The summer season months in Athens are alive with tradition as performances from the classical to the avant-garde are held at historic venues. The Athens Epidaurus Pageant is a big spotlight for guests keen on tradition. Let’s take a look!
The place it Occurs- the Athens Epidaurus Pageant Venues
4 levels host this well-known pageant, three of them below the starry skies. Essentially the most well-known and historical of those is the Theater of Epidaurus which is a part of the sacred Sanctuary of Asclepius, the therapeutic demi-god of historical Greece. The Historical Greeks have been certainly very smart, understanding the importance of religious well-being and its position in therapeutic. Subsequently, drama and athletics have been integral to the location. Epidaurus is on the northeast coast of the Peloponnese, about two hours from Athens.
The 4th-century BC theater is an absolute marvel of acoustics, praised for its symmetry and wonder. It’s additionally monumental, traditionally internet hosting over 13,000 spectators.
The first Athens venue is thought to all – the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, on the base of the southwest slope of the Acropolis (very near the Acropolis Museum). This was inbuilt 161 AD by the Roman Senator Herodes Atticus. Its authentic three-story wall is now one of the vital well-known and delightful backdrops on this planet. The theater was restored, utilizing Pentellic marble, within the Nineteen Fifties. Locals name it “The Herodian.” The theater is smaller than that of Epidaurus – it holds 5,000 spectators. The views of the Parthenon and Temple of Athena Nike from under are dreamy.
One other venue of the pageant is the Little Theater of Epidaurus, close to the submit of Historical Epidaurus. This smaller historic venue can be an out of doors amphitheater, constructed within the 4th century BC. It holds 200 spectators and is right for extra intimate performances.
Lastly, the one indoor venue of the pageant is Piraeus 260, a big warehouse-like house excellent for extra avant-garde performances.
The Athens Epidaurus Pageant – a Wealthy Historical past
Now a well-known occasion on the worldwide cultural calendar, the Athens Epidaurus Pageant is nearly to shut its seventh decade. Initially, the pageant was two: the “Epidauria” – performances of Historical Greek Drama on the Theatre of Epidaurus on the Sanctuary of Asclepius, and the Athens Pageant. They quickly merged, making for a formidable program.
From the very begin, the pageant has been outlined by performances and artists of the best caliber. Each internationally identified Greek artists and artists of world-wide fame have been drawn to a number of the world’s most illustrious and historic levels, to carry out below the night time skies. Because the years have progressed, this system has expanded from Historical Greek theater and opera to incorporate dance and trendy theatrical performances and modern music.
The Athens Pageant’s inaugural 12 months of 1955 featured one among Greece’s most well-known administrators, Alexis Minotis, directing Hecuba. (Minotis was additionally an actor, and carried out within the movie Boy on a Dolphin with Sophia Loren). One other notable occasion of the identical 12 months introduced collectively two important Greek names- the conductor and composer Dimitris Mitropolis (and director of the New York Philharmonic), conducting the NY Philharmonic in a program of “36 Greek Dances” by the Greek composer Nicholas Skalkottas.
Different nice highlights all through the pageant’s historical past embody Maria Callas’ 1961 efficiency of Norma on the Historical Theater of Epidaurus- the primary time the historic theater held an opera. Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn carried out on the Herodes Atticus, additionally in 1961. Fashionable Dance performances of word embody the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater firm in 1979, and the Martha Graham Dance Firm in 1983.
In 1991, Luciano Pavarotti gave a efficiency on the Herodes Atticus. Extra splendid opera performers adopted, with Montserrat Caballé in 1992, and José Carreras in 1993.
Highlights of the 2024 Athens Epidaurus Pageant
On the Historical Theater of Epidaurus, there might be a staging of Iphigenia in Aulis, directed by Timofey Kulyabin on July 5 and 6. The Nationwide Theater of Greece will stage the Oresteia, below the course of Theodoros Terzopoulos, on July 12 and 13. Followers of recent theater could get pleasure from Parallax, a Hungarian manufacturing staged by Kornél Mundruczó, on the Piraeus 260 on July 14 and 15. An attention-grabbing play marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Polytechnic rebellion: 50 Years, One Night time, directed by Manos Karagiannis, appears at this defining second via a up to date lens.
Opera followers will benefit from the Greek Nationwide Opera’s manufacturing of La Traviata, below the course of Pier Giorgio Morandi and Konstantinos Rigos, from July 27 – 31, on the Herodes Atticus. In the meantime, at Piraeus 260 there’s a very full program of up to date dance performances, starting with the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Firm À la carte, choreographed by Ioannis Mandafounis, on June 5 and 6. C la vie, choreographed by Serge Aimé Coulibaly and carried out by the Faso Danse Théâtre of Burkina Faso and Belgium takes place on June 12 and 13. Based mostly on the choreography of Pina Bausch and below the course of Roger Bernat, the Ceremony of Spring might be carried out on June 28-30.
The whole program of this 12 months’s pageant might be discovered here.
A Cultural Vacation
Have you ever ever attended any of the performances of the Athens Epidaurus Pageant? It may be an exquisite option to expertise Greece.
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