Day 2 Wednesday, 19th June
After taking a moment to freshening up, we shall depart for the first of our four scheduled operas. The performance is expected to last just over 3 hours. We shall then return to the hotel for a free evening to relax, enjoy the spa, check out the plush five screen cinema next door that is part of the hotel complex, go for a swim or spend the evening doing whatever else takes your fancy to do in St. Louis
Day 3 Thursday, 20th June
After breakfast on your own we will leave for the world renowned St. Louis Art Museum in nearby Forest Park. Here we shall have a private docent-led tour of the significant works in their Collection which spans more than 5,000 years of culture and genres. Lunch will be at the Museum’s Panorama Restaurant. Those wishing to return to the hotel after this can do so and transport will be arranged. Otherwise the afternoon will continue with a palpable contrast to the morning with a visit to the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum. Dinner will be a catered meal under the tent on the grounds of the Opera Theatre during which time there will be a TEDrin Talk about Verdi’s tragic opera Rigoletto – tonight’s performance |
Day 4 Friday, 21st June
Today will be spent at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. These 79 acres were originally the private gardens of Henry Shaw, an English settler who, at the age of 18 in 1819, found himself on elevated ground overlooking a prairie. “Uncultivated,” he recorded, “without trees or fences, but covered with tall luxuriant grass, undulated by the gentle breeze of spring.” It is this wilderness that he transformed and in 1860 gave to the citizens of St. Louis. In the morning we’ll enjoy a private tour and exploration of the ancient Japanese and Chinese Gardens. Lunch will be at the Sassafras Restaurant where the menu emphasis is local and seasonal. After this there will be a private tram ride through the entire gardens that will include an historical overview. Dinner tonight in a private room of family-owned Italian restaurant Café Napoli with a TEDrin Talk before another Opera excursion this time to see Fire Shut Up in My Bones.
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Day 5 Saturday, 22nd June
To complete our St. Louis experience we will take a 2-hour leisurely Arch View Lunch Cruise on the mighty Mississippi. In addition to a wonderful chef-prepared buffet of popular fare we will be entertained by a Dixieland Duo as well as an insightful narration providing information about landmarks along the way. Then back to the hotel to rest before departing for a catered dinner on the grounds of the Opera Theatre with TEDrin’s Talk and the final performance on this trip of Monteverdi’s last opera The Coronation of Poppea.
All meals, with the exception of breakfasts and Wednesday dinner, accommodations, tickets to all operas, admissions to other activities, taxes, gratuities and ground transport are included. As yet unscheduled but included, will be a Behind the Scenes opportunity to meet the performers.
This trip has been organized by Arts Connect on behalf of OperaLex.
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