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Athens Epidaurus Festival

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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.

Athens - Epidaurus Festival
Genreall types
DatesMay – October
Location(s)Athens, Epidaurus, Greece
Coordinates37°58′15″N 23°43′28″E / 37.97084°N 23.72452°E / 37.97084; 23.72452
Years active1955–present
LeaderVangelis Theodoropoulos (Director)

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

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Epidaurus Festival

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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]

It was officially inaugurated on 19 June 1955 with a performance of Euripides' Hecuba (directed by Alexis Minotis with Katina Paxinou in the role of the same name)[5][6][7] and devoted itself to performances of ancient tragedies and, from 1957, to performances of ancient comedies by the National Theatre, where Alexis Solomos revived the plays of Aristophanes, starting with Lysistrata.[8][9] In 1959, Karolos Koun's performance of Aristophanes' Birds, with music by Manos Hadjidakis and sets and costumes by Yannis Tsarouchis, aroused both public approval and opposition and was finally withdrawn following government intervention.[9][10]

For some twenty years, the performances at Epidaurus were entrusted to the National Theatre of Greece and to actors such as Paxinou, Minotis, Anna Synodinou, Mary Aroni and Nezer[clarification needed].[6] In 1960 and 1961, Maria Callas appeared in Epidaurus in Norma by Vincenzo Bellini (1960) and Medea by Luigi Cherubini (1961), respectively.[9] In 1965, the Damnation of Faust by the Paris Opera, directed and choreographed by Maurice Béjart, and Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra were performed.[11][12] During the Greek junta, the festival stagnated and there was a general tendency towards introspection and withdrawal.[9]

During the Metapolitefsi period, and more specifically in 1975, companies from outside the National Theatre were allowed to perform on the stage of the Ancient Theatre for the first time, including the Karolos Koun Art Theatre [el] (Birds) and the State Theatre of Northern Greece (Electra).[6][13][14] In 1980, the Amphi-Theatre of Spiros Evangelatos appeared at the festival with Menander's Epitrepontes, as did the Theatrical Organization of Cyprus with Euripides' Suppliants, directed by Nikos Charalampous.[15][16] Two years later (1982), Peter Hall presented Aeschylus' Oresteia with the Royal National Theatre, becoming the first foreign director to take part in the Epidaurus Festival.[11][17]

From its beginnings to the present day, the Epidaurus Festival has welcomed the greatest Greek directors and actors, as well as many other great artists, including Yiannis Moralis, Yannis Tsarouchis, George Vakalo, Manos Hadjidakis, Míkis Theodorakis, Yannis Markopoulos, Stavros Xarchakos and Iannis Xenakis.[1] There are also performances by leading foreign companies and collaborations with foreign directors, actors and other collaborators, including Peter Hall, Peter Stein, Tadashi Suzuki, Luca Ronconi, Valery Fokin, Thomas Ostermeier, Pina Bausch, Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Fiona Shaw, Gérard Depardieu and Kevin Spacey.[1][11][18][19][12] Festival performances often become a point of wider discussion in the public sphere, generating acclaim or mixed reviews.[1][17]

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

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The director Dinos Giannopoulos undertook the organization of the first Athens Festival, on commission by then-Minister of Culture.[22]

Athens Epidaurus

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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

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Over the years, the Athens Festival has been able to host numerous notable groups and artists.[26],[27]

Venues

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Georgoussópoulos, Kóstas (2016-04-15). "Προς αμνήμονες" [To amnesiacs]. tanea.gr (in Greek). Ta Néa. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  2. ^ Bozoni, Argyro (2023-07-25). "«Ψείρες» στην Επίδαυρο: Πρέπει να χρησιμοποιούνται ή όχι;" [Microphones at Epidaurus: should they be used or not?]. lifo.gr (in Greek). LiFO. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  3. ^ Psychogiou, Olga. "Αρχαιολογικός χώρος Ασκληπιείου Επιδαύρου: Περιγραφή" [Archaeological site of the Asclepion of Epidaurus: Description]. odysseus.culture.gr (in Greek). Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  4. ^ "Η συμβολή του Ε.Ο.Τ." [The contribution of the Greek Tourism Organisation]. tourismmuseum.gr (in Greek). Museum of Tourism. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  5. ^ "Φεστιβάλ Επιδαύρου – 11 Ιουλίου 1954" [Epidaurus Festival - 11 July 1954]. ertnews.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
  6. ^ a b c "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.
  7. ^ Kangelari, Dio (2019-06-10). "Έναρξη Φεστιβάλ Επιδαύρου-Αθηνών" [Start of the Athens-Epidaurus Festival] (PDF). kathimerini.gr (in Greek). I Kathimerini. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  8. ^ "Σολομός Αλέξης" [Solomos Alexis]. theatre.uoa.gr (in Greek). National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  9. ^ a b c d "Ιστορία" [History]. aefestival.gr (in Greek). Athens-Epidaurus Festival. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  10. ^ "Αριστοφάνη, Όρνιθες" [Aristophanes's Birds]. aefestival.gr (in Greek). Athens-Epidaurus Festival. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  11. ^ a b c Loverdou, Myrto (2008-11-24). "Οι ξένοι στην Επίδαυρο" [Foreigners at Epidaurus]. tovima.gr (in Greek). To Vima. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  12. ^ a b "Εχει όρια η Επίδαυρος;" [Are there limits to Epidaurus?]. tovima.gr (in Greek). To Vima. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  13. ^ "Ιστορία" [History]. theatro-technis.gr (in Greek). Karolos Koun Art Theatre. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Varzelioti, Gogo; Mavromoustakos, Platon (2018). "«Σκηνή και Αμφιθέατρο» – Αφιέρωμα στον Σπύρο Α. Ευαγγελάτο" ["Stage and Amphitheatre" - A tribute to Spyros A. Evangelatos] (PDF). theatre.uoa.gr (in Greek). National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. p. 69-99.
  16. ^ "Ιστορία" [History]. thoc.org.cy (in Greek). Theatrical Organization of Cyprus. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  17. ^ a b Bozoni, Argyro (2023-07-07). "Επίδαυρος: Τι θυμάμαι από το πιο ωραίο θέατρο του κόσμου" [Epidaurus: what I remember of the most beautiful theatre in the world]. lifo.gr (in Greek). LiFO. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  18. ^ Voulgari, Sandra (2009-07-05). "Τελευταία υπόκλιση της Πίνα Μπάους" [Pina Bausch's last salute]. kathimerini.gr (in Greek). I Kathimerini. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  19. ^ Anagnostou, Tilemachos (2015-05-29). "Η δεκαετία του Γιώργου Λούκου" [The decade of Giorgos Loukos]. aefestival.gr (in Greek). Athens-Epidaurus Festival. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  20. ^ "Μουσικός Ιούλιος στη Μικρή Επίδαυρο" [Musical July at Little Epidaurus]. in.gr (in Greek). in.gr. 2000-07-07. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ "History | Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2018". Athens & Epidaurus Festival 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  23. ^ "The Vision". Athens - Epidaurus Festival. greekfestival.gr. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  24. ^ "Greek director Vangelis Theodoropoulos to head festival after Fabre resignation | Kathimerini". Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  25. ^ "Jan Fabre appointed Greek Festival artistic director | eKathimerini.com".
  26. ^ Athens Festival '89 (performance program), pp. 1–4, 1989.
  27. ^ Giorgos Sarigannis. Athens Festival '95 (performance program), pp. 9–33, 1995.
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