AEF2025: Turandot

The Athens Epidaurus Festival celebrates its 70th edition in 2025, with 95 days of artistic brilliance featuring over 3,000 artists from 14 countries. From iconic venues in Athens like the Herodeion, Pireos 260, and the revived City of Athens Lycabettus Theatre, to the grand finale in Epidaurus, the festival brings the world’s top performances to Greece’s stages.

This year’s programme includes world premieres, new commissions, and exciting artistic strands such as Contemporary Ancients, which reimagines Greek tragedy, and Fierce Women in Performance, exploring gender and power. The GRAPE – Greek Agora of Performance platform highlights emerging Greek talent, while the Subset Festival brings experimental sounds to the stage. Cycles Roots revisits folk traditions with a fresh twist.

Check out our curated picks from this year's programme here.

The Greek National Opera presents Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s final masterpiece, in a spectacular new production at the iconic Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Nearly a century after its creation, this legendary opera opens the 2025 summer festival with five performances set to fill the breathtaking open-air auditorium.

Directed by the internationally acclaimed Andrei Șerban, with striking sets and costumes by renowned designer Chloe Obolensky, and conducted by maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi, this revival brings the mystery and grandeur of imperial China to life. Featuring a world-class cast, Turandot is a thrilling tale of riddles, passion, and sacrifice—an unmissable operatic experience beneath the Athenian stars.