Note: Participants do not leave the hotel grounds after arrival today.

Arrive To: Registration is between 3:00 - 4:45pm. Hotel check-in is at 4:00pm, room may be ready earlier.

Afternoon: At 5:00 Orientation of the week and introductions.

Dinner: Dinner will be catered in at the hotel at 6:00pm. Forms are sent out in advance to see if participants are vegetarian. We can't provide special dietary needs meals, if necessary please make your own personal arrangements if needed.

Evening: PRESENTATION: Introduction to "The Pearl Fishers."

Lodging: Holiday Inn-Lakewood Ranch

Meals Included: Dinner

Lecture by costume designer, Lunch Downtown Sarasota, See matinee performance of "The Pearl Fishers," Evening Concert of Apprentice Singers.

Note: Morning classes at hotel. Minimal walking today, participants are dropped off in front of the opera house as close as possible and picked up as close as possible.

Breakfast: An enhanced continental breakfast is available.

Morning: PRESENTATION: The assistant costume designer from the Sarasota Opera House will share trade secrets in our private room.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch on your own in Downtown Sarasota. Bus drops participants downtown and participants walk to the restaurant of their choice for lunch, many within one block of the opera house.

Afternoon: PERFORMANCE: See 1:30 matinee performance of opera "The Pearl Fishers/Bizet" at Sarasota Opera House. The Pearl Fishers is the story of two men, Nadir and Zurga, whose vow of eternal friendship is threatened by their mutual love for the same woman, the priestess Leila. This proven Sarasota Opera audience favorite features the often-performed Act I duet for tenor and baritone, Au fond du temple saint.

Evening: Dinner will be at a local restaurant.

Evening: Enjoy a 5:00pm concert of Apprentice Singers held at the opera house.

Lodging: Holiday Inn-Lakewood Ranch

Meals Included: Breakfast

Introduction to Opera,Talkback on "The Pearl Fishers," Preview of "Of Mice and Men"/OPENING NIGHT performance of "Of Mice and Men."

Note: Minimal walking today, participants are dropped off in front of the opera house as close as possible and picked up as close as possible.

Breakfast: An enhanced continental breakfast is available.

Morning: PRESENTATION: Intro to opera and its voices.

PRESENTATION: Talkback on "The Pearl Fishers"

Lunch: Lunch at hotel.

Afternoon: PRESENTATION: Preview and introduction to "Of Mice and Men."

Dinner: Dinner will be at a local restaurant.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: OPENING NIGHT! "Of Mice and Men"/CARLYLE FLOYD. Based on the novel and play by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men is the story of George Milton and Lennie Small. Struggling for work during the depression era, they dream of one day owning their own farm. When fate forces them down a different path, they must say goodbye to the bright future they had hoped for.

Lodging: Holiday Inn-Lakewood Ranch

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Talkback on "Mice and Men," Preview of "Turandot," Dinner will be on your own at St Armands Circle, Evening performance of "Turandot"

Note: Morning classes are at the hotel. Bus will drop off participants at St. Armands Circle for dinner on your own, some restaurants are close to the drop off point and some are up to a 1/2 of a mile away round trip walking. Participants are dropped off in front of the opera house as close as possible and picked up as close as possible.

Breakfast: An enhanced continental breakfast is available.

Morning: PRESENTATION: Talkback on "Mice and Men."

PRESENTATION: Preview and introduction of "Turandot."

Lunch: Socialize over lunch with your fellow students at the hotel.

Afternoon: Free afternoon

Dinner: Dinner on your own. A bus will depart for St. Armands Circle, renowned as a continental marketplace. The Circle is a charming and graceful synthesis of past and present. Relax and enjoy a meal from a plethora of award winning restaurants; shop for trinkets and treasures, high fashion and home decor; from gourmet snacks to candlelit feasts, you'll find it all on St. Armands Circle.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: "Turandot"/Puccini at 8:00pm. Set in ancient China, the opera tells the story of the beautiful princess Turandot. Men travel the world to risk their lives by trying to solve three riddles. With the correct answers, one will win the heart of the ice princess, but the wrong answer brings death. Boasting some of the Puccini's most glorious music, including the famous tenor aria Nessun Dorma, Turandot will be the largest production ever staged at Sarasota Opera.

Lodging: Holiday Inn-Lakewood Ranch

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Walk behind the scenes involves walking at a moderate pace inside the opera house. There are elevators when we visit the costume shop on the second floor. Participants are dropped off in front of the opera house as close as possible and picked up as close as possible.

Breakfast: An enhanced continental breakfast is available.

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Go behind the scenes with a local expert at the Sarasota Opera House, including the costume shop.

Lunch: A box lunch is offered on the last day to allow students who need to catch an early flight to take their lunch with them. Students who do not need to leave can enjoy their lunch in the meeting room or on the patio by the pool. Program ends after lunch.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch