Join international opera stars for a unique Opera Festival at Sea, with private concerts including Italy’s leading dramatic soprano as we sail from Venice to Valletta on a luxurious cruise as if on a private yacht, visiting the most beautiful locations in Italy, Sicily, Croatia, Montenegro and Malta: the dates are September 26 to October 3, 2025

We are thrilled to extend our World Travel and Arts Events by inviting you to join us on a unique Opera Festival at Sea event with Italy’s leading dramatic soprano, Anna Pirozzi, who is the performing guest of honour. Over eight days, sailing along the stunningly beautiful Italian and Dalmatian coasts, we shall be guests of the multi-award-winning cruise line Ponant—awarded the ‘Best Cruise Ships in the World’ title by Condé Nast Traveler Magazine in its Gold List 2023, among many accolades.

This is French luxury personified—as you would expect from this unique cruise line owned by the proprietors of Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent, Gucci , Alexander McQueen and Château Latour. If you have never cruised with Ponant before, now is the time!

This splendid voyage combines sublime music from some of opera’s most celebrated stars with the pleasures of cruising the Adriatic, Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas. Each evening the internationally renowned opera stars will perform for us the great arias from opera’s rich repertoire in a private concert. And each day we shall marvel at some of ancient civilisation’s iconic sites: explore the history, beauty and culture of Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Sicily and Malta. We shall open in Venice, visit Sicily for Mount Etna and Taormina, Croatia for Dubrovnik, Hvar and Rovinj, Montenegro for Kotor—all unmissable highlights of the Adriatic. From Italy’s Otranto, we can visit Lecce, ‘the Florence of southern Italy’, and Valletta, Malta, will be our grand finale.

The cruise is seven nights and the dates are September 26 to October 3, 2025. Our voyage will be filled with glorious music from French, Italian and German opera and we shall be meeting some of the most brilliant artists of our time. It will be a memorable, and unmissable, cruise for lovers of opera, music, the arts and ancient history. Much of the ship is already booked up, so we are thrilled to have pre-booked staterooms and suites so that our Members can experience for themselves this unique opera cruise.

Our venue for this musical odyssey at sea is the deluxe yacht L’Austral, Ponant’s state-of-the-art cruise yacht which carries only 244 guests. Elegant, comfortable and gracious, L’Austral is the perfect setting for this unparalleled travel and cultural experience. To be aboard L’Austral is like being a private guest on the megayacht of our richest, most cultured and inviting French friend. Nothing about it feels like a conventional ship, not the sleek exterior, nor the service from stewards and chefs, nor our music-loving fellow guests.

To explore one of Europe’s most beautiful and historical regions in exceptional style, while enjoying sublime music, is a great opportunity for an unforgettable voyage. For all who enjoy great opera, fine wines and gourmet food, history, culture and landscape, this will be an unmissable occasion.

Our renowned host and the celebrated opera stars will share their passion for opera and music as we sail, as well as filling the evenings with a rare quality of music which we shall experience in a close and intimate setting—only 244 fellow guests when, for comparison, the Royal Opera House seats 2,256!

Starring on our yacht will be the great Italian opera diva Anna Pirozzi, a soprano from the highest echelon of international performers. Recognised as one of the foremost exponents of Italian vocal music, she is a favourite at all the great opera houses, La Scala, the Royal Opera, the Paris Opéra, the Met and more.

Over the last decade, Anna Pirozzi has established herself as the leading Italian dramatic soprano today. Critics applaud her, calling her voice and performances ‘brilliant’, ‘thrilling’, ‘remarkably fine’, a voice ‘silvery and radiant’, ‘full-bodied and rich’ and ‘indisputably great’, with a massive stage presence. Her rapturous success includes starring on the greatest stages in the world: Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Opéra de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Teatro Real Madrid and more. She is marvellous—enough alone to fill a concert hall—and she will lead a stellar lineup of soloists, all performers at the world’s top opera houses.

Award winning soprano Mariam Battistelli will be aboard, the Italian Ethiopian who soared to fame at La Scala as Musetta in La Bohème. In England, she was hailed as ‘superb’ in Don Pasquale at Glyndebourne, and ‘outstanding’ in Mozart’s Requiem with the London Philarmonic, ‘leaving the audience with goose bumps’.

French pianist and baritone Jérôme Boutillier, who has starred with Anna Netrebko in Linz, Bucarest and at the Teatro Real in Madrid, will play as well as sing—soon after his next-season debut in Carmen at the Royal Opera House, Coven Garden.

French mezzo-soprano Eugénie Joneau will be there too, a young prize-winning singer named one of the ‘Top 10 Rising Stars’ of the 2023 season, who made her debut as Adalgisa in Norma under the baton of the famous Maestro Riccardo Muti in Milan.

Accompanying will be French pianist and conductor Antoine Palloc, a performer hailed as ‘terrific’ by Opera Today, fresh from engagements at some of the world’s renowned opera houses.

Also on board will be Radio Classique Artistic Director Alain Duault, the famous music critic, author, poet and television broadcaster. There will be time and opportunity on board to speak with all the performing artists and guests, offering opportunities to get to know them as people as well as performers.

We shall start our musical odyssey from Venice on Friday, September 26, 2025, embarking on L’Austral in late afternoon. If you wish, you are welcome to stay in Venice a day or more before the yacht sails—this is your choice, as we have some stunning hotels in this most romantic of cities. Venice is filled with beauty, art and music—and it has its own important opera house, Le Fenice. In fact Venice has reigned over its lagoon since the 6th century, its resplendent treasures a magnet for travellers of every age since: Saint Mark’s Square, the Basilica, the Doges Palace, the Grand Canal and its gondolas. Beyond all these, ‘secret’ Venice is also waiting—the narrow interlacing streets and canals, hidden squares and tiny churches, the gourmet food and wines.

As we sail from Venice on board our luxury yacht, we shall settle into our staterooms and suites and prepare for a wealth of opera and history to unfold. Our first port of call next day will be Rovinj in Istria, a charming picturesque fishing port bearing all the hallmarks of having fallen to Venice in the 1200s, including the Balbi arch winged lion, symbol of Venice. The bell-tower erected beside Saint Euphemia Cathedral was designed like the bell of Saint Mark in Venice. From the top of the tower, you can scan the entire historical district. To absorb its quaint atmosphere, take a walk in the sepia-coloured streets leading to bustling squares and terraces shaded by canvas awnings. And take a trip to the beautiful old town of Porec to discover the episcopal complex of the Euphrasian Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an experience combining history, architecture and breathtaking views. This architectural marvel blends Romanesque and Byzantine styles. The sparkle of the mosaics in the choir is a real splendour. Whatever you choose, the day will close with dinner aboard our yacht, and the prospect of an operatic concert to enjoy.

During the night we shall slip through the crystal clear seas to Hvar, the most famous and beautiful of the Adriatic islands, known for its lavender, a fragrant riot of colour. Off the coast of Split, Hvar will surprise you by its traditions which have not changed since Antiquity. The country’s oldest town, Stari Grad, is here on this Dalmatian Island. The town nestles by a cove on the north-west coast, surrounded by dry stone wall structures on the Stari Grad plains. These have been designated a Unesco World Heritage site as they were built in the time of the Ancient Greeks. From these parcels of land still come the local wines and olive oils, traditionally made by hand. As we end our visit, L’Austral awaits: we can relax, dine and enjoy another evening concert of international opera as we sail on to magical Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik juts like a silver finger into the blue sea, beneath green, cypress-clad mountains, warmed by long hours of sunshine. Beautifully restored after the war damage inflicted in the early 1990s, it is one of the most spectacular fortified cities in the world, filled with honey-coloured houses, cobbled mediaeval streets, aristocratic palazzi and Baroque churches, surrounded by that azure sea. Here in this Croatian city, without a car in sight, you really do feel as if you have stepped back in time: Dubrovnik is the Mediterranean as it used to be, and it is filled with classical music, with its own Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra.

The impressive gap between two mountain ranges is home to a veritable inland lake with a magical atmosphere; the mediaeval city of Kotor and its many historical monuments are its jewels. Kotor is indeed one of the most beautiful cities in the Balkans, its old town a maze of cobbled narrow streets, stone churches and terracotta-roofed houses, surrounded by a fortification wall and set against the backdrop of those towering mountains.

Early next morning, we shall awake to see a vision of Italy’s historic Otrante, scene of ancient fortress walls, a beautiful castle and cathedral, an historic lighthouse, crystal clear waters and sandy beaches. Inhabited since antiquity, this seaside town is filled with history, still visible as we meander along the narrow cobbled streets of its old centre. With its magnificent 12th century ornamental mosaic tiling, the cathedral is one of its most exquisite treasures. Stroll along the ramparts, sit and relax at a café . . . or take a ride to famous Lecce, the ‘Florence of the South’, considered one of the most beautiful cities in Italy.

Our destination on Sicily is this historic island’s famous resort town of Taormina, dominated by majestic Mount Etna. Europe’s highest and most active volcano, Etna was named by the Ancient Greeks ‘Pillar of Heaven’. A sight to behold, its terrible beauty awe-inspiring and with statistics at which to marvel, Etna has erupted 300 times since the first recordings 3,000 years ago. We can take a trip to the top of Mount Etna if we wish.

But the finest views of Mount Etna are from the gorgeously sited Greek Theatre in Taormina, which clings to the side of Mount Tauro. We can explore Taormina, its historic monuments and baths, and of course, for all who enjoy classical history, Teatro Antico, built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC. Our soprano Anna Pirozzi has starred in concert in this spectacular amphitheatre—she for one knows all about the acoustics!

Back on board L’Austral, we shall spend a final night at sea, with a farewell concert from our opera artists as we sail through the Ionian Sea to Malta. The sun rises to the dramatic Grand Harbour of Valletta, the finale. We shall disembark after breakfast, transferring to Valletta airport for flights to London. You can opt to stay longer in Malta if you wish. However you choose to end this cruise it will have been an operatic event to remember.

BOOK THE CRUISE AT THE VERY BEST CCUK RATES, INCLUDING FLIGHTS AND TRANSFERS

The cruise is seven nights and the dates are September 26 to October 3, 2025. Rates are per person for two sharing, including economy return flights from London and airport-ship transfers. For single supplements, please inquire.

Deluxe Stateroom Deck 3, 193 ft²: CCUK from £4,987pp. Save up to £1,063pp.

Prestige Stateroom Deck 5, 193 ft²: CCUK from £5,417pp. Save up to £1,053pp.

Prestige Stateroom Deck 6, 193 ft²: CCUK from £5,687pp. Save up to £1,103pp.

Deluxe Suite Deck 6, 290 ft²: CCUK from £8,786pp. Save up to £1,554pp.

Prestige Suite Deck 6, 398 ft²: CCUK from £9,879pp. Save up to £1,751pp.

Member Services are happy to arrange flight upgrades and different airports and airlines at cost, plus hotel nights in Venice or Valletta at Club rates, all subject to availability when booking.

Please click here to register interest in the Ponant Opera Cruise at exclusive advantageous CountryClubuk rates.

To inquire about all cruises at special Club rates, click here!

PLEASE READ: CountryClubuk Club Rules and Terms and Conditions

Check best rates and availability: inquire below



PLEASE READ: CountryClubuk Club Rules and Terms and Conditions