Opera Extravaganza: The Santa Fe Opera Festival Season

Activity note: Check-in available from 3:00 p.m.

Afternoon: Program Registration 3:00-5:00 p.m.: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, to get your welcome packet containing your up-to-date schedule and other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet at the front desk when you check in. Orientation 5:00 p.m.: The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, discuss safety guidelines, emergency procedures, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions you may have. Transportation for program-related activities will be via motorcoach unless specified otherwise. Free time is reserved for your personal independent exploration. Please be aware that program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Participants will be assigned to one of two groups. If you are traveling with someone and wish to be grouped with them, PLEASE BE SURE TO IDENTIFY EACH OTHER ON YOUR PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FORM. You will not be able to change groups after arriving at the program. The opera has asked us to advise our participants that they will NOT be allowed to exchange tickets at the box office. After receiving your ticket, you may trade seats with other participants in the program, but you may not make exchanges through the box office. Our seats at the opera are assigned by the box office; we cannot provide advance information on seat locations. If you need a particular seat location, please note this under "Anything else you'd like us to know?" in your PIF no later than three weeks before the program starts; we'll try to accommodate the request DEPENDING ON AVAILABILITY.

Dinner: Buffet at 6:30 p.m. in hotel meeting room; selections usually include a choice of entrées and coffee, tea or water.

Evening: At leisure. Take the rest of the evening to continue getting to know your fellow participants, relax, and get a good night’s sleep for the full day ahead.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach; traveling approximately 15 miles for 1/2 hour driving to/from the opera house; walking up to a mile including several hundred feet to/from opera house; negotiating stairs to/from seats at the opera; varied terrain. This program takes place at an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, so all physical activity, including walking and climbing stairs, will be more challenging than at sea level.

Breakfast: The hotel's breakfast buffet includes choices such as scrambled eggs, sausage, Belgian waffles, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, bagels, pastries, juices, hot and cold cereals, toast, juice, milk, coffee, tea.

Morning: At 9:30 a.m. we'll be joined by our expert instructor who will lead a discussion about tonight's opera. The instructor is one of our most popular and has been praised by participants as knowledgeable, funny and "FANTASTIC!"

Lunch: At a local restaurant, enjoy choice of entrées, coffee, tea, soft drinks, water; additional beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Our Group Leader will lead us on an exploration of Santa Fe's Plaza area, the historic heart of the city. We'll visit the impressive Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the lovely Loretto Chapel with its intriguing spiral staircase, and other sites as time permits. We'll return to the hotel with time to freshen up and relax before dinner. (Please note that the exploration of the Plaza area involves walking several blocks over paved, often uneven terrain with inclines. If you are unable to walk, you'll need to arrange for your own transportation via Uber, Lyft or pedi-cab.)

Dinner: Hotel buffet.

Evening: As we will before each performance, we'll board our motorcoach and depart from the hotel at 7:15 p.m. for tonight's performance of "TBA." We expect to return to the hotel at approximately 12:00 a.m.

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach; traveling approximately 30 miles for an hour driving to/from the opera house; walking up to a mile including several hundred feet to/from opera house; negotiating stairs to/from seats at the opera; varied terrain. The backstage visit involves walking uphill and several flights of stairs.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: Oliver Prezant will discuss tonight's opera. Following the lecture we'll board our motorcoach and travel to our lunch destination.

Lunch: Plated meal from a limited menu at a popular local restaurant includes selection of entrées, coffee, tea, soft drinks; additional beverages available for purchase.

Afternoon: Next, we’ll ride to the Santa Fe Opera House for a docent-led backstage exploration. As we go “behind-the-scenes," and see the production areas, we'll gain a better understanding of all of the parts and processes involved in producing the beautiful performances we'll see this week. We’ll return to the hotel for some down time before dinner.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost so that you can enjoy what you wish or sample the local fare. Santa Fe is known for the breadth and depth of its culinary offerings. Not to be confused with "Tex-Mex," New Mexican cuisine is a fusion of Native American and Spanish influences. There are a number of fine restaurants within walking distance of the Santa Fe Plaza. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions and directions. (Advance reservations recommended.)

Evening: Depart at 7:15 p.m. for tonight's performance of "TBA." We expect to return to the hotel at approximately 12:00 a.m. (Please note that getting to and from your seats at the opera house requires walking several-hundred feet and negotiating stairs without handrails.)

Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach; traveling approximately 15 miles for 1/2 hour driving to/from the opera house; walking up to a mile including several hundred feet to/from opera house; negotiating stairs to/from seats at the opera; varied terrain.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: This morning's class focuses on the opera for this evening.

Lunch: On your own.

Afternoon: At leisure. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of "Free Time Opportunities" included in the pre-program Information Packet that you'll receive 6 weeks before the program starts. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Dinner: On your own. (Advance reservations recommended.)

Evening: Depart at 7:15 p.m. for tonight's performance of "TBA" We expect to return to the hotel at approximately 12:00 a.m.

Activity note: Getting on/off coach; walking from several hundred feet up to a mile over paved and unpaved terrain; walking several hundred feet to/from opera house; negotiating stairs to/from seats at the opera.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll be joined by our instructor for a class on tonight's opera.

Lunch: At the hotel.

Afternoon: After lunch we'll board our coach and depart for SITE Santa Fe for a docent-led exploration of the exhibits. SITE Santa Fe which opened in 1995, has been committed to contemporary art, encouraging artistic exploration, and expanding traditional museum experiences. SITE’s year-round schedule of exhibitions serves as a platform to give independent curators the freedom to present unique international exhibitions within the context of the museum that incorporate site-specific projects that may otherwise be difficult to execute in larger institutions.

Dinner: Hotel buffet.

Evening: Depart at 7:15 p.m. for tonight's performance of "TBA" We expect to return to the hotel by approximately 12:00 a.m.

Activity note: Getting on/off coach; driving approximately 50 miles for over an hour over the course of the day; walking and standing for up to two hours at museums; walking several hundred feet to/from opera house; negotiating stairs to/from seats at the opera.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: We’ll learn about tonight's opera. We'll then board our motorcoach and depart for our lunch destination.

Lunch: Plated meal at a selected restaurant.

Afternoon: An “extracurricular” field trip takes us to Museum Hill for self-directed visits to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the Museum of Interntional Folk Art. The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture offers a huge collection of pottery, basketry, rugs, jewelry and artifacts, mostly from tribes of the southwest region. The exhibits are beautifully displayed and documented. The Museum of International Folk Art's holdings constitute the largest collection of international folk art in the world, including wings featuring some of the 106,000 pieces donated by collectors Alexander and Susan Girard and Lloyd Cotsen's Neutrogena collection. Returning to the hotel, we’ll have some time to freshen up and relax before dinner. Given our late return from the opera, you might like to go ahead and prepare for departure after breakfast in the morning.

Dinner: Hotel buffet.

Evening: Depart at 7:15 p.m. for tonight's performance of "TBA" We expect to return to the hotel at approximately 12:00 a.m.

Activity note: Walking over the course of the day.

Breakfast: Hotel buffet.

Morning: This morning our instructor will present a final wrap-up of last night's opera.

Lunch: On your own.

Afternoon: At leisure.

Dinner: Final dinner at the hotel.

Evening: Program closing.

Activity note: Hotel checkout is 11:00 a.m.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Please be sure to check out of the hotel no later than 11:00 a.m. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!