The “Opera Triangle” of Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona has been undergoing a recent resurgency, influenced by Gérard Mortier’s appointment as Artistic Director of Madrid’s Teatro Real, the intelligent programing at Valencia’s exciting Palau des les Arts Reina Sofía and the consistently top-quality performance standard espoused by Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. We are indeed fortunate to be able to offer an intriguing combination of operatic works at these three centers within a compact time period at the start of Spain’s beautiful springtime. Desirée will include opera talks and overviews of the musical program throughout the week.

I due Figaro (The Two Figaros) was composed by Italian Saverio Mercadante of the Scuola Napletana in 1826 while Music Director at the Spanish Royal Opera and, for political reasons, premiered 8 years later at Madrid’s Teatro Principe. Unperformed for the next 176 years, Maestro Riccardo Muti brings the opera back to the Teatro Real with a production by Emilio Sagi that was warmly received at the 2011 Salzburg Whitsun Festival.

In Madrid we will also attend a concert or ballet performance (to be confirmed). Valencia’s opera is becoming a reference point in terms of performance quality and we will attend Nicola Raab’s staging of Massenet’s romantic opera Thaïs, with the exceptional cast of Plácido Domingo as the monk Athanaël (baritone), Malin Byström (The Met’s Marguerite in Faust) as Thaïs and Celso Albelo as Nicias. Patrick Fournillier conducts. Tosca, directed by Jean- Louis Grinda will be conducted by Plácido Domingo, with Ukrainian Oksana Dyka in the title role and Marcelo Álvarez as Cavaradossi. Scarpia is interpreted by Marco Vratogna.

The final operas will be at Barcelona’s beautiful Gran Teatre del Liceu and showcase two one-act works by Alexander Zemlinsky, A Florentine Tragedy and The Dwarf (The Infanta’s Birthday), directed by Andreas Homoki. The cast, led by Maestro Marc Albrecht, is exceptional and includes Canadian soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, German tenor Klaus Florian Vogt and American bass-baritone Greer Grimsley. While in Barcelona we will also attend a concert at the wonderful Palau de Música Catalana, sure to be another highlight of the trip.

The musical program is both rich and varied and Spain also offers bountiful cultural, historic and culinary diversions, of interest to frequent or infrequent visitors alike. In Madrid there will be time to explore the city center and the fabulous trio of art museums (Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía), steps away from our hotel. As an option take an excursion to San Lorenzo de El Escorial to tour the famed Monastery, with its Basilica, Library and Mausoleum, resting place of most of the monarchs since Carlos I. Valencia has an attractive Old City, an impressive Museum of Fine Arts and a spectacular City of Arts and Sciences, mostly the work of the renowned architect Santiago Calatrava. Barcelona boasts myriad attractions, including Gaudí’s La Pedrera and his ongoing masterpiece, the amazing Temple of La Sagrada Família, the Museo Picasso and the Palau de la Música Catalana, among many others. Our hotel is perfectly located on La Rambla, undoubtedly the city’s most famous street.

Wednesday March 28
Arrival at Madrid-Barajas airport and transfer to the Hotel Villa Real. Relax after the flight and, in the early evening meet Desirée for a welcome dinner.

Thursday March 29
A morning guided city tour with private guide and driver will introduce us to the city of the Habsburgs and Bourbons, through Los Austrias and Centro with its Plaza Mayor and Palacio Royal and we will see the Teatro Real at the Plaza de Oriente, among other sights. Following lunch, there is personal time to explore the immediate neighborhood around the hotel and perhaps visit one of the major art museums. In the evening we will attend either a ballet performance at the nearby Teatro de la Zarzuela (where Plácido Domingo started his career) or attend a concert at the Auditorio Nacional de Música.

Friday March 30
Independent sightseeing and museum visits or the opportunity to take the optional excursion out of the city to El Escorial. In the evening we transfer to the Teatro Real, where we will dine in the house’s elegant restaurant with its star-studded ceiling and enjoy the performance of I due Figaro (Cassi, Karayavuz, Stroppa, Feola; Muti).

Saturday March 31
Morning transfer to the Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace in Valencia, arriving in time for lunch. Afternoon for relaxation and personal time in the historic city center. Evening at the Palau des les Arts and Thaïs (Domingo, Byström, Albelo; Fournillier). Post-performance no-host dining.

Sunday April 1
Morning guided sightseeing in the city with its splendid Cathedral and Capilla del Santo (site of the purported Holy Grail) and the impressive Museo de Bellas Artes, and then visit the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences. Afternoon at leisure. Return in the evening to the Palau des les Arts for dining and performance of Tosca (Dyka, Álvarez, Vratogna; Domingo).

Monday April 2
Transfer to Barcelona and the Hotel 1898, arriving in time for lunch. The afternoon is at leisure for individual exploration of La Rambla and surrounding district. In the evening we visit another of the city’s major attractions, the eclectic Palau Música Catalana, a celebration of Catalan culture. The Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and Coro will performance Carl Orff’s cantata Carmina Burana and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Tuesday April 3
Guided morning sightseeing will concentrate on the area of the city known as the Eixample (Extension) that was created by the progressive Catalan urban planner Ildefons Cerdà in the mid-19th century and houses many of the Modernista architectural creations, best exemplified by the architect Antoni Gaudí. The rest of the day is free.

Wednesday April 4
The morning is independent to complete personal sightseeing priorities and we meet in the afternoon for a leisurely farewell lunch with typical Catalan cuisine. The musical high point of the time in Barcelona comes this evening as we walk to the Gran Teatre del Liceu for the performance of A Florentine Tragedy and The Dwarf. We gather back at the hotel for a celebratory toast to the end of a most enjoyable time in Spain.

The three 4/5-star hotels have been selected for comfort and central location to facilitate independent activities, dining and sightseeing. In Madrid, the Villa Real is located at Plaza de las Cortes, a short walk from the three major art museums and close to many restaurants. The Valencia choice is the Ayre Hotel Astoria Palace, in the center of the Old City on Plaza Rodrigo Botet and in Barcelona the stylish Hotel 1898 is just a block from the Gran Teatre de Liceu. Nearby on La Rambla is Mercat de la Boqueria, one of Europe’s finest food markets where one may eat, take out or simply enjoy the culinary delights.