Athens – Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events.

History

It was founded in 1955 with actions of

Georgios Rallis Georgios Ioannou Rallis ( el, Γεώργιος Ιωάννου Ράλλης; 26 December 1918 – 15 March 2006), anglicised to George Rallis, was a Greek conservative politician and the 2nd Prime Minister of Greece from 1980 to 198 Ancestors in ...

(then Minister to the Prime Minister). Its purpose was to promote the artistic and theatrical creation. The director Dinos Giannopoulos undertook the organization of the first Athens Festival, on commission by then-Minister of Culture. Today, the festival is organised by the "Hellenic Festival S.A." company. Between 2016-2019, Vangelis Theodoropoulos is serving as the artistic director following the resignation of Jan Fabre. Since 2019, Katerina Evangelitos has been the festival's Artistic Director.

Notable moments

Over the years, the Athens Festival has been able to host numerous notable groups and artists.^,Giorgos Sarigannis. ''Athens Festival '95'' (performance program), pp. 9–33, 1995. * 1955: the first year of the Festival,

Dimitris Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

play

Nikos Skalkottas Nikos Skalkottas ( el, Νίκος Σκαλκώτας; 21 March 1904 – 19 September 1949) was a Greek composer of 20th-century classical music. A member of the Second Viennese School, he drew his influences from both the classical reper ...

' ''36 Greek dances''. * 1958: The Athens Philharmonic Orchestra with

Gina Bachauer Gina Bachauer (Greek: Τζίνα Μπαχάουερ; May 21, 1910, AthensAugust 22, 1976, Athens), was a Greek classical pianist who toured extensively in the United States and Europe. Interested in piano at a young age, Bachauer graduated from t ...

. * 1959: The

directed by Leonard Bernstein. * 1961: Maria Callas performs ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy *Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Lazi ...

'' by

Vincenzo Bellini Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Sicilian opera composer, who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania". Many years later, in 1898, Gius ...

and ''

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille in 1635. Summary The heroine of the play is the sorceress Médée. After Médée gives Jason twin boys, Jason leaves her for Creusa. Médée ...

'' by Luigi Cherubini. * 1961: The Royal Ballet (Covent Garden) with

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

. * 1962: The

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

directed by

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

. * 1963: The

Ballet of the 20th Century Ballet of the 20th Century (french: Ballet du XXme Siècle), was a ballet and contemporary dance company in Brussels, Belgium in 1960, by the French/Swiss choreographer Maurice Béjart. For many years it was the official dance company of the Théât ...

under

Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French-born dancer, choreographer and opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, talking vast th ...

. * 1963: Ballet performance with

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

and Margot Fonteyn. * 1967: The Los Angeles Philharmonic directed by

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

. * 1976:

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...

recital. * 1979: The

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...

. * 1981: The

Vienna Opera Ball The Vienna Opera Ball (German: ''Wiener Opernball'') is an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria on the Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday (a religious holiday). Together wit ...

with Rudolf Nureyev. * 1982:

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

' ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end o ...

'', on Epidaurus, under the direction of Peter Hall. * 1982: The Karlsruhe symphony orchestra with

Dimitris Sgouros Dimitris Sgouros ( el, Δημήτρης Σγούρος; born 30 August 1969) is a Greek classical pianist.Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

. * 1984: The Ballet National de Marseille under

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

. * 1984: The Zurich Opera with Agnes Baltsa and José Carreras. * 1985: The Royal Opera (Covent Garden). * 1985: The National Symphony Orchestra (Washington) under Mstislav Rostropovich. * 1988: The New York Philharmonic directed by Zubin Mehta. * 1989:

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; el, Μάνος Χατζιδάκις; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek composers and one of the most ...

with

Nana Mouskouri Ioanna "Nana" Mouskouri ( el, Ιωάννα "Νάνα" Μούσχουρη ) (born 13 October 1934) is a Greek singer. Over the span of her career, she has released over 200 albums in at least twelve languages, including Greek, French, English, Germ ...

* 1989: The

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

. * 1990: The

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (russian: Симфонический оркестр Санкт-Петербургской филармонии, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a Russian orchestra based ...

under

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...

. * 1991: Luciano Pavarotti recital at

Odeon of Herodes Atticus The Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Greek: Ωδείο Ηρώδου του Αττικού; also called Herodeion or Herodion; Greek: Ηρώδειο) is a stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. Th ...

. * 1992:

Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...

recital. * 1993: The

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

directed by

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

. * 1993: José Carreras recital at

and the

Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern ...

Venues

Athens Concert Hall The Athens Concert Hall (Greek: Μέγαρον Μουσικής Αθηνών, ''Mégaron Mousikis Athinon'') is a concert hall located on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue in Athens, Greece. The Hall was inaugurated in 1991 with two halls. Since then it ...

*" Technopolis",

Gazi A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...

*"Peiraios 260" *"THEATRON", Cultural Center " Hellenic Cosmos" *"Bios" *

Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the ...

Pireos Street Peiraios Street ( el, Οδός Πειραιώς, ''Odos Peiraios'', "Piraeus Street") is a main road in Athens, Greece linking the center of the city with the port of Piraeus. It is part of the system of national roads, as number 56 ( el, Εθνι ...

Annexe *"Scholeion Theatre",

Moschato Moschato ( el, Μοσχάτο) is a suburb in the southwestern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Moschato-Tavros, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Geograph ...

Epidaurus Ancient Theatre The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is a theatre in the Greek city of Epidaurus, located on the southeast end of the sanctuary dedicated to the ancient Greek God of medicine, Asclepius. It is built on the west side of Cynortion Mountain, near modern ...

*Ancient Epidaurus Little Theatre

References

External links

Official website of Athens & Epidaurus Festival

Festival description
by allaboutfestivals.gr/en/ Festivals in Greece Festivals established in 1955 Theatre in Greece Tourist attractions in Athens Tourist attractions in Peloponnese (region)

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

1955 establishments in Greece {{festival-stub