Athens – Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece.
It is held every year during the summer months (Fridays and Saturdays in July and August), in part in the ancient theatre of Epidaurus, on the archaeological site of the Asclepion.[1] The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events. They include performances of tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, as well as surviving comedies by Aristophanes; some performances consist simply of revivals of ancient myths or contemporary plays written on the basis of ancient dramas.
History
Epidaurus Festival
The Epidaurus Festival (Greek: Φεστιβάλ Επιδαύρου), also known as the Epidávria (Greek: Επιδαύρια), takes place in the ancient theatre of Epidaurus, which has a capacity of 10,000 and is renowned for its special acoustics.[2][3] It was founded in 1955, at the same time as the Athens Festival, thanks to the efforts of the then Minister of the Presidency and future Prime Minister, Georgios Rallis.[1] During its first years of existence, the Hellenic Tourism Organisation was responsible for managing the Epidaurus Festival as well as the Athens Festival.[4]
Alongside the Epidaurus Festival, performances (initially solely musical and later theatrical) take place at the Theatre of Palaia Epidavros. The institution was launched on an experimental basis in 1995 with the "Musical July" (Greek: Μουσικός Ιούλιος) and met with great success, leading to its becoming a permanent fixture, and integrated with the Athens-Epidaurus Festival.[20][21]
Athens
The director Dinos Giannopoulos undertook the organization of the first Athens Festival, on commission by then-Minister of Culture.[22]
Athens Epidaurus
Today, the joint festival is organised by the "Hellenic Festival S.A." company.[23] Between 2016 and 2019, Vangelis Theodoropoulos served as the artistic director following the resignation of Jan Fabre.[24][25] 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.[26],[27]
^ abc"Φεστιβάλ Επιδαύρου" [Epidaurus Festival]. hellenicfestival.gr (in Greek). Helenic Festival. 2006-09-03. Archived from the original on 2006-09-03. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
^Kakouriotis, Spyros (2016). "Αδύναμη και αδύνατη συνέχεια: Η Μεταπολίτευση στο Εθνικό Θέατρο". In Karamanolákis, V.; Nikolakópoulos, I.; Sakellarópoulos, T. (eds.). Η Μεταπολίτευση '74-75. Στιγμές μιας μετάβασης [A weak and impossible continuity: Metapolitefsi in the National Theatre] (in Greek). Athens: Themelio Publishing. p. 220-222.
^"Φεστιβάλ Μικρού Θεάτρου Αρχαίας Επιδαύρου" [Festival of the Little Theatre of Palaia Epidavros]. hellenicfestival.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Festival S. A. 2006-06-17. Archived from the original on 2006-06-17. Retrieved 2024-03-05.