WHY IT RATES: The cruises will combine extraordinary points of interest with world-class performing artists. -Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer
Ponant has announced two in-depth musical cruises for 2019 and 2020 that will be featured in its Quintessential Collection, a series of themed itineraries that delve deeply into a destination.
The seven-night "A Musical Odyssey in the Mediterranean" onboard Le Bougainville from Athens to Rome is scheduled for September 20 -27, 2019, while the nine-night "A Musical Odyssey in Northern Europe," celebrating Beethoven's 250th Birthday, onboard Le Dumont-d'Urville from Stockholm to Honfleur is scheduled for September 8 -17, 2020.
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The musical component of both cruises will be curated by Michael Parloff, former Principal Flutist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Fares start at $5,020 per person.
The intimacy of concerts onboard ships and ashore and the quality of the performing artists provide a truly unparalleled experience. Visiting extraordinary points of interest in Northern Europe and iconic sites in Greece and Italy is an extraordinary experience in itself but to do so in the company of world-class performing artists is an irresistible proposition to music lovers.
A signature of these voyages is that the artists do not simply perform and then retreat to their staterooms. They participate fully in excursions and life aboard ship. Travelers can expect to share their company over drinks or dinner and in informal conversation.
"A Musical Odyssey in the Mediterranean," September 20-27, 2019, combines some of the most compelling destinations in Greece and Italy with a series of private recitals by classical musicians as Le Bougainville sails from Classical Greece to Imperial Rome.
Potential excursions include visits to the sacred Patmos, where John the Evangelist recorded his visions of Christ; and Pompeii, the region destroyed and preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. A stop in Taormina, Sicily offers the opportunity to tour the iconic Greek Theatre and enjoy an exceptional private concert in the ancient Duomo.
Meanwhile, "An Odyssey in Northern Europe," September 8-17, 2020, will cover the rich cultural heritage of Northern Europe accompanied by world-class chamber musicians performing an all-Beethoven repertoire onboard Le Dumont-d'Urville, a new Explorer ship debuting in summer 2019.
The musical odyssey coincides with a world-wide celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth. Along the way passengers will have access to some of the best museums in the world including the acclaimed Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen and the great cultural institutions of Holland and Belgium.
Days at sea will be filled with music ranging widely across the great composer's body of work with an exciting onboard concert during the transit of the Kiel Canal and a private performance in the historic 17th-century Westerkerk in Amsterdam.
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