Everything You Need To Know About The Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2019
- by XpatAthens
- Thursday, 21 March 2019
With a history that spans more than sixty years, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival combines an impressive line-up of music, theatre, and dance performances. This summer, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival will be hosting a wide array of renowned Greek and international performers.
Among the headline acts are Chinese pianist, Yuja Wang, the British rock band Jethro Tull, and Yo-Yo Ma the greatest solo cellist in the world. A production of Oedipus based on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, by acclaimed American theater director Robert Wilson, will be held at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus on 21 & 22 June. The Greek National Opera will present Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma in June and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in July.
Among the headline acts are Chinese pianist, Yuja Wang, the British rock band Jethro Tull, and Yo-Yo Ma the greatest solo cellist in the world. A production of Oedipus based on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, by acclaimed American theater director Robert Wilson, will be held at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus on 21 & 22 June. The Greek National Opera will present Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma in June and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in July.
What is the Athens & Epidaurus Festival?
The Athens & Epidaurus Festival is Greece’s leading cultural event and one of the oldest performing arts festivals in Europe (1955). Each year, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival presents performances from acclaimed artists in theatre, dance, and music and attracts large audiences from around the world.
The festival takes place annually in the months of June, July, and August. More specifically, the Athens Festival performances are held between June 1st and mid to late July while the Epidaurus performances are held every Friday and Saturday, from early July to mid-August.
In Athens the festival is held at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Peiraios 260, and Opening to the City. In Epidaurus it takes place at Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus and the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus. Site-specific performances are presented in various neighbourhoods of Athens and Piraeus, including outdoor spaces and archaeological sites, thus expanding the Festival’s scope and audience and encouraging spectators’ active engagement.