Aix-en-Provence Festival

A Summer ‘Bonbon’ - Aix-en-Provence Festival

Now in it’s 64th year, the internationally-renowned Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has specialised in performances of the music of Mozart from the outset, so it is appropriate that our visit includes Mozart’s opera ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, as well as a new Festival production of Charpentier’s opera ‘David et Jonathas’ (with William Christie conducting Les Arts Florissants).

An elegant 4 star hotel, with a garden terrace, an outdoor swimming pool and airconditioned rooms, is a comfortable base for our explorations on foot around the charming historic centre of Aix - we admire the distinguished 17C and 18C mansions, see the Cézanne collections of the Musée Granet and appreciate the distinctive cuisine and wines of Provence.

TRIP ITINERARY

DAY 1

D included

Departing from London by train at 9 am, we meet the tour leader at the Aix-en-Provence TGV station mid-afternoon and have a private transfer into the city by road (30 mins). Once settled into our hotel, we have an introductory stroll through the Cours Mirabeau with its aristocratic mansions, gently splashing fountains and plane tree-lined boulevards. Dinner may well feature such Provençal classic dishes as soupe au pistou (summer vegetable soup with garlic, pine nuts and basil) and lamb roasted with wild herbs over a wood fire.

DAY 2

B, L, D included

After breakfast we stroll through the heart of Viel Aix, with its gracious stone mansions built on Classical lines under the benevolent rule of Archbishop Mazarin in the 18C. After a guided visit to the Cathedral of St. Sauveur with its 4C Baptistry, Nicholas Froment’s masterpiece, the ‘Triptych of the Burning Bush’ (1475) and fine Romanesque cloisters, we have a light lunch and a free afternoon for relaxing by the pool or reading on the terrace. We reconvene for dinner before the first opera performance in the courtyard of the Archbishop’s Palace - Charpentier’s ‘David et Jonathas’.

DAY 3

B, L, D included

We set off on foot to explore one of Provence’s most important markets - a veritable assault on the senses, with stalls selling fragrant summer melons and strawberries, baskets of aromatic herbs, spit-roast chickens, pungent goat’s cheeses, a huge array of fresh fish, mounds of garlic and tubs of olives infused with sprigs of fennel - followed by lunch! After visiting the Musée Granet, the main museum of Aix (housed in a 17C former Priory) with a room devoted to works by the artist Paul Cézanne (including his ‘Still Life with Sugar-bowl’ and ‘The Bathers’), we have another relaxing afternoon before the late evening performance of Mozart’s opera ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’.

DAY 4

B included

There is time to pursue individual interest this morning - perhaps visiting the Museum of Tapestries or doing some shopping for Provençal specialities - before we have a private transfer to the TGV station to embark on the return rail journey (arriving back in London by early evening).

Opera details:

Charpentier’s ‘David et Jonathas’, premiered in 1688 at the Louis-le-Grand Jesuit College in Paris

A new production by the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Edinburgh Festival, Opera Comique, Theatre de Caen and Teatro Real Madrid, with Les Arts Florissants, sung in French.

Conductor: William Christie

Director: Andreas Homoki

David: Pascal Charbonneau, Jonathas: Ana Quintans, Saul: Neal Davis, Joabel: Kresimir Spicer, La Pythonisse: Dominique Visse, Achis: Frederic Caton

Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, premiered in 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna

A new production by the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Opera de Dijon, with Le Cercle de l’Harmonie (orchestra) and Les Arts Florissants (choir), sung in Italian.

Conductor: Jeremie Rhorer

Director: Richard Brunel

Susanna: Patricia Petibon, Figaro: Kyle Ketelsen, Cherubino: Kate Lindsey,
Conte: Paulo Szot, Contessa: Malin Bystrom, Basilio: John Graham Hall, Marcellina: Anna Maria Panzarella, Barbarina: Mari Erisksmoen, Don Curzio: Emanuele Giannino, Bartolo: Mario Luperi, Antonio: Rene Schirrer

Caveat:

The performances described are (very rarely) subject to change by the organizers. Actual activities or their order may therefore vary from those described in the itinerary. Please note that the opera venue is outdoors and in the unlikely event of adverse weather only the ticket price is reimbursed.

Tour leader:

Delia Gray-Durant

Price includes:

Travel by Eurostar/TGV from London to Aix-en-Provence & return (2nd class, note that 1st class tickets are available at an extra charge)

All accommodation for Days 1 through 4, on a twin shared basis

All meals with wine at lunches and dinners, other than those excepted in the daily notation

TGV station to hotel transfers in a private vehicle as described

All entrance and sightseeing fees except during free periods

Tickets for 2 opera performances (top category €500)

Gratuities for hotel and restaurant staff

Visa and Health Requirements

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Insurance

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If you are already insured, or a non-UK resident, please inform us of your policy at the time of booking.