temppeliaukio Church (Rock Church), carved into solid rock, followed by a visit to the Sibelius Monument.

Welcome dinner

Day 2 HELSINKI

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

After breakfast, embark on the tour’s first opera visit – a guided tour behind the scenes of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.

The Opera House was designed by Hyvämäki-Karhunen-Parkkinen Architects (1977). The elevations are finished in ceramic tile and natural stone, while the public spaces inside combine the lucidity of Carrara marble with the glow of red beech. The great glass wall of the main foyer opens out towards Töölönlahti Bay and Hesperia Park. Almost all of the furniture and lighting fixtures were custom-designed for the Opera House.

The rest of day is free to explore lovely and lively Helsinki. Enjoy the colorful Market Square, marvel at the stunning architecture, or stroll the tree-lined esplanade for a close look at the jewelry, porcelain, crystal, and apparel offering the distinctive purity of Finnish design.
Learn more: Helsinki

In the evening, embark on the Tallink Silja line for the cruise to Stockholm, Sweden. Sail through the unbelievably beautiful Finnish and Swedish archipelago, viewing thousands of picturesque islands. The Midnight Sun will set for only a couple of hours. You will have plenty of time to enjoy yourself on board the ship.

Day 3 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Arrive in Stockholm, the Royal Capital of Sweden, after a delicious buffet breakfast. Discover a city like no other – a city built on 14 islands, where you are never far from the water. Well-preserved medieval buildings stand alongside modern architecture. Stockholm is also home of the Nobel Prize. Stockholm is a city of contrasts – water and islands, history and innovation, small town and big city, short winter days and long, light summer nights – with a dazzling array of impressions. Thanks to the city’s compact size, you can see and do most things in a short space of time.
Learn more: Stockholm part 1 Stockholm part 2

Take a three-hour guided tour of Stockholm. Famous sights on the tour include the Royal Palace, the island of Djurgården, and the Parliament Buildings. The highlight of the tour is a visit to City Hall with its famous Blue and Golden Rooms, where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each year.

Summer extra: Drottningholm Court Theatre (1766).
For this royal journey, a magnificent turn-of-the-century ship will take you from central Stockholm (City Hall) out to the royal residence Drottningholm and the theater.

Drottningholm Court Theatre, located just outside Stockholm, was built at the request of Queen Lovisa Ulrika by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz. It was completed in 1766 and has been preserved in its entirety until today. Thus even today, the original stage machinery allows for quick changes of scenery, and in addition there are moving waves, trapdoors, cloud carriages, and wind and thunder machines. A unique collection of original 18th Century scenery is also preserved. The heyday of the theatre began in 1777 with Gustaf III, who initiated drama and opera in the Swedish language. Following his death in 1792 the theatre was closed for 130 years, until it was rediscovered in the 1920s. Every summer the theatre presents a festival of 18th Century opera (May to August). This festival started in 1946, making it one of the longest running festivals in Europe. In 1991, Drottningholm Court Theatre was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Learn more: Drottningholm

There are also guided tours of the Royal palace, but be sure not to miss the beautiful palace park and the Chinese Pavilion. The journey itself is a great way to experience Stockholm and its surroundings from the water.

Optional evening opera performance at Drottningholm Court Theatre. For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 4 STOCKHOLM

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Visit Vasa museum, Scandinavia’s most popular tourist attraction! The warship Vasa was lost on her first voyage in 1628. The preserved ship is today exhibited in her own museum in Stockholm. The Museum was inaugurated in 1990. In the large ship hall stands the warship Vasa – the only remaining, intact 17th Century ship in the world. The lower rig has been rebuilt, complete with masts, stays and shrouds. More than 95 percent of the ship is original, decorated with hundreds of carved sculptures – just like the Vasa would have looked when set for winter in harbor. The wreck, salvaged in 1961, is now once again a complete ship.

Guided tour of the Royal Swedish Opera (1898). A new way to experience the Royal Opera House! Take a look backstage, visit the King´s and Queen´s Royal Suite, see some of the opera´s many hidden rooms. Learn about the opera´s history and get a glimpse of how the Royal Swedish Opera works today.
Optional evening opera performance at the Royal Swedish Opera. For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 5 OSLO, NORWAY

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Travel west by train (or motor coach) and reach Oslo in the evening. Check in at the hotel in downtown Oslo.

Discover Oslo, a modern European city with an exciting history and interesting cultural life.

Surrounded by sea, hills, and forests on all sides, this city offers a number of opportunities. In the centre of Oslo near Karl Johan Street you will find a wide variety of restaurants, jazz clubs, and cafés – among all the shops. There are suitable establishments for visitors of all ages in this area. The large concert halls are also well situated in the centre of town within walking distance of Karl Johan Street.

Enjoy a walking tour to Aker Brygge. Once housing one of Norway’s largest shipyards, Aker Brygge now appears as a city within the city, a shopping and entertainment entity on its own, including shops, restaurants, apartments and offices, cinemas, bars & pubs, marina, etc. With exciting architecture and a panorama view of the Oslo fjord, all this makes Aker Brygge Oslo’s unique pearl window to the sea.

Optional evening opera performance at the Norwegian Opera. For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 6 OSLO

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

City orientation tour of Oslo by coach and half day sightseeing tour:

The Vigeland park, Norway’s most visited attraction with over 1 million visitors every year, includes approximately 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943), who also designed the layout of the park. This is a monumental artistic creation with a human message that is well worth seeing.

Kon-Tiki Museum, here you can see the original Kon-Tiki raft (1947) with a 30 foot whale shark underneath, statues and a secret family cave from Easter Island (1956), the papyrus boat Ra II (1970), and an exciting collection of archaeological finds from Easter Island, East Polynesia, Galapagos, and Peru.

The Viking Ship Museum houses the great ship burials and finds from Oseberg, Gokstad and Tune, as well as finds from the chieftain grave at Borre, Vestfold county. The three ships, which are the best preserved Viking ships in existence, were found in large burial mounds in the Oslo fjord area. They contained rich burial gifts of wood and textiles. Such materials, dating from the 9th Century, are rarely found in such a good state of preservation.
Learn more: Oslo

Lunchtime and the guided tour at The Norwegian Opera & Ballet.

The Norwegian Opera & Ballet opened its new house on April 2008. The construction of the new opera house is the largest single cultural-political initiative in contemporary Norway. It took five years to build and the cost is estimated to 500 million Euros. The result is an extraordinary building in white marble with a roof surface that rises directly from beneath the fjord. The opera house is designed by the acclaimed Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta.

In the afternoon, transfer to DFDS Seaways terminal for your overnight cruise to Copenhagen, departing at 5:00 pm. Enjoy a delicious Scandinavian buffet dinner as you cruise gently up the Kattegat on your way to Copenhagen. There are varied amenities, such as movie theater, sauna, live entertainment, mini-casino, shopping, nightclub – or you may prefer to sit out on deck and watch the sunset.

Day 7 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Scandinavian breakfast buffet onboard before arriving in Copenhagen at 09:30 in the morning. After arrival in Copenhagen, it is time for a guided tour of the fabulous opera house.

The Copenhagen opera house, Operaen, is a unique building designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen with commissioned artworks by Danish artists such as Per Arnoldi and Per Kirkeby.

All levels of the marble-clad foyer offer sweeping views of Renaissance Copenhagen and the city harbor. A restaurant with roof terrace is situated on the top floor offering a panoramic view of the royal palace, Amalienborg, and the adjacent domed Marble Church.

Experience the extensive backstage facilities consisting of five mobile stage units as well as a small experimental stage, Takkelloftet, in addition to the auditorium and the rehearsal and training rooms for the ballet and the opera.

Optional evening opera performance at the Copenhagen opera. For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 8 COPENHAGEN

B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

The day begins with a three-hour guided tour of the city. During the tour you will see the Amalienborg Palace, Christiansborg Palace (seat of the Danish Parliament), Hans Christian Andersen’s statue, Gefion Fountain, the old harbor of Nyhavn, the famous Little Mermaid and many other popular sights.

Learn more: Copenhagen

The afternoon is free in Copenhagen. We can recommend a tour down the popular pedestrian shopping street – Strøget, or a visit to Rosenborg Palace. This evening you will be taken by your tour escort for dinner in the famous Tivoli Gardens.

Day 9 COPENHAGEN – HOME

B = breakfast buffet, included

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure from Copenhagen according to your own itinerary.

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Weekend 3 days, Oslo and Bergen

OSLO – BERGEN 2 to 3 nights

Day 1 OSLO – BERGEN
B = breakfast buffet, included L = included D = on your own

In the morning is the departure from Oslo to Bergen, the trip is a mountain drive filled with dramatic scenery. Fjords and snowcapped peaks line the way, and you can photograph waterfalls, fjord villages, and perhaps ancient stave churches.

To reduce driving time, motorists use a tunnel — 11km (almost 7 miles), the longest in northern Europe — that goes between Flåm and Gudvangen southwest to Bergen. The trip to Bergen takes about 10 hours.

Arrival in Bergen, hotel check in. Early evening familiarization walking and then dinner.

Day 2 BERGEN
B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = on your own

”Norway in a nutshell” is one of the most popular round trips in Norway. It takes you through some of the loveliest scenery in Fjord Norway. You experience the Flaam railway line, the Aurlandsfjord, the Naeroyfjord (the narrowest part of the Sognefjord) and the steep Stalheimskleivane hairpin bends.

The Flåm Railway.

The train journey on the Flåm Railway between Myrdal and Flåm is one of the highlights of the round trip, regardless of whether you take it up or down the wild Flåm valley. The 20 km-long train ride between the mountain station of Myrdal (altitude 866 metres) and Flåm (altitude 2 metres) takes roughly one hour. On the way, you will see some of the most magnificent mountain scenery Norway has to offer, with a shifting panorama of towering mountains and impressive waterfalls.

The Sognefjord.
The journey by boat out in the Sognefjord has views of tall, impressive mountains along the Aurlandsfjord. Out towards the sea, the scenery becomes more open and is teeming with a variety of bird life. In the middle of the fjord we can see passengers being transferred from the express boat to the ferry. You will often be able to see goats grazing along the shores of the fjord, or seals sunbathing on rocks. The Sognefjord is Norway’s deepest (1309 m) and longest (204 km) fjord.

Day 3) BERGEN – TO HOME

B = breakfast buffet, included
Breakfast buffet and then transfer to Bergen International Airport for return flight to home.

Scandinavian Performance Tours. EMJ, Högbergsgt 5, 742 31 Östhammar Sweden.
emj.roger@swipnet.se www.emj-travels.com

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Opera Highlights

Opera Highlights 2010 and 2011

(Itinerary as of April 2010)
(2010 sold out)

Day 1 STOCKHOLM – SWEDEN
D = included

Welcome to Stockholm, the Royal Capital of Sweden. Discover a city like no other – a city built on 14 islands, where you are never far from the water. Well-preserved medieval buildings stand alongside modern architecture. Stockholm is also home of the Nobel Prize. Stockholm is a city of contrasts – water and islands, history and innovation, small town and big city, short winter days and long, light summer nights – with a dazzling array of impressions. Thanks to the city’s compact size, you can see and do most things in a short space of time.

Walking tour of Stockholm‘s historic section Gamla Stan, (Old Town). Go back 750 years in time and feel the medieval atmosphere of the Old Town as you wander through the narrow streets.

Learn more: Stockholm part 1 Stockholm part 2

Remainder of the afternoon free to recover from jet leg or explore the local area.

Welcome dinner.

After dinner you can finish the day at the Absolut Ice Bar, another Stockholm attraction. At the world’s first permanent ice bar the temperature is -5° C (23° F) all year round. The entire interior, including the glasses, is made from 100% pure, clear ice from the Torne River in Swedish Lapland.

Day 2 OPERA PERFORMANCE, DROTTNINGHOLM COURT THEATRE, STOCKHOLM
B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Take a three-hour guided tour of Stockholm. Famous sights on the tour include the Royal Palace, the island of Djurgården, and the Parliament Buildings. The highlight of the tour is a visit to City Hall with its famous Blue and Golden Rooms, where the Nobel Prize Banquet is held each year.

After lunch, embark on the tour’s first opera performance – at Drottningholm Court Theatre (1766).
For this royal journey, a magnificent turn-of-the-century ship will take you from central Stockholm (City Hall) out to the royal residence Drottningholm and the theater.

About Drottningholm court Theatre, Drottningholm
Drottningholm Court Theatre, located just outside Stockholm, was built at the request of Queen Lovisa Ulrika by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz. It was completed in 1766 and has been preserved in its entirety until today. Thus even today, the original stage machinery allows for quick changes of scenery, and in addition there are moving waves, trapdoors, cloud carriages, and wind and thunder machines. A unique collection of original 18th Century scenery is also preserved. The heyday of the theatre began in 1777 with Gustaf III, who initiated drama and opera in the Swedish language. Following his death in 1792 the theater was closed for 130 years, until it was rediscovered in the 1920s. Every summer the theatre presents a festival of 18th Century opera (May to August). This festival started in 1946, making it one of the longest running festivals in Europe. In 1991, Drottningholm Court Theater was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Learn more: Drottningholm

There are also guided tours of the Royal palace, but be sure not to miss the beautiful palace park and the Chinese Pavilion. The journey itself is a great way to experience Stockholm and its surroundings from the water.

For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 3 OPERA PERFORMANCE, SKÄRET (OPERA PÅ SKÄRET), KOPPARBERG
B = breakfast buffet, included L = included D = included

Enjoy delicious breakfast buffet and then explore the beautiful Stockholm on your own.

With a chartered train (“the Opera Train”) you will leave the city and go off the tourist track to Kopparberg, a charming Swedish countryside town in the province of Bergslagen, central Sweden. Lunch will be served during the train journey (2,5h) and 3-course dinner on the return journey to Stockholm.

About Opera på Skäret
La Scala, Metropolitan, Opera på Skäret… Since its inception in 2004 Opera på Skäret has established itself as a highly original summer festival with extremely versatile leadership and high-class performances.
Led by artistic director Sten Niclasson, it takes its name from the local village just beside Lake Ljusnaren. The surroundings are breathtaking. And this is probably why opera singer Niclasson once discovered the old sawmill – beautifully situated at the edge of the water.
In the large store-house he found the outstanding acoustics – which has proved to be one of the best if not the best of them all.
The company’s policy is to create new and innovative productions of opera, comic opera and concerts, and to attract a broader and even new audience for opera.
A rapid development of the company’s work has resulted in doubling the number of visitors each year. In 2007 ten thousand visitors experienced the magic and unique atmosphere of Opera på Skäret during the summer festival.
Although most of the audience comes from Sweden the ambition is to soon establish Opera på Skäret as an international summer opera festival and to be the leading opera festival in Sweden.

For program information please contact Scandinavian Performance Tours.

Day 4 OPERA PERFORMANCE, VADSTENA ACADEMY, VADSTENA
B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = on your own

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and then you have a free morning in Stockholm, with possibility to visit the famous Wasa Museum or take one of the popular canal tours.

After lunch it is time to travel to Vadstena. For individual travelers, the easiest way is to travel by train to Vadstena.

About the Vadstena Academy Summer Opera Festival
In Vadstena you will also find plenty of well-preserved buildings from the 13th – 16th Century, the new Sancta Birgitta Convent Museum. Vadstena Castle is one of Sweden’s best-preserved castles from the Vasa period (approx. 1520-1650).

Vadstena Academy presents on stage absolutely fresh music, hot off the computer, as well as undeservedly lost operas dug out of antique manuscripts. As the icing on the cake, we do this in the absolutely fantastically beautiful environments of Vadstena Castle and the Vadstena Old Theatre.
Vadstena is friendly, provincial, close and intimate. And you never know what to expect. Except performances of an internationally high class.

This is how an international opera critic responded to being asked why he kept on travelling to Sweden to see Vadstena Academy’s performances year after year.

Sweden’s biggest commissioner of new operas
Our research activities consist of producing works from European archives, source critical editions, musical analysis, and transference to modern notation and instrumentation. The aim is to bring to life a part of our cultural heritage. Over forty antique operas have been performed for the first time in modern times at Vadstena. Vadstena Academy is also Sweden’s biggest commissioner of newly composed Swedish operas. To date, around 25 new works have been revived on one of Vadstena Academy’s stages. Nine of Vadstena Academy’s opera performances have been broadcast on TV and over thirty-five on Sweden’s national radio, Sveriges Riksradio.

The 2010 summer season at Vadstena Academy is all about love. Star-Cross’d Lovers is a performance steeped in love; young, boundless, fated love. Two operas by 18th century masters Johann Adolph Hasse and Georg Anton Benda form a double bill at Vadstena Castle.
The tragic fates of Romeo and Juliet and Pyramus and Thisbe are reflected through two widely diverse temperaments and styles.

Dinner on your own and overnight at Vadstena Klosterhotel.

Day 5 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
B = breakfast buffet, included L = included D = on your own

Check out of the hotel, board the train and depart for Copenhagen, Denmark.

Welcome to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

After a traditional Danish lunch at the oldest restaurant in Copenhagen, 1720, check in at the hotel and then enjoy a three hour guided tour of the city.

During the tour you will see Hans Christian Andersen’s statue, the Amalienborg Palace, Christiansborg Palace, Gefion Fountain, the old harbour of Nyhavn, the famous Little Mermaid and many other popular sights.

Afternoon free in Copenhagen. May we suggest a walking tour of central Copenhagen to the colourful harbor district of Nyhavn. Nyhavn ”New Port” was established in 1673 as a gateway to the sea from the old inner city. During the growth of Copenhagen the canal moved to it present place and the houses surrounding the Nyhavn canal are more than 300 years old. Today the canal is packed with old wooden ships creating an atmosphere from the past time around 1780-1810 when Nyhavn was the main center of all trade to sea from Copenhagen.

Nyhavn with its picturesque old houses and sailing ships on either side of the canal, offers a variety of restaurants, pubs and cafes. Nyhavn is also called ”the longest bar in Scandinavia”.
Learn more: Copenhagen

Day 6 COPENHAGEN
B = breakfast buffet, included L = on your own D = included

Lunch on own in Copenhagen and then it is time for a guided tour of the fabulous opera house.
The Copenhagen opera house, Operaen, is a unique building designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen with commissioned artworks by Danish artists such as Per Arnoldi and Per Kirkeby.

All levels of the marble-clad foyer offer sweeping views of Renaissance Copenhagen and the city harbor. A restaurant with roof terrace is situated on the top floor offering a panoramic view of the royal palace, Amalienborg, and the adjacent domed Marble Church.

Experience the extensive backstage facilities consisting of five mobile stage units as well as a small experimental stage, Takkelloftet, in addition to the auditorium and the rehearsal and training rooms for the ballet and the opera.
No trip to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to Tivoli Gardens. Right in the middle of the town, Tivoli offers both the fun of the fair, the peace and tranquility of a park and the ambiance of the many open air cafes, concert hall, restaurants and bars. It’s a real wonderland for kids of all ages, with its marooned pirate ship, roller coaster rides, shooting galleries,….

This evening enjoy a farewell dinner in the famous Tivoli Gardens.

Day 7 COPENHAGEN – HOME
B = breakfast buffet, included

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure from Copenhagen according to your own itinerary.
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