March 6, 2008 Amherst, Massachusetts – 88.5FM WFCR, NPR News and Music for Western
New England, and 640AM WNNZ, WFCR’s AM Broadcast Station will offer its third tour to the
Santa Fe Opera and surrounding parts of New Mexico, as part of its travel program on August 10-
14, 2008. The tour, produced for WFCR by Ellen Gill, CTC and Tours of Distinction in East
Windsor, CT, will be hosted by WFCR Music Host John Montanari.
The WFCR travelers will see fully-staged productions of Verdi’s “Falstaff” and Mozart’s “The
Marriage of Figaro” at the acclaimed Santa Fe Opera, attend a performance of popular opera
scenes performed by members of the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program, and go behind-thescenes
at the Santa Fe Opera facilities to visit costume and scene shops and meet with resident
designers and singers with the Company.
Tour highlights include: comprehensive sightseeing in Santa Fe, the capital and cultural center of
New Mexico and Albuquerque, the state’s largest city; a visit to the Acoma Pueblo, also known as
Sky City on the Acoma Indian Reservation, a village on a sandstone mesa which is the oldest
continuously inhabited village in the US; and a sunset ride to the summit of Sandia Peak on the
world’s longest passenger aerial tramway.
The tour includes round-trip air from Hartford/Springfield, all local transportation, deluxe
accommodations at La Fonda, breakfasts and dinners, plus admissions to museums, parks, and
attractions, and tickets to the two operas at Santa Fe Opera and one apprentice concert. A portion of the price includes a tax-deductible contribution to WFCR.
Tour prices for WFCR’s 2008 Santa Fe Opera Tour are $3,499.00 per person, double occupancy
if booked before March 15, 2008 (and $3,799.00 per person, double occupancy after March 15,
2008). Single supplement is: $600.00 Airline fuel surcharges and governmental fees are extra.
Travelers can also purchase a land-only package.
For a complete itinerary and registration forms, call WFCR at 413-545-3372 or email
Christopher Daly at csdaly@nepr.net.
WFCR’s Travel Program has offered over 26 international and domestic travel programs
since 1998, including: tours to cultural capitals of Prague, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris, Edinburgh,
Santa Fe and St. Petersburg; natural history tours to Galapagos, Costa Rica, Iceland, and
Barbados; jazz festival tours to France, Spain and Denmark, and cross-cultural programs to
Cuba, Japan, Italy, Vietnam, and Australia.