The Athens and Epidaurus Festival is the city’s annual arts festival and a highlight of the Greek summer calendar. With a legacy that spans more than sixty years, today it incorporates a full programme of music, theatre, dance and visual arts. Performances at the two ancient theatres of the Odeon Herodes Atticus and the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus are highlights of the festival. Both are famous for their exemplary acoustics and many of the great works of classical playwrights, such as Sophocles, premiered at the Epidaurus Theatre in ancient times.
Dimitri Platanias performing an aria for the Greek National Opera will appear in Tosca at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Photograph: courtesy of GNO
The 2022 festival reopens to live audiences, with performances by international musicians Patti Smith, Diane Krall, French Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf and award-winning composer Max Richter at the landmark stage of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus beneath the Acropolis.
Audiences can also expect performances by the Greek National Opera, George Dalaras and Maria Farantouri among others.
At the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, eight productions will be performed two days a week from June to August, featuring plays from the ancient playwrights Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.
** The Festival Producers wish to remind all patrons that due to the unprecedented times we are experiencing due to the global health crisis, performance dates may be subject to change should the need arise **
ODEON OF HERODES ATTICUS
The spectacular open-air theatre of Odeon Herodes Atticus provides a magical setting at the base of the Acropolis. It has hosted legendary performances by Frank Sinatra, Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti to name a few.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus during the Athens & Epidaurus Festival. Photo: Athens Festival/T.Daskalakis
If you’re lucky enough to be visiting Athens during the Festival, be sure to attend at least one performance at any of these ancient theatres for a truly unforgettable, once in a lifetime experience.
JUNE 2022
PERFORMANCES AT THE ODEON HERODES ATTICUS
(Note that not all theatrical performances will have English subtitles this season. If subtitles are included, they will be specified on the ticketing page)
2, 5, 8, 11 June | Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi – Greek National Opera – Tickets Available Here
14 June | Works by Bach, Schütz, Schein – Εnglish Baroque Soloists – Monteverdi Choir – John Eliot Gardiner – Tickets available here
16 June | Dimitris Papadimitriou – Greek Music – Tickets available here
18 June | George Dalaras – A Tribute to Apostolos Kaldaras featuring Estoudiantina Neas Ionias – Tickets available here
22 June | Jan Garbarek Jazz Group – featuring Trilok Gurtu – Tickets available here
24 June | Works by Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov – Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra – Tickets available here
25 June | Patti Smith Live at the Acropolis – Tickets available here
26 June | Works by Rossini, Beethoven, Dvořák – Filarmonica della Scala – Myung-Whun Chung – Tickets available here
28 June | Ibrahim Maalouf – Tickets available here
29 June | Max Richter – Tickets available here
30 June | Diane Krall Live at the Acropolis – Tickets available here
JULY 2022
2 July | Works by Evangelatos, Dvořák, Rachmaninoff – Athens State Orchestra – Tickets available here
4 July | Tribute to Mikis Theodorakis – Maria Farantouri – Tickets available here
5 July | Autechre – Electronica – Tickets available here
6 July | Leonidas Kavakos – Tickets available here
8 July | Nikos Portokaloglou – 40 Years – Tickets available here
10 July | Laurie Anderson Live at the Acropolis – Tickets available here
11 July | 40 Years of Labyrinth – Ross Daly – Tickets available here
12 July | Tomorrow Comes the Harvest – Jeff Mills – Tickets available here
15 July | Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Tickets available here
16 July | Moderat – Electronica – Tickets available here
18 July | Manos Hadjidakis ‘Gioconda’s Smile – The Birds‘ by theAthens State Orchestra – Tickets available here
28-31 July | Tosca by Giacomo Pucicni – Greek National Opera – Tickets available here
SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2022
Dates for September and October 2022 will be announced around July 2022
ANCIENT THEATRE OF EPIDAURUS
A twilight performance by the National Theatre of Greece during the Epidaurus Festival. Photograph: Thomas Daskalakis/NTG
The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus is regarded as the best-preserved ancient theatre in Greece and famous for its perfect acoustics. It was constructed in the late 4th century BC with a capacity of more than 12,000 spectators.
Why Athens Tip: Greek and English subtitles available for all performances
JULY to AUGUST 2022
PROGRAMME AT ANCIENT EPIDAURUS THEATRE
1 & 2 July | Alkistis by Euripides –Schauspielhaus Bochum & Johan Simons – Tickets available here
8 & 9 July | Medea by Bost – National Theatre of Greece – Tickets available here
15 & 16 July | The Persians by Aeschylus – Dimitris Karantzas – Tickets available here
22 & 23 July | Agamemnon by Aeschylus – Residenztheater & Ulrich Rasche – Tickets available here
29 & 30 July | Ajax by Sophocles – National Theatre of Greece – Tickets available here
5 & 6 August | Antigone by Sophocles – Cezaris Graužinis – Tickets available here
12 & 13 August | Helen by Euripides – National Theatre of Northern Greece – Tickets available here
19 & 20 August | Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides – Themis Moumoulidis – Tickets available here