Day Trips

North Carolina Museum of Art Day Trip
Venice and the Ottoman Empire

Saturday, November 9, 2024
NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Registration: $189

This ambitious, cross-cultural exhibition explores the relationship between two global superpowers, the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, over four centuries (circa 1400–1800). Through a rich body of works reflecting both Venetian and Ottoman origins, the touring exhibit documents interactions between the two rival Mediterranean states across multiple cultural arenas—political, diplomatic, economic, artistic, and technological.

The exhibit features more than 190 works in a broad range of media, drawing from the vast collections of Venice’s storied civic museums, including the Museo Correr, Palazzo Ducale, Palazzo Mocenigo, and Museo Fortuny, as well as the NCMA’s own extensive holdings of Venetian art. Highlights include paintings by Jacobello del Fiore, Vittore Carpaccio, and Gentile Bellini and luxury Venetian and Ottoman goods. The Venetian works are joined by a trove of recently salvaged objects from a major Adriatic shipwreck, the large Venetian merchant ship Gagliana Grossa that sank while traveling from Venice to Istanbul in 1583. These spectacular items have never been exhibited outside Croatia, where the wreck was discovered.

Day-trip participants will enjoy a continental breakfast at check-in, comfortable motorcoach transportation, admission to the exhibition, and a fabulous three-course gourmet meal.

Opera Carolina Day Trip
The Marriage of Figaro

Sunday, April 6, 2025
Memorial Hall, Raleigh, NC
Registration: $219

Comedic capers and uproarious antics take center stage as Mozart’s classic opera featuring a battle of the sexes and the classes returns to Raleigh Memorial Hall. Follow Figaro, the cunning confidant, and Susanna, the sly servant, as they navigate a maze of matrimonial mayhem and mischief. With hilarious hijinks and a sensational score, the “greatest opera ever written” will have you rolling in the aisles!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed The Marriage of Figaro in 1786. With its sophisticated music and multi-layered characterization, it’s a wonderful opera to enjoy today, as it encompasses universal themes of love, infidelity, forgiveness, and humor.

Day-trip participants will enjoy a continental breakfast at check-in, comfortable motorcoach transportation, premier seating, and a fabulous three-course gourmet meal.

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