Celebrating 70 years of artistic creation at the Athens Epidaurus Festival

The Athens Epidaurus Festival, one of the most important institutions in the cultural life of Greece, is celebrating 70 years of artistic innovation, thrilling performances, and captivating moments by welcoming notable names from the international arts world.

In 2025, the renowned festival is presenting a specially designed anniversary program which we have the honor and pleasure of supporting as a Lead Donor to the portion of the Festival taking place at Epidaurus. The program includes a series of large-scale artistic projects: world premieres of monumental productions of ancient dramas by leading directors; international co-productions and new works inspired by ancient drama, written by distinguished contemporary artists as part of the Contemporary Ancients Cycle; and a special evening of symphonic music.

This year’s program, under the curatorial eye of Athens Epidaurus Festival Artistic Director Katerina Evangelatos, integrates four new anniversary productions for the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus. It includes the world premiere of a version of Sophocles’ Antigone in co-production with the National Theatre of Greece and directed by innovative German director Ulrich Rasche; a concert conducted by internationally distinguished musician and conductor Teodor Currentzis, along with his Utopia Orchestra, which will perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Songs on the Death of Children; the performance The two Oedipuses, directed by Yannis Houvardas; as well as the world premiere of Europa's Pledge, a work by Lebanese-Canadian creator Wajdi Mouawad in an international co-production with the Théâtre national de La Colline.

This year’s collaboration builds on previous SNF grants to the Athens Epidaurus Festival for the realization of individual productions in 2007 and 2012 and for the Festival’s artistic program more broadly in 2014.