Arrive in Hamburg on suggested flights and make your way to the hotel. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel), accommodation before or after the tour and a room category upgrade.

In the late-afternoon, join your tour leader Scott Curry and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing followed by dinner.

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Begin the day with a talk by Scott on the coming days’ performances. After a history-focused walking tour of Hamburg, discover the pinnacle of architectural design: the Elbphilharmonie. The superimposed, shimmering glass structure overlooks the River Elbe and features state-of-the-art philharmonic and chamber music halls.

Tonight, enjoy the Hamburg State Opera’s production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman conducted by Adam Fischer, with Michael Volle in the title role.

(BL)

Start the morning with a visit to the Composers Quarter, where six dedicated museums bring to life the city’s rich musical traditions. From the exhibition on Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, to Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler, this ‘metropolis of music’ tells a diverse history, from Baroque to the early modern age.

Continue with a tour of the Kunsthalle, a treasure trove of art from the Renaissance to the present day.

In the evening, return to the Elbphilharmonie for a concert by the Vienna Philharmonic led by acclaimed conductor Christian Thielemann. Russian-German pianist Pianist Igor Levit brings his irrepressible creative power and great virtuosity to Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto, considered one of the most difficult in piano literature.

PROGRAM:
Brahms – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83
Brahms – Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90

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In the morning, enjoy a matinee concert featuring Hamburg’s Philharmonic State Orchestra conducted by Ingo Metzmacher at the Elbphilharmonie.

PROGRAM:
Ives – Central Park in the Dark
Mahler – Symphony No. 7 in E minor

After lunch, the remainder of the day is at leisure.

(BL)

Today, travel via Magdeburg to Dresden, capital of Saxony, and famed for its 700-year musical history. The River Elbe divides the city into the Altstadt and the Neustadt with restored Baroque architecture stencilling an ornate skyline. Arrive in Dresden in the late-afternoon and enjoy the evening at leisure.

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After a pre-performance talk, embark on a walking tour of the historic city centre; see the 1876 mural ‘The Procession of the Princes’, the Semperoper, Royal Palace, Elbe Terrace, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) and the Zwinger Palace.

Enjoy the festive spirit at the Striezelmarkt, Germany’s oldest Christmas market, with the central square ablaze with lights and the air filled with the scent of cinnamon apples. The Pyramidenfest, a giant advent pyramid from the Ore Mountains, towers over the array of food and handicraft stalls.

Tonight, see Daniele Gatti conduct the famous Staatskapelle Dresden at the Semperoper.

PROGRAM:
Beethoven – Overture to the ballet ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’, Op. 43
Stravinsky – ‘Apollon Musagète’
Schumann – Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 38 ‘Spring’

(B)

Enjoy an excursion to Meissen, home to the oldest porcelain manufactory in Europe. Visit the famous porcelain museum and witness the astonishing artistry and artisanship that makes Meissen porcelain unique. Return to Dresden after lunch.

The remainder of the afternoon is at leisure until this evening’s performance of Korngold’s opera, Die tote Stadt, at the Semperoper.

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Depart Dresden and travel to Leipzig, ‘the city of music’. The city’s prestigious musical history tells stories of composers including Bach, Telemann, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner and Mahler. The Music Trail that winds across the city maintains a modern-day connection to the legacy the composers, visionaries and musicians have given to the progressive city.

In the evening, attend a performance by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons with cellist Sol Gabetta.

PROGRAM:
Weinberg – Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C Minor, Op. 43
Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 29 ‘Polish’

(B)

Join Scott in at the Alte Nikolaischule, where Wagner went to school, for a pre-performance talk. Then visit the former house of Felix Mendelssohn. Unlike his contemporaries, Mendelssohn not only composed, but was an esteemed conductor and pianist.

This evening, visit the Leipzig Opera for the ballet performance of Chaplin by Mario Schröder featuring music by Charles Chaplin, Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, John Adams, Richard Wagner, Charles Ives and Kurt Schwertsik.

(B)

This morning, travel north to Germany’s capital, Berlin. As the city prepares for Christmas Eve, embrace the final days of Advent at the city’s renowned Christmas markets.

In the evening, attend a concert by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin (RSB) at the Berliner Philharmonie with French conductor Marc Minkowski and baritone Florian Sempey.

PROGRAM:
Rameau – Suite from the opera Les Boréades
Chausson – ‘Poème de l’amour et de la mer’, Op. 19
Bruckner – Symphony in D minor ‘Nullte’

(BL)

You might wish to join Scott for an optional morning excursion to West Berlin, seeing the district’s renowned monuments and wide boulevards or visiting the famous food hall at the KaDeWe department store. Spend the rest of the day at leisure to relax or explore Berlin at your own pace.

In the evening, embrace a true German-style Christmas Eve as you join Scott and fellow travellers for a special Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner there is the possibility to attend Christmas mass at the Cathedral.

(BD)

Depart on an excursion to Potsdam, best known for the magnificent palaces and parks dating back to its time as the former royal seat of Prussia. Enjoy a guided tour of the much-anticipated exhibition of landscapes by Edvard Munch at the city’s fine Barberini Museum. The private museum, opened in 2017, also houses an extraordinary collection of Impressionist paintings including works by Monet and Renoir, among others. After lunch in Potsdam, return to Berlin.

This evening, attend a performance of Puccini’s La Bohème at the Berlin State Opera with Valentina Naforniță in the role of Mimi, Freddie De Tommaso as Rodolfo, Victoria Randem as Musetta and George Petean as Marcello.

(BL)

This morning, attend a final pre-performance talk. Then enjoy a guided tour of the Berlin State Opera (subject to rehearsal schedule).

The afternoon is free until the performance of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Enrique Mazzola and featuring Italian soprano Federica Lombardi in the title role.

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After a morning at leisure, enjoy a special farewell lunch at a local restaurant.

Later in the afternoon, return to the Berlin State Opera for the final performance of the tour – Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of German conductor Joana Mallwitz. The cast includes Julia Kleiter as the aristocratic Marschallin, acclaimed Günther Groissböck as Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, Marina Prudenskaya as Octavian and Golda Schultz as Sophie.

(BL)

Tour arrangements conclude after breakfast.

If you are returning home today, make your way to Berlin Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including any additional nights’ accommodation, either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

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