Fodor's Expert Review Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

Every July, you can see world-class productions in the courtyard of the Palais de l'Archevêché during one of Europe's most important opera festivals. The repertoire is varied and often offbeat, featuring works like Britten's Curlew River and Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle as well as the usual Mozart, Puccini, and Verdi. Most of the singers are not celebrities but rather elite students who spend the summer with the Académie Européenne de Musique, training and performing under the tutelage of stars like Robert Tear and Yo-Yo Ma. Buy tickets online beginning in January.