Ten years later, that theater is the centerpiece of their campus as they celebrate its anniversary with "Richard III," "The Winter’s Tale," and  "The Taster."     In the Elaine Bernstein Theater, "The Comedy of Errors."

More information can be found HERE.

Hampton Terrace is located walking distance from Shakespeare & Company and we enjoy a special relationship with the company, having hosted many of their equity actors over the years, including Olympia Dukakis recently.     Her assessment of her stay here?   "Three thumbs up!"

You can find classical music of some variety just about every night at Tanglewood from mid-June until late August every year.   But on any given night in the Berkshires there are thousands of visitors and second homeowners who are willing to support music at other venues up and down the county.

The Concerts at Tannery Pond is a series of six or seven chamber music evenings held in an 1834 Shaker building in New Lebanon, New York from May through October.   Established in 1991 by photographer/pianist Christian Steiner, the annual series combines music with a serene setting that would be hard to beat anywhere.

Continuing in the chamber music genre, there is the South Mountain Concert Series, held on weekends in September each year.   Located just north of Lenox, the series has been presented since 1918 and is held in a hall built that specifically for chamber music.   Performers over the years have included Leonard Bernstein, Gary Graffman, Leontyne Price and Peter Serkin, and quartets have included the Borromeo, the Emerson, The Guarneri, the Tokyo, the Julliard, the Orion and the Vermeer.

Music Mountain in Lakeville, CT is the oldest continuously running chamber music festival in the U.S.  They also feature jazz and popular artists.

Close Encounters With Music stretches the bounderies of the "season" by presenting classical music programs thematically from October through May, filling the void left by those organizations that only present during the summer.   They also provide another reason to come to Great Barrington, one of the true 12-month towns in the Berkshires.

So whether you are coming during the summer season, or looking for classical offerings in the Berkshires in the "quiet" months, make your stay perfect by choosing one of the highest rated inns in the area:  Hampton Terrace in Lenox.   One of only four recommended inns by the Michelin "Green Guide" Hampton Terrace is also ranked at the top according to guest reviews submitted to TripAdvisor.com.   Combine a stay in a romantic b&b with an evening of chamber music in historic setting.  

Over the decades, as the audiences who attended concerts at Tanglewood grew, more and more of these great estates and historic "cottages" were able to be put back into service:   Cranwell, Wheatleigh, Blantyre…and even Hampton Terrace, one of the original "Berkshire Cottages."   In fact, most of the Lenox inns are the former second homes of the turn-of-the-century’s rich and famous.   Tanglewood itself, one mile down the hill from Lenox town center, consists of multiple performance venues inhabiting a most embracing rural setting.   Lenonard Bernstein, a alum of the affiliated Tanglewood Institute always proclaimed that the Tanglewood property, and the Berkshires in general, had captured his soul.

Tanglewood has become somewhat a creature of habit, with certain shows at certain times becoming "expected."   The Mark Morris Dance Group opens the schedule each year with new works choreographed to classical music.   For the ninth year, Garrison Keillor is broadcasting "Prairie Home Companion" from the Tanglewood Shed.   July 4th always showcases a popular music artist with fireworks.   This year, it is Lenox resident James Taylor.   He does at least one show every summer and occasionally it coincides with the holiday.   The BSO itself appears the weekend after July 4th and it performs every Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons.   Although new Tanglewood performers appear every year, you can expect at some point each summer to see Yo-Yo Ma (who has a home in the Berkshires), Renee Fleming, Andre Previn, Peter Serkin, Midori, Garrick Olhsson, Joshua Bell, Emanuel Ax, Pinchas Zukerman, and Itzhak Perlman, as well as several internationally famous conductors who come in each summer to relieve James Levine, now in his 4th year.  John Williams used to conduct multiple concerts each summer but these days, at the least, he conducts one of the most well-attended shows of each summer:  John Williams Movie Night.   Also, Tanglewood on Parade annually showcases the TMC Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the BSO.   This annual must-see always ends in the 1812 Overture with real Civil War cannons and fireworks.   The Boston Pops, with Keith Lockhard does at least two shows each summer as well, usually mid-week.   The final BSO show of each summer is usually Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.   And then Labor Day Weekend is the annual Tanglewood Jazz Festival.  

Many people assume Tanglewood is only worth visiting on the weekends…but in fact, there is something going on virtually every night of the week.    If you want to combine a romantic getaway in a Lenox bed and breakfast, consider a mid-week show at Tanglewood and a stay at Hampton Terrace, one of the best reviewed b&bs in the Berkshires.   Save 30% per night mid-week.   Avoid the lines in the shops and restaurants.   A no lose proposition in a history Berkshires bed and breakfast.