The province of Emilia-Romagna stradles the Po Valley and is fondly referred to as the 'bread basket' of Italy. Whilst the capital is Bologna, the food & music epicentre is Parma and each October this elegant city plays host to theVerdi Festival.
Parma is just a short distance from the small town of Busseto where Giuseppe Verdi was born (and where Carlo Bergonzi lived and had a restaurant for many years after retiring from the operatic stage) and within an hour or so of the historic cities of Mantua & Cremona.
Each year the city holds a festival dedicated to the music of Verdi with performances taking place in the classic Teatro Regio di Parma as well as the ‘piccolo’ 300 seat opera house Teatro Verdi in Busseto. The city is also home to the beautifully restored 17th century wooden baroque masterpiece Teatro Farnese.
Ticket allocations - We have received a ticket allocation of 30 seats for each of the performances. For the I Due Foscari and Nabucco (both at the beautiful Teatro Regio in Parma) we have top price stall seats. For the performance of Aida in Busseto we have secured 15 stalls tickets and currently a further 15 centre box seats.
The performance of Luisa Miller on the 19th takes place at the St. Francesco del Prato Church and is an optional performance (at additional cost).
We will stay at the excellent 4* Hotel du Parc in Parma on a bed & breakfast basis. As well as getting to know Parma itself, the day to day sightseeing will include visits to Verdi's home in Busseto; a visit to Cremona, the hometown of Stradivari (and 21st century luthiers) and the renaissance gem of Mantua. Our included meals will also focus on the superb gastronomy of the region.
We will fly from Manchester to Bologna on Ryanair (reserved forward seating and 20kg baggage allowance). Flight times and day to day outline programme are as follows:
Wednesday 16th October Manchester – Bologna 1050 – 1415 transfer to Parma (approx 1 hour) and welcome dinner
Thursday 17th October - full day of sightseeing to get to know Parma with lunch included, this evening our first performance at the Teatro Regio – I due Foscari with prosecco and light antipasti supper at the theatre.
Friday 18th October - morning free – afternoon visit to Verdi’s birthplace and home in Busseto, pre-performance dinner and performance of Aida this evening. [PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY HAVE BOX SEATS REMAINING FOR THIS PERFORMANCE - NOTE 6th March]
Saturday 19th October - After breakfast this morning we head to Cremona with a visit to this interesting Renaissance city and the Stradivari Museum before continuing on to exquisite Mantua where we spend the afternoon. We return to Parma by 6pm where the evening is free or you can add an additional performance of Luisa Miller
Sunday 20th October - This morning is free and at lunchtime we enjoy a typically Italian Mezzogiorno in Musica at noon and 330pm performance of Nabucco at the Teatro Regio followed by farewell dinner.
Monday 21st October - depart after breakfast and fly: Bologna – Manchester 1210 – 1340
For our guests from the South we can offer British Airways from Heathrow to Bologna or Easyjet from Gatwick (Milan Linate is closed during this period). The details are:
Heathrow – Bologna 0800 – 1110 Bologna - Heathrow 1205 – 1325
Gatwick – Bologna 0710 – 1020 Bologna - Gatwick 1505 – 1615
During our stay we will include three dinners, one supper and one lunch (all with wine of course) and a full programme of sightseeing.
The deposit is £950 which includes the full ticket subscription (as this has to be paid immediately). If you wish to add the performance of Luisa Miller please add an additional £190.
