The Edinburgh International Festival is the leading event in Scotland's cultural calendar and turns the capital city into the world's cultural hotspot every August.
Opera returns to the International Festival this year, with headliners Dido’s Ghost, a reimagining of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas by Belizean-British composer Errollyn Wallen, a brand new version of Strauss’s comic masterpiece Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Sir Andrew Davies, and Scottish Opera’s Falstaff sees the national company make its first performance in an indoor venue for over a year.
The Festival will also present A Grand Night for Singing, a dazzling staged musical revue of songs from much-loved Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. And this year’s re-imagined dance programme finds its voice in Dancing in the Streets, which includes the world premieres of original dance works created for film and presented in person by four acclaimed international choreographers: Gregory Maqoma, Janice Parker, Omar Rajeh and Alice Ripoll.
This year’s classical music programme highlights include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vasily Petrenko and featuring Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sir Simon Rattle with the London Symphony Orchestra and Kansas-born vocal superstar Joyce DiDonato, as well as Walter Scott 250, a memorable performance by Malcolm Martineau and friends to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott’s birth.
For something distinctly unique, A Great Disordered Heart’s series of three concerts features outstanding traditional instrumentalists celebrating the connections between Scotland and Ireland.
History
Since 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival has attracted the biggest stars of stage and concert halls, with luminaries ranging from Maria Callas to Sir Ian McKellen, Yehudi Menuhin to Margot Fonteyn, Pavarotti to Nicola Benedetti.
Designed to bring people together and create a festival spirit through great art after World War II, the Edinburgh International Festival has always aimed to present a programme of classical music, opera, theatre and dance of the highest possible standard, with the director inviting the best artists in the world to perform. It continues to create a wide breadth of thrilling cultural experiences for all who attend.
Watch