INTRODUCTION and ITINERARY

Perhaps nowhere else in the world can opera be seen on successive evenings in two eighteenth-century court theatres. In 2003, as in 2002, we hope to run two tours combining a performance at Drottningholm Court Theatre with one at Ulriksdal Palace.

Drottningholm is one of the most celebrated of opera houses – utterly unspoilt, retaining the original stage and machinery, and part of a layout comprising palace, gardens and park. The ornamental lake is part of a water system which connects it to the centre of Stockholm. After a short period of enlightened royal patronage, the opera house was abandoned and forgotten for over a century, until revived for the now famous summer festival. Aspiring to the highest international standards and one of the most sought-after goals of opera lovers, the small number of seats makes it difficult to get tickets for.

Confidencen, the theatre built in 1752 at Ulriksdal, is also part of a palace complex in a beautiful lakeside setting and, again like Drottningholm, a long period of neglect preceded its revival. But the festival here is of much more recent origin and as yet is little known outside Sweden.

In the eighteenth century Sweden enjoyed a period of Enlightenment which culminated in the reign of Gustav III (assassinated in 1792 at the infamous masked ball), whose appetite for the arts will provide a recurring theme for the tour. We will allow plenty of free time in Stockholm, a beautiful city built on the islands and convoluted shore where the waters of Lake Mäleren and its tributaries meet the Baltic Sea.

DAY 1: HAGA PALACE, STOCKHOLM— Stockholm—drive to the Haga Pavilion, a private retreat beautifully decorated and furnished for King Gustav III in 1788—settle into the hotel in time for an introductory talk and dinner.

DAY 2: STOCKHOLM, CONFIDENCEN—the morning is free for independent exploration of Stockholm—we recommend the Royal Palace, with its sumptuous apartments of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the National Museum of Art (European paintings) and the eclectic 20th-cent. architecture of the City Hall—afternoon opera at Confidencen: A Masked Ball (G. Verdi).

DAY 3: DROTTNINGHOLM—after a morning lecture, travel by boat from the centre of Stockholm to Drottningholm Palace, summer residence of the Swedish royal family since the 17th cent.—splendid interiors, wonderful gardens, landscaped park, exquisite Chinoiserie pavilion and theatre museum—dinner here—evening opera at Drottningholm Court Theatre: Alcina (G.F. Handel), Christophe Rousset (conductor), Pierre Audi (producer), Christine Schäfer, Anne Sofie von Otter, Patricia Bardon, Rickard Söderberg, Thomas Lander, Gaële Le Roi, Drottningholms Slottsteater's Choir and Orchestra.

DAY 4: STOCKHOLM—free morning—among many possible visits are the museum of the Wasa, the royal flagship which sank on its maiden voyage in 1628, the spectacular display of prehistoric gold artifacts at the Museum of Antiquities and the recently reopened Museum of Modern Art—end of the tour.