Independent Opera, La Fenice, Venice

Arblaster & Clarke offer tailor-made, unescorted breaks all with first class Opera tickets to the great Italian Opera house La Fenice with hotel accommodation in central Venice 4* luxe hotel within easy walking distance of the Opera house. This can be with or without flights, depending what suits you best.

It is hard to overstate the historic importance of Venice’s opera house, La Fenice. Five of Verdi’s great operas including La Traviata were first performed here, and that was after its baroque heyday or when one great belcanto opera after another by Rossini and his contemporaries was produced here. The beautiful but small opera house of La Fenice, so tragically destroyed by fire a few years ago has been lovingly restored; indeed connoisseurs say that the acoustics are better than ever. Since then it has definitely hit its stride with interesting and varied programmes and imaginatively staged productions. This year’s programme looks particularly good!

We can get tickets to these Operas long before the tickets have gone on sale to the general public. We have access to the best seats and boxes and even to tickets to otherwise ‘sold out’ performances. From time to time A&C offer escorted Opera & Wine tours based in Venice.

Opera Packages available from Arblaster & Clarke:

(see below for dates, prices and cast lists)

Includes: 2 nights staying in a central 4* hotel in Venice
One First Class ticket to an opera at Teatro La Fenice
Venice pocket guide
Arblaster & Clarke’s restaurant notes and Opera synopsis

Approximate Price per person £685 – £995. Subject to exact hotel room & ticket prices
Upgrades normally available to Superior rooms.

We recommend that you visit for the trilogy of Mozart performances; Don Giovanni, La Nozze di FIgaro and Cosi Fan Tutte in April & May 2013 or the trilogy of Puccini performances of La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Tosca throughout dates in April, May and June 2014. These performances are all over weekend evenings.

Opera	Cast	Performance Dates
Don Giovanni di Wolgang Amadeus Mozart Director: Damiano Michieletto	Don Giovanni: Simone Alberghini (30/4 – 28/5), Alessio Arduini (04/5), Markus Werba (10, 14, 17, 21, 24/5) Donna Anna: Carmela Remigio (30/4 – 4, 10, 14, 17/5), Maria Bengtsson (21, 24, 28/5) Don Ottavio: Marlin Miller Il Commendatore: Abramo Rosalen	April 2013: 30 May 2013: 4, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24 & 28.
Le Nozze di Figaro di Wolgang Amadeus Mozart Director: Damiano Michieletto	Il Conte di Almaviva: Simone Alberghini La Contessa di Almaviva: Marita Solberg Susanna: Rosa Feola Figaro: Vito Priante Cherubino: Marina Comparato (5, 15, 18) / Alessia Nadin (11, 22, 25) Marcellina: Laura Cherici. Basilio: Bruno Lazzaretti. Don Curzio Emanuele Giannino. Antonio: Matteo Ferrara. Barbarina: Arianna Donadelli	May 2013: 5, 11, 15 18, 22 & 25
Così Fan Tutte di Wolgang Amadeus Mozart Director: Damiano Michieletto	Fiordiligi: Maria Bengtsson Dorabella: Josè Maria Lo Monaco Guglielmo: Alessio Arduini Despina: Caterina Di Tonno Ferrando: Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani Don Alfonso: Luca Tittoto	May 2013: 12,16,19,23 & 26
Madama Butterfly di Giacomo Puccini Director: Àlex Rigola	Cio-Cio-San: Amarilli Nizza / Svetlana Kasyan F.B. Pinkerton: Andeka Gorrotxategui / Giuseppe Varano Sharpless: Vladimir Stoyanov / Elia Fabbian	June 2013: 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30
Otello di Giuseppe Verdi Director: Francesco Micheli	Not as yet announced	July 2013: 10, 14 & 17
La Traviata di Giuseppe Verdi Director: Robert Carsen	Violetta Valery: Ekaterina Bakanova (30/8, 1, 8, 25, 27/9) / Jessica Nuccio (31/8, 10, 17, 21, 28/9) / Elena Monti (3, 14, 19, 24/9) Alfredo Germont: Piero Pretti (30/8, 1, 8, 17, 21, 25, 27/9) / Shalva Mukeria (31/8, 3, 10, 14, 19, 24, 28/9) Giorgio Germont: Dimitri Platanias (30/8, 1, 8, 17, 21, 25, 27/9) / Simone Piazzola (31/8, 3, 10, 14, 19, 24, 28/9) Flora Bervoix: Chiara Fracasso Annina: Sabrina Vianello Gastone: Iorio Zennaro Il barone Douphol: Armando Gabba Il dottor Grenvil: Luca Dall’Amico Il marchese d’Obigny: Matteo Ferrara	August 2013: 30 September 2013: 1, 3, 8, 10, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 27 & 28

To Book

Please email us or phone us on 0044 (0)1730 263111.

The booking procedure is as follows:

• Please click on the ‘Register Interest’ button below and send your details and the dates that you would like to travel (The dates shown and hotels mentioned are subject to availability).
• We will call or email to discuss hotels and other aspects of your trip with you.
• If you wish to go ahead with the trip we will check availability for you on receipt of a credit or debit card number as a guarantee.
• Full payment is due at time of booking. In the event of your cancellation this is non-refundable. Please ensure that you have relevant travel insurance in place to cover you in the event of insurable reasons for your cancellation. All payments made directly to us are protected by our 100% financial guarantee.

Travel: Meet at Destination

We recommend that you book your own flights into Venice Marco Polo airport, be aware that low cost airlines advertising Venice airport sometimes refer to Treviso airport which is significantly further outside the city than Marco Polo airport (approximately 1 1/2 hours to the centre of Venice).

You may prefer to catch the Eurostar to Paris followed by an overnight train to Venice Santa Lucia train station, a direct journey with no changes. For overnight trains you can book 4 months before date of departure – for other trains three months beforehand, please visit the Rail Europe website for options: www.raileurope-world.com

Water taxi transfers and additional Opera tickets / nights can also be arranged. A private Water Taxi transfer from Venice Airport to the hotel, one way £165 per transfer including assistance at the airport, based on 2 people sharing.

It is also possible to reach the hotel by bus to the railway station, then public vaporetta. Full details will be provided with your final itinerary.

Given the flexibility we offer in arranging a spectacular Opera break, we strongly suggest you register your interest or call the office and discuss the travel options with us. It may be that you wish us to book accommodation and flights, or perhaps you will only require the Opera tickets and a hotel, this is why no exact price is stated.

Extend your stay

We are happy to arrange for extra nights at your hotel at £185 per person based on standard double/twin rooms. Please call to discuss or email using our ‘Register your interest’ button below.