The 2024 Athens Epidaurus Festival opens on June 1, with 93 productions over 85 days and the participation of 2,500 performers and creators from around the world, including a diverse program with outstanding global performers and new creators.
Events will include dance performances, concerts, performances, screenings, discussions, educational programs, publications, parties, free events, retrospectives, new collaborations, and special platforms for professionals in the performing arts.
“Our performances this year are politically orientated, in the sense that they place in front and center the challenges of living together in modern societies: the demand for democracy, justice, and inclusion, as well as the urgent need for public participation,” the Festival’s artistic director Katerina Evangelatou said.
“This theme underscores our programming, from 260 Piraeus Street to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Herodion) and the ancient theaters at Epidaurus,” she added.
The dance will be performed at the Herodion again this year after an interim of a few years, with a performance by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s group Rosas.
Performances at the theater in Athens will open and end with two opera productions by the Greek National Opera: Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ and Verdi’s ‘Traviata’, directed by Hugo de Ana and Constantine Rigos, respectively.
Greek musicians’ performances include ones by Dionyssis Savopoulos, Tania Tsanaklidou, and Mimis Plessas.
For the program in English, please follow the link here.
Festival revives one of Greece’s most ancient and revered arts—theater
One of Europe’s oldest continuously running festivals, the event revives one of Greece’s most ancient and revered arts—theater.
The festival involves performances and events that take place in important locations across the capital city of Athens but most prominently in the ancient theater of Epidaurus, which is located in the Peloponnese around two hours outside of Athens.
The ancient theater of Epidaurus was designed by Polykleitos in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows, and the large theater seats up to 14,000 people.
The theater is admired for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium to all 14,000 spectators regardless of their seating.
Some even claim that audiences can hear a pin drop or a match being struck from just about any seat in the house.
The Origins of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival
The famed theater at Epidaurus was discovered in extremely good condition by archaeologists in 1881. Since that time, the majestic site has hosted countless modern plays and events.
The first ancient drama held at the site since ancient times was Sophocles’ Electra, which was put on at the site in 1938.
The Athens and Epidaurus Festival was founded in 1955 to promote artistic and theatrical creation. The first play put on as part of the Festival was Euripides’ Hippolytus, which tells the story of Hyppolytus, the son of Theseus.
Over the years, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival has been able to host numerous notable groups and artists.
Related: The Athens and Epidaurus Festival Keeps Ancient Greek Theater Alive