Edinburgh International Festival 2012 Brochure

2012

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In association with Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) Théâtre du Soleil Photo: Charles-Henri Bradier

Edinburgh International Festival

Contents 02

Welcome to the Festival

04

Festival 2012 Supporters Those who help to make it happen

06

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston Outstanding theatre from Poland, France and Switzerland

10

Theatre Innovative and compelling drama from some more of the world’s greatest directors

18

Dance Contemporary and classical dance from around the world

30

NVA’s Speed of Light Unique fusion of sport and art

32

Opera From across Britain and beyond

39

The Opening Concert Frederick Delius’s A Mass of Life

40

Music World class conductors, orchestras and soloists

51

Virgin Money Fireworks Concert Spectacular action, scintillating music, stunning setting

52

Greyfriars Timeless music from the Renaissance, the Middle Ages and more

54

The Queen’s Hall Series Early morning music, the perfect start to the day

64

Encounters Talks and debates exploring Festival 2012 themes

66

Conversations with Artists Discover the inspirations behind the art

67

Masterclasses and more Creative insights and study events

68

Fringe Prize and Edinburgh University Events

69

A Festival for Everyone How to access the Festival and get closer online

70

Booking, Venue and Access Information

72

Festival City

74

Festival Diary At a glance, events day by day

9 August – 2 September 2012

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30

32

18

40

02

Welcome to the Festival

Welcome to Festival 2012 An old saying in showbiz suggests that there are no great actors, only great roles.

The role that the Edinburgh International Festival has chosen to play in 2012 is an enhancement of the part we have been playing ever since our inception in 1947: as catalyst for inspiring ideas and creativity from around the world.

As the UK prepares to host a Summer Olympic Games, the Festival is as eager as ever to offer its special contribution to artists and audiences by hosting one of the greatest and most diverse annual celebrations of culture held anywhere in the world.

And when a new generation of sportsmen and sportswomen are competing for glory in London, we believe that our programme of dance, theatre, music and opera will introduce audiences to the thrilling virtuosity of a new generation of talented performers. We are confident that the flair and dedication of the youthful artists of Juilliard Dance from New York’s famous Juilliard School, the young musicians of the European Union Youth Orchestra

and Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the immensely energetic actors of Dmitry Krymov’s theatre academy from Moscow or the many talented young laureates appearing at The Queen’s Hall will offer Festival aficionados a first optimistic glimpse of the future of the performing arts from across the globe.

The scale of our ambitions in 2012 will be revealed by a visit to the Lowland Hall at the Royal Highland Centre where three of Europe’s greatest theatre directors – Grzegorz Jarzyna, Christoph Marthaler and Ariane Mnouchkine – will in their unique ways transform this vast space into a place of reverie and make-believe.

All who are involved in the Edinburgh International Festival in 2012 are excited to be welcoming the world once again to a city that is proudly the world’s festival city. I hope you will be among us in August to experience the magic.

Jonathan Mills Festival Director

Welcome to the Festival

03

World Shakespeare Festival The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world’s playwright. Produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations, it is a cornerstone of the London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad.

The Edinburgh International Festival is a proud partner of the World Shakespeare Festival, presenting three exciting and contrasting Shakespeare productions: TR Warszawa’s vast multimedia 2008: Macbeth; a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by acclaimed Russian director Dmitry Krymov; and an adaptation of The Rape of Lucrece featuring the hugely charismatic actor and singer Camille O’Sullivan. Find out more at worldshakespearefestival.org.uk.

The Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival

As broadcast partner of the Festival BBC Radio 3 brings the Festival to those who would not otherwise be able to take part. Through live and pre-recorded broadcasts many Edinburgh International Festival concerts can be enjoyed throughout the whole nation thanks to this visionary partnership. Full details at bbc.co.uk/radio3.

Scotland is a thriving hub for arts and cultural activities and the Year of Creative Scotland provides the perfect showcase for this diverse mix of creativity and energy. An exciting and imaginative programme of special events will take place throughout the year, and throughout Scotland, covering everything from music to drama and from dance to art, designed to appeal to both visitors and locals.

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.

For further inspiration visit visitscotland.com/creative.

The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad is the London 2012 Festival, bringing leading artists from all over the world together from 21 June 2012 in this UK-wide festival – a chance for everyone to celebrate London 2012 through dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, film and digital innovation.

Culture Ministers from around the world will gather in the world’s Festival City in August to debate the power and profile of culture in forging and fostering international relationships.

Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. The British Council will support the international development of London 2012 Cultural Olympiad projects. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

Panasonic are the presenting partner of Film Nation: Shorts.

To sign up to receive information about the London 2012 Festival visit london2012.com/festival.

Edinburgh International Culture Summit

The first ever Edinburgh International Culture Summit will be hosted in the magnificent Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh on 13 and 14 August, after the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London and in the midst of the unrivalled explosion of cultural energy at Edinburgh’s Festivals.

The Summit is a collaboration between the Scottish Government, the UK Government, the British Council and the Edinburgh International Festival. It brings together Culture Ministers with prominent artists, thinkers and others involved in developing and implementing cultural policy.

It is planned to webcast the plenary sessions of the Summit.

Visit eics2012.com for details.

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Festival 2012 Supporters

Thank you to our Festival 2012 supporters The core investment which the Edinburgh International Festival receives from the City of Edinburgh Council and Creative Scotland plays a critical role in ensuring our stability and success.

Crucial support from other public sector bodies, charitable funds, the corporate sector, international partners and agencies, trusts and foundations and our individual benefactors, patrons and friends is also vitally important in enabling us to maintain the Festival’s scale and quality.

We are grateful to all these organisations and individuals, who make the Festival possible.

Grants

Festival Partners Production Sponsor

Production Sponsor Opening Concert Partner

Hotel Partner

Project Grants

Production Sponsor

Document Solutions Partner

Production Sponsor

Production Supporter

Official Retail Partner

Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund Internet Services Provider

Telecoms Partner

Hotel Partner

Production Sponsor

Production Sponsor

Principal Supporters

Dunard Fund Harold Mitchell Esq, AC Léan Scully EIF Fund Edinburgh International Festival Society is registered as a company in Scotland (No SC024766) and as a Scottish Charity (No SC004694) Registered Address: The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE

Sponsor Festival backstage

University Partner

Fireworks Concert Partner

Festival 2012 Supporters

Corporate Friends Bank of Scotland The Caledonian Hilton HEINEKEN Macdonald Holyrood Hotel Maclay Murray & Spens LLP o2 Planet Flowers Prestige Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Shell U.K. Limited Standard Life

Principal Donors American Friends of the Edinburgh International Festival The Director’s Circle Edinburgh International Festival Benefactors Edinburgh International Festival Endowment Fund Edinburgh International Festival Friends and Patrons

Corporate Associates Alba Water Cullen Property Dimensions (Scotland) Ltd The Glasshouse Hotel du Vin, Edinburgh Johnston Press plc Justerini & Brooks Lufthansa Omni Centre Edinburgh The Rutland Hotel The Skinny Springbank Distillers Ltd STRATHMORE SPRING WATER

International Partners and Agencies Adam Mickiewicz Institute Australian High Commission, London Austrian Cultural Forum London Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Edinburgh Consulate General of Ireland to Scotland Consulate General of Japan, Edinburgh

Consulate General of the Republic of Poland Consulate General of Switzerland, Edinburgh

Benefactors and Patrons

Mr and Mrs R H Mitchell

Thank you to the following individuals for their support of Festival 2012.

Allan Myers AO QC and Maria Myers AO Patricia and Alex Neish

Culture Ireland

Benefactor

Dr Paul Nisselle AM

Embassy of Finland, London

Mr and Mrs James Anderson

Nick and Julie Parker

Embassy of Switzerland, London

Ewan and Christine Brown

Lady Potter

Embassy of the United States of America, London

Roxane Clayton

Donald and Brenda Rennie

Claire Enders

Sir Duncan Rice and Lady Rice

Joscelyn Fox Gavin and Kate Gemmell

Mr Andrew and Mrs Carolyn Richmond

Frank Hitchman

Ross Roberts

Donald and Louise MacDonald

Fiona and Ian Russell

David McLellan

Richard Simon

Jean and Roger Miller

Charles Smith

Michael Shipley and Philip Rudge

Andrew and Becky Swanston

Keith and Andrea Skeoch

Susie Thomson

Jim and Isobel Stretton

Claire and Mark Urquhart

John-Paul and Joanna Temperley

Robin and Sheila Wight

Mr Hedley G Wright

Ruth Woodburn

The Romanian Cultural Institute

Zachs-Adam Family

Neil and Philippa Woodcock

Royal Norwegian Consulate General, Edinburgh

Platinum Reserve

Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

Geoff and Mary Ball

And others who prefer to remain anonymous

Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain – SCFB

Richard Burns

United States Consulate General, Edinburgh

Aileen and Stephen Nesbitt

Government of South Australia Government of Victoria, Australia Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi Institut français The Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh The Japan Foundation The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Romania The Nehru Centre, London Representation of the Government of Flanders in the UK

Platinum Supporter Trusts and Foundations

J Attias

Aga Khan Foundation

Katie Bradford

The Bacher Trust

The Rt Hon Lord Clarke

The Binks Trust

Lord and Lady Coulsfield

The John S Cohen Foundation

Sue and Andy Doig

Cruden Foundation Limited

Jo and Alison Elliot

The Peter Diamand Trust

Mr and Mrs Ted W Frison

The Evelyn Drysdale Charitable Trust

Raymond and Anita Green

Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust

David and Judith Halkerston

The Hamada Edinburgh Festival Foundation

Kenneth Harrold

The Inches Carr Trust

André and Rosalie Hoffmann

Eda, Lady Jardine Charitable Trust

J Douglas Home

The Morton Charitable Trust

Peter Horvath and Barnett Serchuk

The Negaunee Foundation

Alan M Johnston

Risk Charitable Fund

Fred and Ann Johnston

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Norman and Christine Lessels

Ian Smith of Stornoway Legacy

Niall and Carol Lothian

The Stevenston Charitable Trust

Alan Macfarlane

The Sym Charitable Trust

Chris and Gill Masters

Edinburgh Festivals Partner Scottish Enterprise

Shields and Carol Henderson

Duncan and Una McGhie David Milne and Liz Sharpe

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06

Royal Highland Centre

Royal Highland Centre The Lowland Hall at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, is transformed into a theatre space hosting three vastly different shows impossible to present in conventional theatres. An enormous three-storey construction with multimedia screens is the set for 2008: Macbeth; a special studio space is needed to allow the audience to be up close and personal with the characters in Meine faire Dame; while Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) was originally created for the Cartoucherie, Théâtre du Soleil’s home in a huge converted munitions factory on the outskirts of Paris.

Three of Europe’s greatest theatre directors – Grzegorz Jarzyna, Christoph Marthaler and Ariane Mnouchkine each transform, in their unique ways, this vast open space into places of reverie and make-believe.

The Lowland Hall can be reached by bus from Edinburgh city centre, followed by a 10-minute walk, or by car. There will be a food and bar service so why not come in time for a drink and a snack or to see two shows in a day? Full directions can be found on page 72.

This very special project for 2012 has been supported by the City of Edinburgh Council, Creative Scotland and EventScotland.

Supported by

‘‘I am in blood Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er”

Royal Highland Centre

2008: Macbeth AFTER WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE TRANSLATED BY STANISŁAW BARAN´CZAK DIRECTED AND ADAPTED BY GRZEGORZ JARZYNA

TR Warszawa

Photo Anna Grzelewska

Performed in Polish with English supertitles Stephanie Nelson and Agnieszka Zawadowska Set and costume designers Abel Korzeniowski and Jacek Grudzien´ Music Jacqueline Sobiszewski Lighting designer Cast includes Cezary Kosin´ ski and Danuta Stenka Military commander Macbeth unleashes a nightmare of carnage and destruction. A war on terror that is a war of terror.

Set in a contemporary and brutal Middle Eastern conflict, 2008: Macbeth is unflinching in its depiction of the machine of violence that, once set in motion, works faster and ever more efficiently.

If killing in a war is justified, so is killing in the privacy of one’s home.

If you can kill men, why not also women and children?

With spectacular pyrotechnics, immersive video effects and an extraordinary, layered soundscape that plays tricks on the ear, Shakespeare’s web of politics, ambition and the supernatural is transformed into a contemporary, and highly physical, theatrical film.

Acclaimed director Grzegorz Jarzyna’s searing production of 4.48 Psychosis enthralled Festival audiences in 2008.

PhotoStefan Anna Okoêwicz Grzelewska Photo

Saturday 11 – Monday 13 August, Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 August 7.30pm Wednesday 15 August 2.00pm Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre Tickets £35 £30 2 hours 10 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/macbeth

Supported by

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Royal Highland Centre

Photo Judith Schlosser

‘for a full two hours we laughed to ourselves until we cried’

Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor My Fair Lady – a language laboratory

Theater Basel Performed in English and German with English supertitles Christoph Marthaler Director Anna Viebrock Staging Sarah Schittek Costume designer HeidVoegelinLights Lighting designer Malte Ubenauf / Julie Paucker Dramaturgy

Returning from a conference on southern English accents, Hungarian linguist Professor Karpathy finds an enormous bouquet of flowers waiting for him. Aghast, he finds a note scribbled in blood-red ink with a very sinister message in the form of a threatening riddle. Who could have sent it? Is his secret cover blown? He only has until midnight to solve the mystery or face the consequences…

Delightfully witty and (very) loosely based on My Fair Lady, Meine faire Dame is set in a language laboratory where its characters attempt to learn English from a very eccentric professor – with a secret to hide.

Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 & Sunday 19 August 7.30pm Friday 17 & Saturday 18 August 2.00pm Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre Tickets £30 £25 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/fairedame

Director Christoph Marthaler, one of Europe’s most acclaimed and influential directors whose work has rarely been seen in the UK, skillfully blends music by Weber, Wagner, Bryan Adams and Ravel into a subversive, profound and very funny examination of language and linguistic confusion.

Supported by

Ewan and Christine Brown With additional support from

Royal Highland Centre

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Photo Michèle Laurent

‘The hours fly by like a skiff in the Roaring Forties, carried along on a gale of pure theatrical genius… one hell of a voyage’

Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) The Castaways of the Fol Espoir (Sunrises)

Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre

4 hours 10 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/folespoir

Performed in English and French with English supertitles A play collectively devised by Théâtre du Soleil Half-written by Hélène Cixous loosely based on a mysterious, posthumous novel by Jules Verne Ariane Mnouchkine Director Jean-Jacques Lemêtre Music

A gold rush, a group of genocidal Indian hunters foiled by commando nuns, a runaway revolutionary archduke and Darwin and Queen Victoria playing imperial monopoly… D.W. Griffith meets Cecil B. DeMille – and all the time, the lights are going down over Europe.

In a dance hall in the spring before the First World War, a socialist visionary is shooting a silent film adapted from a Jules Verne adventure, using cooks and waiters as his cast. Long before the ship the Fol Espoir runs aground on Cape Horn, high idealism and base motives are vying for the souls of all on board.

Ariane Mnouchkine’s work has rarely been seen in the UK because of its sheer scale and complexity. Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) transforms the Lowland Hall into a spectacular world of the imagination and fantasy.

Thursday 23 – Saturday 25, Monday 27 & Tuesday 28 August 6.00pm

Tickets £35 £30

Théâtre du Soleil

Supported by

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Theatre

‘Deprived of all familial ties, the heroine of my play lives in solitude, totally speechless, in a hospital. All she aspires for is revenge on the one who is the cause of this, her mother who abandoned her.’

Waiting for Orestes: Electra

Suzuki Company of Toga Performed in Japanese and Korean with English supertitles Tadashi Suzuki Director and designer Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Euripides Text Midori Takada Composer and musician Orie Horiuchi Costume designer Takako Tomura Painter

Electra’s father is murdered by her mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, leaving Electra hysterical with grief – and with an obsessional desire for revenge, as she is made a prisoner in her mother’s house.

Her only hope is that her exiled brother Orestes will return and make her dark fantasy of murdering her mother come true.

In Suzuki’s staging of the Greek myth, the characters’ interior world is deepened by setting the tragedy in a psychiatric hospital, one in which all of humanity is irredeemably trapped.

Saturday 11 – Monday 13 August 8.00pm King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £30 £24 £16 £12 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/electra

One of the most enduringly influential directors and theatre makers alive, Tadashi Suzuki is also renowned for his writings and the Suzuki Acting Method. Here he combines Euripides’s terrifying perception of human frailty with the operatic force of Hofmannsthal, Richard Strauss’s librettist.

Theatre

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Photo Anthony Woods

‘quite simply outstanding ... I got an almost delirious joy from hearing, and seeing, an hour long distillation of Beckett’s novel’

Watt

Gate Theatre Dublin Performed in English Cast Barry McGovern

BY SAMUEL BECKETT TEXTS FROM THE NOVEL SELECTED BY BARRY MCGOVERN

Tom Creed Director Joan O’Clery Costume designer James McConnell Lighting designer Denis Clohessy Sound designer Barry McGovern after Samuel Beckett Music

Watt is the extraordinary story of an itinerant character who walks one day from a train station to the home of a Mr Knott whom he will serve.

The bizarre adventures of Watt and his struggle to make sense of the world around him are told with verbal elegance, immense pathos and fierce humour.

‘McGovern reminded us that Beckett was, among many other things, one of the great Irish humorists... explosively funny’ The Guardian

Saturday 11 – Tuesday 14 August 8.00pm

‘full of comic suprises... and oddly touching as well’ San Francisco Chronicle

Royal Lyceum Theatre Tickets £30 £24 £20 £16 £10 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/watt Tuesday 14 August 6.45pm

Supported by 7.45pm

Theatre

TNRS

‘I may never see a grander more theatrical event in my life’

Photo

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Theatre

Gulliver’s Travels

Friday 17 – Monday 20 August 8.00pm Sunday 19 August 2.30pm King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £30 £24 £16 £12 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/gulliver

AFTER JONATHAN SWIFT

‘Purca˘rete’s mighty show delivers a visual and aural experience so jaw droppingly bold that it makes most attempts at immersive theatre seem like a paddle in the shallows’

Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania Performed in Romanian with English supertitles Silviu Purca˘ rete Director Dragos¸ Buhagiar Set designer Shaun Davey Music

After the Festival triumph of Faust in 2009 director Silviu Purca˘ rete returns with the Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania and the world premiere of his version of Gulliver’s Travels.

Irish writer Jonathan Swift’s savage political satire is seen through the eyes of visionary theatre maker Purca˘ rete with an original score

by Irish composer Shaun Davey. Driven by Davey's musical journey, Purca˘ rete’s production gathers cultural and social aspects of contemporary society and explores themes of voyage, dream, exile, immigration, emigration, solitude and togetherness.

Supported by

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Theatre

‘Dmitry Krymov is a revolutionary… every moment is unexpected’

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)

Chekhov International Theatre Festival Dmitry Krymov’s Laboratory School of Dramatic Art Theatre Production Performed in Russian with English supertitles Dmitry Krymov Director Vera Martynova Designer

AFTER WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Shakespeare’s magical, shape-shifting play.

A joyous combination of incongruous things: dumbstruck actors, suppressed emotions running riot, masterly solecism, divine blundering and, finally, craftsmen transformed into poets... From Russia comes the world premiere of Dmitry Krymov’s interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Dmitry Krymov is a director, artist and designer whose visually stunning productions have established him as one of the most original directorial voices of his generation. Expect his take on Shakespeare’s most magical of comedies to be unlike any Dream you have seen before.

Friday 24 & Saturday 25 August 7.30pm Sunday 26 August 2.30pm King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £30 £24 £16 £12 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/midsummer

Theatre

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Photo RSC/Ellie Kurttz

‘A cross between Patti Smith, Sally Bowles and PJ Harvey… a major star’

The Rape of Lucrece WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ADAPTED BY ELIZABETH FREESTONE, FEARGAL MURRAY AND CAMILLE O’SULLIVAN

Royal Shakespeare Company Performed in English Performed by Camille O’Sullivan, accompanied by Feargal Murray on piano Feargal Murray and Camille O’Sullivan Music Elizabeth Freestone Director Lily Arnold Designer Vince Herbert Lighting designer

Shakespeare's tragic poem The Rape of Lucrece, a terrible tale of lust, rape and politics, is both beautiful and violent. From political chronicle to sexual thriller, the poem’s exquisite tragedy is fully revealed in an hypnotic evening of song and storytelling.

In this compelling and provocative performance by the internationally acclaimed singer Camille O’Sullivan, with original music played live by Feargal Murray, Camille inhabits the souls of both Tarquin and Lucrece, narrating the fate of each.

Wednesday 22 – Sunday 26 August 9.00pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Sponsored by

Tickets £30 £24 £20 £16 £10 1 hour 20 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/rapeoflucrece

Supported by

Saturday 25 August 7.45pm

8.45pm

‘when she sings it's as though her breath is soaked in paraffin; one spark and the whole room would ignite’ The Daily Telegraph

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Theatre

Wonderland CREATED BY VANISHING POINT

Vanishing Point Performed in English Matthew Lenton Director Kai Fischer Set, lighting and projection designer Mark Melville Composer and sound designer

In a darkly subversive take on the themes of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, Wonderland begins with the mystery of a young woman leaving home and embarking on a dangerous journey.

‘In another moment down went Alice, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.’

Wonderland examines the attraction of fame and stardom, the desire for something more, the allure of the erotic and the invasion of pornography into modern popular culture. Dreamlike, edgy and intensely physical, it is a mystery about a door that – once opened – is almost impossible to close, a story about curiosity, temptation and power.

That door leads to a dark place, A dark and exciting place But once you open it Once you enter that place You can’t come back Things will not be the same any more.

Please note this performance contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children.

A co-production between Vanishing Point, Napoli Teatro Festival, Italy, and Tramway, in association with Eden Court.

Wednesday 29 August – Saturday 1 September 7.30pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Tickets £30 £24 £20 £16 £10 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/wonderland

Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

Theatre

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Photo Marcelo Montecino

‘A major international force’

Villa+Discurso Teatro Playa Performed in Spanish with English supertitles Guillermo Calderón Writer and director

1970s Chile – the main torture and extermination centre of General Pinochet’s regime is the notorious Villa Grimaldi. 30 years later, three women argue about how to remodel the same blood-soaked building complex and how modern Chile should respond to this awful and unwanted legacy, in Guillermo Calderón’s poignant and moving play, Villa.

Discurso recreates the last hours in office of Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile from 2006 until 2010, with an imaginary farewell speech.

Chilean playwright and director Guillermo Calderón explores the heart of his nation, with language of intensity and passion, in a double bill of searing contemporary dramas exposing both a terrible heritage and the great humanity it inspired.

Discurso was developed at the International Residency of the Royal Court Theatre, London.

Photo Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Monday 20 – Tuesday 21 August 7.30pm The Hub Tickets £25 2 hours 15 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/villadiscurso

Supported by

The Director’s Circle

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Dance

Tatyana European Premiere Deborah Colker Dance Company Deborah Colker Choreographer and director João Elias Executive director Gringo Cardia Art director and set designer Jorginho de Carvalho Lighting designer Berna Ceppas Music director Fabia Bercsek Costume designer

‘when you think you’ve seen every move the dancers have in them, they surprise you’ ‘a Brazilian revolution’

Dance

Young, wealthy and cosmopolitan, Eugene Onegin has seen and done it all. Bored by life in St Petersburg, he moves to the country in the hope of finding inspiration. There he meets the innocent and beautiful Tatyana who instantly falls in love with him, only to be coldly rejected.

Years later, now back in St Petersburg, Onegin is enchanted by a glamorous high-society lady, Tatyana. The tables are turned, and Onegin begs for her affections. Will love prevail after all?

Saturday 11 – Tuesday 14 August 7.30pm

Straight from the heart of Rio de Janeiro, Deborah Colker Dance Company transports Aleksandr Pushkin’s famous tale of young love, passion, obsession and rejection from 19th-century Russia to contemporary, sultry Brazil. With typically explosive energy and choreography packed full of Brazilian colour and flair, Deborah Colker Dance Company’s seamless mixture of contemporary and classical dance has made it one of the most sought-after and exciting companies in the world.

eif.co.uk/tatyana

The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 £10 1 hour 35 minutes approximately

Sunday 12 August 6.15pm

7.15pm

Sponsored by

Photo Walter Carvolho

Photo Leo Aversa

With an eclectic soundtrack featuring music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Terry Riley, this large-scale contemporary ballet combines compelling storytelling with a wonderfully inventive set to poignantly capture the intense emotional rollercoaster of this tale – from joyous elation to bitter disappointment and betrayal.

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Dance

Ballet Preljocaj And then, one thousand years of peace Angelin Preljocaj Choreographer Laurent Garnier Music (except Les anges by Benjamin Rippert and ‘Moonlight’ Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven) Subodh Gupta Set designer Igor Chapurin Costume designer Cécile Giovansili Lighting designer

And then, one thousand years of peace exists in a post-apocalyptic world, a world where apocalypse means ‘lifting the veil’, revealing what lies in the darkest depths of our being.

Ballet Preljocaj draw you into an all-consuming exploration of human rituals, beliefs and relationships. Travelling from an intense, dramatic and primordial opening through to a serene, contemplative finale, renowned French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj throws you into the beating heart of our existence.

Initially created in collaboration with the Bolshoi Theatre, the work fuses two distinct styles of movement – the fast, driving power of Preljocaj's contemporary work with the grand classical ballet of the Bolshoi. Set to a pulsating soundtrack by techno music legend Laurent Garnier, mixed with samples from Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, And then, one thousand years of peace combines intricate and edgy action with slow, graceful movement in an ever-evolving dance that reveals our innermost hopes, desires and fears.

Friday 17 August – Sunday 19 August 7.30pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 £10 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/preljocaj1

Supported by

The Bacher Trust

‘This displays what modern dancing should always be, a mixture of extreme demands, pure aesthetics and flawless performance.’

‘Breathtaking’

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JC peace Photo

Carbonne

Dance

Helikopter

e And then, on

ars of thousand ye

Angelin Preljocaj Choreographer Karlheinz Stockhausen Music Holger Förterer Scenography Patrick Riou Lighting Sylvie Meyniel Costume Designers

Inspired by the wild, techno-organic rhythms of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Helikopter Quartet, a score composed for the vast whirring sound of four sets of helicopter propellers and four stringed instruments, Angelin Preljocaj creates a scintillating dance that sets immense physical challenges. Displaying incredible virtuosity, six dancers intertwine and rotate, echoing the blades of the helicopter in ever more complex forms and shapes.

Eldorado (Sonntags Abschied) Angelin Preljocaj Choreographer Karlheinz Stockhausen Music Nicole Tran Ba Vang Set and costume designer Cécile Giovansili and Angelin Preljocaj Lighting designers

schied) onntags Ab Eldorado (S

rbonne Photo JC Ca

Eldorado (Sonntags Abschied) is another superb synergy between music and movement as choreographed by Preljocaj to music by Stockhausen. Trapped in a distinctive sound-world, the dancers respond to the music in an almost visceral way, compelled to move, as if against their will, by the cascading waves of sound, and only allowed to rest when the music ends.

Wednesday 22 August 7.30pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 £10 1 hour 40 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/preljocaj2

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Dance

Photo Harkirsn Singh Bhasin, NCPA

‘mesmerising... captivating... simply plain marvellous dancing’’

Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company

Uncharted Seas (extract) Aditi Mangaldas Concept, choreography, costume and stage Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan Vocal composition Sander Loonen Light designer

Uncharted Seas takes you to the heart of classical Kathak. Dancers weave in and out of the shadows with grace, poise and a stunning sense of rhythm. The search for the intangible, for God, truth, beauty, love and freedom, is the essence of Uncharted Seas. Dressed in traditional costumes, the sounds of the ghunghroo (ankle bells) meld with the live music, creating a distinct percussive beat that adds a unique flavour to every performance.

THE DRISHTIKON DANCE FOUNDATION Dancer and choreographer Aditi Mangaldas's company presents a powerful and beautiful double bill.

Kathak loosely translates as ‘the art of storytelling’ and features hypnotically intricate footwork, high energy pirouettes and complex rhythmic patterns of beats.

Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 August 7.30pm Royal Lyceum Theatre Tickets £30 £24 £20 £16 £10 1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/aditi

Timeless (extract) Aditi Mangaldas Concept and choreography Shubha Mudgal and Aneesh Pradhan Music composition Anuradha Parikh Stage designer Fabiana Piccioli Lighting designer Kimie Nakano Costume designer

Timeless moves furthest from the classical Kathak roots of the company.

Entrancing, distinctive and exhilarating, Timeless utilises a totally new contemporary movement vocabulary and Mangaldas’s choreography draws you in to a compelling and many textured abstract world.

Dance

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Photo Tony Lewis

‘A refined and classy company’

Leigh Warren+ Dancers Renowned for defying convention and enticing audiences with sublime marriages of movement and sound, Leigh Warren + Dancers presents a unique and inspiring double bill of dance, the first time these two pieces have been performed together.

Breathe European Premiere Leigh Warren Artistic director Frances Rings Choreographer William Barton Composer and musician India Flint Costume designer Nic Mollison Lighting designer

Dancers writhe, intertwine and pulse with natural, spellbinding rhythm as though each gesture were merely an extension of their own breath.

Set to the intensely haunting indigenous sounds of the didgeridoo, performed live by legendary player William Barton, Breathe is rooted in the ancient and modern traditions of the company’s native Australia.

Impulse

Saturday 25 August 7.30pm & Sunday 26 August 2.30pm

Leigh Warren Choreographer Michael Nyman Composer Mary Moore Set and costume designer Zephyr Quartet Musicians Nic Mollison Lighting designer Kaboom Studios (Jason Lam and Adam Synnott) Projection designers

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 1 hour 35 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/leighwarren

Placing Michael Nyman’s String Quartet No 2 at the heart of the action, dancers are inspired and propelled by the witty and dynamic music, performed live on stage by the Zephyr Quartet. Dancers, musicians and cutting-edge visual technology play together to produce a stunning visualisation of the sound itself.

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Dance

Juilliard Dance New York’s famous Juilliard School has trained dancers and choreographers who have gone on to influence the shape and evolution of dance around the world. Its impressive alumni include Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, and the late, great Pina Bausch.

Encounter the future stars of dance in an exceptional triple bill.

The Waldstein Sonata José Limón Choreographer Ludwig van Beethoven Music Clifton Taylor Lighting designer Tracy DiGesu Costume designer Janet Pilla Staging Yuxi Qin Piano

Created by Juilliard teacher and modern dance pioneer José Limón, The Waldstein Sonata is set to Beethoven’s lively and playful sonata of the same name and features many of Limón’s characteristic movements, sweeping gestures and group interaction. The music is performed live

by Yuxi Qin, a pianist from the Juilliard School.

Gnawa Nacho Duato Choreographer and set designer Devota and Lomba Costume designer Nicholas Fischtel Lighting designer Hassan Hakmoun, Adam Rudolph, Juan Arteche, Xavier Paxadiño, Abou-Khalil, Velez, Kusur and Sarkissian Music Kevin Irving Staging

Driven by the rhythms of the Mediterranean, acclaimed Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato’s Gnawa captivates with sensual, bold and pulsating movement.

Saturday 25 – Monday 27 August 8.00pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 £10 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/juilliard

Dance

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Episode 31 European Premiere Alexander Ekman Choreographer Mikael Karlsson, Ane Brun and Erik Satie Music Nicole Pearce Lighting designer Luke Simcock Costume designer

Photo Nan Melville

Stylish young Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s new commission, exclusively for Juilliard, is an energetic playground of dance. Ekman, associate choreographer for Nederlands Dans Theater 2, contrasts pumping, almost tribal sequences with strong balletic poses to show off the Juilliard dancers’ superb technique, youth and vigour.

‘They looked like they could have danced all night; I certainly could have watched them’

Photo Rosalie O’Connor

‘These performers look ready to enter the profession. Wait – they have entered it’

Supported by

Léan Scully EIF Fund With additional support from

Embassy of the United States of America, London

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Dance

‘a superb international troupe of dancers… an ambitious and thoughtful choreographer’

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Photo Gadi

Dagon

Dance

Hora Batsheva Dance Company Ohad Naharin Choreographer Avi Yona Bueno Lighting and stage designer Anna Mirkin Costume designer Isao Tomita and Ryoji Ikeda Music

Hora is a thrilling spectacle of movement, an emotional rollercoaster that successfully highlights – in a company that deliberately works without soloists – the uniqueness of each one of the dancers. Set against a stark, luminous green background, the dancers’ athleticism, technique and energy take centre stage, showing beautiful asymmetrical shapes with immense grace and visceral physicality in hyper-definition.

Led by artistic director Ohad Naharin, one of the world’s most distinctive choreographers, Batsheva Dance Company makes a welcome return to the Festival following 2008’s sensational Deca Dance.

Isao Tomita’s alien soundtrack blends great classical works by Wagner, Ives and Debussy with the theme from Star Wars and music featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey, as the dancers twist, jerk and articulate their way through Naharin’s striking choreography with insect-like precision and grace. Sexy and elegant, Hora sees contemporary dance flirt with science fiction in a production that is out of this world.

Co-produced by Montpellier Danse 2010 and Lincoln Center Festival, New York

Thursday 30 August – Saturday 1 September 7.30pm The Edinburgh Playhouse Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 £10 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/hora

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Dance

‘Spectacular... aptly captures the magic and hope of the well-known fairytale.

In short, it is genius.’

Cinderella MUSIC BY SERGEI PROKOFIEV VALERY GERGIEV CONDUCTOR

Thursday 30 August – Saturday 1 September 7.30pm Saturday 1 September 2.30pm Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £46 £39.50 £32 £25 £20 £12 2 hours 50 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/cinderella Saturday 1 September

Mariinsky Ballet Valery Gergiev Music director and conductor Alexei Ratmansky Choreographer Ilya Utkin and Yeveny Monakhov Set designers Elena Markovskaya Costume designer Gleb Filshtinsky Lighting designer

7.15pm

The legendary Mariinsky Ballet brings Charles Perrault’s classic fairytale to the Festival, in this large-scale production that offers a sumptuous mix of engrossing storytelling and grand classical ballet with a fresh contemporary twist.

Cinderella is forbidden from going to the ball, and instead is forced to do the dirtiest household chores.

When an old tramp appears and Cinderella takes pity on her, she reveals herself to be a fairy and grants Cinderella her greatest wish – it seems she will go to the ball after all.

But there is one condition: she must leave by midnight or the magic spell will be broken.

Artist in Residence with American Ballet Theatre and former Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky is one of the most sought after choreographers in the world. His exquisite and inventive choreography blends classical ballet with innovative movement that is full of wit, charm and character.

Complete with a full corps de ballet, the dancers’ every movement is highlighted and intensified by Prokofiev’s gorgeous musical score performed live by the Mariinsky Orchestra and led by the great Valery Gergiev. Prepare to be captivated, entranced and enchanted in equal measure.

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Photo Natasha Razina

Photo Valentin Baranovsky

Dance

Supported by

Harold Mitchell Esq, AC Production Sponsor

Mariinsky UK tour supported by BP

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NVA’s Speed of Light

NVA’s Speed of Light World Premiere

Supported by

Product sponsor GDS

NVA’s Title ofSpeed section of Light

Throughout Festival 2012, Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat is the focus for a remarkable fusion of innovative public art and sporting endeavour.

Through a mass choreographed act of walking and endurance running, NVA’s Speed of Light will illuminate the iconic mountain, which rises dramatically from the heart of the city. A mesmerising visual display unfolds on the ascent to the summit as hundreds of runners wearing specially commissioned light suits take to the intricate path networks below. As a member of the walking audience, you become part of the work, with portable light sources set against the dark features of the mountainside.

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Angus Farquhar Creative director Jane Connarty Associate director Litza Bixler Choreographer Phil Supple Lighting designer James Johnson Product designer Resonance Radio Orchestra Sound design

In 2012, NVA’s Speed of Light, also includes working with seven of Edinburgh’s other Festivals on a programme of curated events, lectures, workshops and discussions investigating human endurance, through the subculture of long-distance running and the experience of the runner.

9 –12, 15 –19, 22 –27, 29 –31 August and 1 September

Please note, all walking participants will require a level of physical fitness to climb Arthur’s Seat and sturdy footwear must be worn.

Participants must be aged 12 or over, with children under 16 accompanied by an adult. Please contact Hub Tickets for details or visit eif.co.uk/speedoflight

Guided walking groups meet at Speed of Light base every 15 minutes at 9.15pm, 9.30pm, 9.45pm, 10.00pm, 10.15pm, 10.30pm, 10.45pm and 11.00pm

This performance contains some flash lighting.

Tickets £24 £18 concessions

For advice about levels of physical fitness or mobility please refer to speedoflight2012.org.uk or contact Hub Tickets.

Arthur’s Seat, Holyrood Park, near Holyrood Palace car park

2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/speedoflight

Photos Alan McAteer

NVA’s Speed of Light is one of only four national projects commissioned

by Legacy Trust UK’s Community Celebrations programme, which aims to build a lasting legacy from the UK’s hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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Opera

The Makropulos Case LEOŠ JANÁCˇEK LIBRETTO BY LEOŠ JANÁCˇEK AFTER KAREL CˇAPEK

New Production Premiere Sung in English with English supertitles

Opera North

Do you wish for immortality?

Even if your endless life would be one without love?

Emilia Marty Ylva Kihlberg Albert Gregor Paul Nilon Vítek Mark Le Brocq Kristina Stephanie Corley Jaroslav Prus Robert Hayward Janek Adrian Dwyer Dr Kolenatý James Creswell Hauk-Šendorf Nigel Robson Richard Farnes Conductor Tom Cairns Director Hildegard Bechtler Set designer Bruno Poet Lighting designer

The squabbling over the contested will of Baron Jaroslav Prus has gone on for almost a century, but the mysterious opera diva Emilia Marty seems to know far more than she should about the history of the case. Men inexplicably fall at her feet and, strangely eager to possess an arcane document hidden with Prus’s will, she coldly uses them to discover its whereabouts.

Saturday 11 August & Monday 13 August 7.15pm Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £68 £60 £52 £42 £30 £20 £16 2 hours 30 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/makropulos Monday 13 August 6.00pm

7.00pm

Supported by

Dunard Fund

Janácˇek’s penultimate opera is at once a mystery thriller and a meditation on desire and eternal life. It keeps its audience guessing until its thrilling conclusion’s transcendent revelations on life and love, and features some of the composer’s most radiant, life-affirming music.

Richard Farnes conducts the premiere of this new production by acclaimed director Tom Cairns, with an exceptional cast of soloists.

Photo Ylva Kihlberg by Natascha Thiara Rydvald Artwork Š Opera North

Opera 33

Photo

Š Je n Tu rner

34 Opera

Opera

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David et Jonathas MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER LIBRETTO BY FRANÇOIS BRETONNEAU Sung in French with English supertitles

Les Arts Florissants Jonathas Ana Quintans David Pascal Charbonneau Achis Frédéric Caton La Pythonisse Dominique Visse Joabel Kresimir Spicer Saul Neal Davies William Christie Conductor Andreas Homoki Stage production Paul Zoller Set designer Gideon Davey Costume designer Franck Evin Lighting designer

Love, jealousy, witchcraft and war: Charpentier’s 1688 sacred opera is a dramatic and moving reinterpretation of an Old Testament tragedy set on the eve of battle.

Envious of the close friendship between his son Jonathas and David, King Saul banishes David from the Israelite camp. Despite his desire for peace, David reluctantly joins the rival Philistine army, only too aware that he may be forced to fight his beloved friend in the coming war. When battle commences, will anybody be able to claim a true victory?

David et Jonathas is one of Charpentier’s most dramatic stage works, full of stirring music and passionate arias that convey its achingly poignant story.

Friday 17 August, Sunday 19 August & Monday 20 August 7.15pm Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £68 £60 £52 £42 £30 £20 £16 2 hours 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/davidetjonathas

Conductor William Christie’s reputation for interpreting the works of the great French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier is second to none: he even named his exceptional period ensemble, Les Arts Florissants, after another of the composer’s operas.

His cast are some of the top names in early opera and the production is by acclaimed German director Andreas Homoki.

A new production from Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

Co-produced by Opéra Comique, Théâtre de Caen and Teatro Real.

Supported by

Dunard Fund

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Opera

‘Subtly haunting and quietly powerful… I want to hear it again soon.’

The Daily Telegraph on Clemency

Scottish Opera All sung in English With players from The Orchestra of Scottish Opera These four new works are the culmination of a five-year plan by Scotland’s national opera company to explore what opera might mean in the 21st century. The first stage, Five:15 – Operas Made in Scotland, saw 15 new, short operas developed in partnerships between some of the leading artistic lights in Scotland. As part of the celebration of Scottish Opera’s 50th anniversary, this year the Company presents longer pieces created by teams from Scotland and further afield.

Special Ticket Offer Book all 3 performances for only £60 and save 20%.

The Lady from the Sea Craig Armstrong Libretto by Zoë Strachan Based on a play by Henrik Ibsen World Premiere Derek Clark Conductor Harry Fehr Director

Ellida, daughter of a lighthouse-keeper, lives a narrow life with a husband several years her senior. She is full of longing for the sea and for freedom, and the arrival of a mysterious stranger creates a storm that threatens to submerge the whole family. He offers an escape from the stifling world she inhabits, and Ellida must decide whether to do her duty or answer the call of the sea…

Known equally for his popular music collaborations and his scores for cinema and stage, including Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, Armstrong is a pioneering musician whose distinctive classical works have been praised for their delicacy and beauty.

The Lady from the Sea also makes use of video design, playing to Armstrong’s extensive cinematic experience.

A Scottish Opera and Edinburgh International Festival co-production.

Wednesday 29 August 8.00pm & Saturday 1 September 9.00pm King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

Tickets £25 £12.50 1 hour 20 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/ladyfromthesea

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Photo Stephen Cummiskey

Opera

Clemency

In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol

James MacMillan Libretto by Michael Symmons Roberts

In the Locked Room Huw Watkins Libretto by David Harsent Based on a short story by Thomas Hardy Michael McCarthy Director

Derek Clark Conductor Katie Mitchell Director

Sarah and Abraham are visited in their old age by three travellers.

Their conversation becomes increasingly unsettling and the visitors make the unlikely claim that Sarah is to have a new child. As the couple wonder who the bearers of such news might be, talk turns to a mission of vengeance, and a horrifying plan that leaves them pleading for their neighbours’ lives.

Clemency puts a contemporary twist to a Biblical tale, creating the spiritual intensity and reflection for which James MacMillan’s work is so well known, and was received to great acclaim at its world premiere in London’s Royal Opera House in May 2011. MacMillan’s richly coloured 50-minute work is for the intimate forces of five singers and string orchestra and is a haunting piece with a potent lasting impact.

Commissioned by Scottish Opera, ROH2, Britten Sinfonia and Boston Lyric Opera. Co-produced by Scottish Opera and ROH2.

Friday 31 August 8.00pm & Saturday 1 September 4.00pm King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £25 £12.50 50 minutes approximately

Ghost Patrol Stuart MacRae Libretto by Louise Welsh Matthew Richardson Director World Premieres Michael Rafferty Conductor

A closed door sparks an obsession so strong that the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to blur. A modern day bar where three people who are trying to escape their past collide, uncovering a terrible secret and unleashing inevitable tragedy.

Presented as a double bill, these two short operas explore the capacity of the mind to shape our lives, whether through the potency of imagination or the overwhelming power of memories. Composers Huw Watkins and Stuart MacRae hail from a generation who are rapidly establishing themselves amongst the leading composers in the UK. Huw Watkins teams up with multi award-winning poet David Harsent and Stuart MacRae with acclaimed crime novelist Louise Welsh to bring these evocative tales to the stage.

Co-commissioned and co-produced by Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales.

Thursday 30 August 8.00pm, Saturday 1 September 12 noon & Sunday 2 September 3.00pm Traverse Theatre

eif.co.uk/clemency

Tickets £25

Saturday 1 September

2 hours 10 minutes approximately

2.45pm

3.45pm

eif.co.uk/lockedroom-ghostpatrol

Photo The Round Table and the Holy Grail, from the ‘Livre de Messire Lancelot du Lac’, 1470 by French School The Bridgeman Art Library/Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Opera in Concert

Photo Kristin Hoebermann

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Tristan und Isolde

King Arthur

RICHARD WAGNER

HENRY PURCELL

Welsh National Opera

The Sixteen

Concert performance sung in German

Concert performance sung in English

Tristan Ben Heppner Isolde Jennifer Wilson Brangäne Susan Bickley Kurwenal Phillip Joll King Marke Matthew Best Melot Simon Thorpe

Sophie Bevan Soprano Robert Murray Tenor Jonathan Lemalu Bass baritone Harry Christophers Conductor

Lothar Koenigs Conductor

Wagner’s extraordinary opera Tristan und Isolde is one of the most powerful experiences that the artform has to offer. Its glorious music, possessed of remarkable strength and subtlety, conveys a mystical story of a love so profound it can only be fully realised in death.

It is hard not to fall under the heady spell of the work’s unstoppable yearnings and ever-mounting tensions.

Making its fourth consecutive appearance at the Festival, including the acclaimed performance of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen in 2009, The Sixteen brings its expertise in early English music to bear on the spectacular Restoration drama King Arthur.

Welsh National Opera music director Lothar Koenigs is acclaimed for his Wagner interpretations that grasp the music’s natural ebb and flow yet are never overblown. He directs a cast of exceptional operatic talents.

With music by Purcell and a libretto by poet laureate John Dryden, the piece recounts not the legends of Camelot but the raging battles between King Arthur’s god-fearing Britons and the heathen Saxons to save Arthur’s intended, the blind Princess Emmeline of Cornwall.

A masterpiece of 17th-century patriotism, it contains some of Purcell’s most lyrical and powerful music, with rousing martial episodes, tender arias including the famous ‘Fairest Isle’, and a glorious final vision of a united Britain.

‘Ben Heppner is, quite simply, the eminent Wagnerian.’

The Vancouver Province

‘Harry Christophers conducted with the lightest and sunniest of touches’ The Daily Telegraph

Jennifer Wilson: ‘Through her voice she could tell the audience volumes about a single word.’ The Houston Chronicle

‘a measured, polished performance, stylishly articulated’ The Guardian

Wednesday 15 August 5.00pm

Supported by

Monday 27 August 7.30pm

Usher Hall

The Stevenston Charitable Trust

Usher Hall

Tickets £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £12

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

5 hours 10 minutes approximately

2 hours 10 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/tristanundisolde

eif.co.uk/sixteen

Supported by

The Opening Concert

The Opening Concert

A Mass of Life FREDERICK DELIUS

Friday 10 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets £46 £39 £32 £26 £20 £12 2 hours 10 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/opening

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Royal Scottish National Orchestra Sir Andrew Davis Conductor Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master Anna Christy Soprano Pamela Helen Stephen Mezzo soprano Robert Murray Tenor Hanno Müller-Brachmann Bass baritone

The Opening Concert presents one of the grandest choral pieces ever written: Delius’s A Mass of Life. Not a mass in any traditional religious sense, the work is instead a glorious choral celebration of positivity, of man’s will to embrace the rich possibilities of life and of our potential for strength, energy, pride and sincerity. Using a text drawn from Nietzsche’s Also sprach Zarathustra, it’s an exceptionally beautiful score and one of Delius’s crowning achievements, with music of huge joy and passion.

Sir Andrew Davis has a reputation second to none in his interpretations of British music, delivering performances full of vivid detail and visceral excitement. He’s joined by four exceptional soloists from Britain, Germany and America, and the massed forces of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.

Photo Rashevskaya/Dreamstime.com

Sponsored by

Photo Dario Acosta

Music

Photo John Wood

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Alpine Symphony BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles Conductor Beethoven Symphony No 6 ‘Pastoral’ Strauss Alpine Symphony

Donald Runnicles and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra return to the Festival with two transcendental evocations of nature and landscape, following last year’s memorable performance of Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony.

Beethoven’s much-loved ‘Pastoral’ Symphony conveys the peace and happiness that the composer found in the natural world in music full of drama and wonder, complete with episodes describing a babbling brook, enchanting birdsong and a tumultuous storm.

It is a mountain tempest that Strauss portrays in his Alpine Symphony, a piece that charts a day’s climbing from the foreboding of night to its glorious vision from the summit. Written on a grand scale, and for an enormous orchestra including organ, a huge battery of percussion and an off-stage brass band, the Symphony summons a majestic vision that is the ideal canvas for Runnicles and his orchestra.

‘The BBC SSO’s playing was transcendent... one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.’ The Herald

Deborah Voigt Soprano Brian Zeger Piano Songs by Amy Beach, Verdi, Richard Strauss, Respighi, Ben Moore and Bernstein

The celebrated American soprano Deborah Voigt has been lauded for her vivid characterisation and soaring voice. She returns in a concert contrasting richly Romantic songs from Europe with a diverse selection of dazzling American vocal works, accompanied by her regular collaborator, US pianist Brian Zeger.

Voigt’s choice of Verdi songs, including the folk-like Stornello and the drinking song Brindisi, were not written for his operas, but they are still full of drama and theatricality. Voigt is known as a specialist in the turbulent, emotionally charged Lieder of Richard Strauss, which sit perfectly alongside Respighi’s deceptively simple songs, whose caressing melodies reveal a deep intensity.

The 3 Songs by Robert Browning by US composer Amy Beach are sensitive creations, with abruptly changing moods, and the concert songs by Bernstein and contemporary composer Ben Moore combine easy tunefulness with a grand, romantic sweep.

‘She has a magnificent voice: huge, agile, even, lustrous and individual.’

The Washington Post

This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Saturday 11 August 8.00pm

Sponsored by

Sunday 12 August 8.00pm

Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Tickets £34 £26 £22 £15 £12

1 hour 50 minutes approximately

1 hour 35 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/alpine

eif.co.uk/voigt-zeger

Supported by

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Vladimir Jurowski Conductor

Sir Roger Norrington Conductor

Tatiana Monogarova Soprano Sergei Skorokhodov Tenor Vladimir Chernov Baritone

Angelika Kirchschlager Mezzo soprano Sophie Bevan Soprano Mary Bevan Soprano NYCoS National Girls Choir Christopher Bell Chorus Master Berlioz Les nuits d’été Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Mendelssohn’s incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream transports us to Shakespeare’s fairy world with its enchanting evocations, including the well-loved ‘Wedding March’. Sir Roger Norrington, one of the founding fathers of historically informed performance, has long produced striking and unforgettable interpretations of cherished masterpieces. The sensitivity of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s gossamer sound is the perfect match for Mendelssohn’s magical textures.

The Shakespearean theme is established in Berlioz’s languid Les nuits d’été, settings of six poems by French poet Théophile Gautier that pay affectionate homage to the great English dramatist. Celebrated Austrian mezzo soprano Angelika Kirchschlager is famed for the warmth and vividness of her readings, ideal qualities in these beautifully crafted songs of love, desire and longing.

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Photo Chris Christodoulou

Photo Scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titiana and Boltom by Edwin Landseer, 1848–51 (detail), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Felton Bequest, 1932

Music

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master Denisov Bells in the Fog Myaskovsky Silentium Rodion Shchedrin Concerto for Orchestra No 2 ‘The Chimes’ Rachmaninov The Bells

Tolling Russian bells resound throughout the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s all-Russian programme. Rachmaninov’s grand choral symphony The Bells charts a startling journey from birth to death in music of jubilation, passion and redemption. Vladimir Jurowski directs three Russian-born soloists and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus in this moving masterpiece based on verse by Edgar Allan Poe. The same writer is the inspiration behind the vivid musical storytelling in Myaskovsky’s Silentium, which follows Edison Denisov’s mysterious and impressionistic Bells in the Fog. The colourful Second Concerto for Orchestra by Rodion Shchedrin, named ‘The Chimes’, evokes the bells and powerfully expressive chant of ancient Russia.

‘The orchestral sound glowed, glittered and swooned’ The Guardian

Monday 13 August 8.00pm

Tuesday 14 August 8.00pm

Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

1 hour 50 minutes approximately

1 hour 55 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/sco1

eif.co.uk/lpo

Music

Photo Joachim

VII Ladefoged /

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‘the LSO responded to [Gergiev’s] fluttering gesture with amazing virtuosity’

01

02

Nicola Benedetti Violin

Brahms Tragic Overture Szymanowski Symphony No 2 Brahms Symphony No 2

Szymanowski Symphony No 1 Violin Concerto No 1 Brahms Symphony No 1

Powerhouse conductor Valery Gergiev, the Edinburgh International Festival’s Honorary President, brings the London Symphony Orchestra to the festival for what promises to be a fascinating four-concert residency contrasting the glowing nobility of Brahms with the exotic, perfumed passions of Szymanowski.

Brahms’s Second is the sunniest of the composer’s four symphonies, its cheerful, pastoral mood drawing comparisons with Beethoven’s well-loved ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. The piece’s tender melodies and genial intimacy are only clouded by the briefest of storms in the brooding slow movement, revealing the steely strength behind the naive charm that Brahms evokes in the work.

It was her performance of Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 1 that won Ayrshire-born violinist Nicola Benedetti the BBC Young Musician title in 2004 at the age of 16, and the Polish composer’s sensuous, mystical music has been in her blood ever since.

Szymanowski’s dramatic Second Symphony, on the other hand, is a grand statement that shows the impact of Mahler and Richard Strauss, while also drawing on the lush impressionism of Debussy. Sensuous and passionate, and scored for a huge orchestra, it has gorgeous melodies, brilliant colours and a magnificent conclusion.

eif.co.uk/lso1

eif.co.uk/lso2

2 hours approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

Music

London Symphony Orchestra CONDUCTED BY VALERY GERGIEV

04

Toby Spence Tenor

Denis Matsuev Piano Leonidas Kavakos Violin

Szymanowski’s Third Symphony is one of the composer’s most admired and most sumptuous works, an intoxicating creation for tenor soloist, choir and orchestra that describes the soul’s communication with God during a starlit Persian night. Evoking the subtle colours of Debussy, Ravel and Scriabin, its shimmering orchestral textures convey the mysteries of the supernatural in iridescent, ecstatic music.

Usher Hall Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12 Special LSO Ticket Offer Book for all 4 concerts and get a 20% discount

Sponsored by

karolszymanowski.pl

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‘This Brahms orchestra Symphony No 3 consistently Brahms Variations on a theme by Haydn turns out performances a cut Szymanowski Symphony No 3 ‘Song of the Night’ above their rivals’

Thursday 16 August 8.00pm Friday 17 August 8.00pm Saturday 18 August 7.30pm Sunday 19 August 7.30pm

Supported by

FEATURING NICOLA BENEDETTI, TOBY SPENCE, DENIS MATSUEV & LEONIDAS KAVAKOS

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

01 02 03 04

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Szymanowski Symphony No 4 Violin Concerto No 2 Brahms Symphony No 4

Valery Gergiev concludes the LSO’s festival residency with the final symphonic creations by both Brahms and Szymanowski. Brahms’s Fourth Symphony is the summation of his orchestral music, serious yet transcendent, passionate but intellectually rigorous. It’s hard not to feel moved by the slow unfolding of the final movement’s towering passacaglia, based on church music by Bach.

Szymanowski’s Symphony No 4 is a piano concerto in all but name, its percussive brilliance tempered by magical moments of lyrical reflection.

eif.co.uk/lso3

eif.co.uk/lso4

1 hour 30 minutes approximately

1 hour 55 minutes approximately

Photo Sniegirova Mariia / Shutterstock

Music

Photo Michel Garnier

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Orchestre des Champs-Élysées

Cleveland Orchestra 01

Philippe Herreweghe Conductor

Franz Welser-Möst Conductor

Hanna-Elisabeth Müller Soprano Okka von der Damerau Alto Maximilian Schmitt Tenor Tareq Nazmi Bass

Lutoslawski Concerto for Orchestra Smetana Má Vlast (parts 1– 4)

Collegium Vocale Gent

Best known for the unforgettable ‘Vltava’ (also known as ‘The Moldau’), which vividly depicts the country’s mighty river, the six symphonic poems of Má Vlast, ‘My Homeland’, conjure the spirit of Smetana’s beloved Bohemia, conveying its history, traditions and nature in music of wonder and imagination.

Brahms Gesang der Parzen Bruckner Te Deum Symphony No 9

Following their acclaimed festival appearance in 2009, Philippe Herreweghe and his period-instrument Orchestre des Champs-Élysées return with transcendental music by two of the greatest 19th-century composers.

Brahms’s searching Gesang der Parzen (‘Song of the Fates’) is a brooding meditation on man’s destiny, expressed in a work of tremendous power. The spiritual theme continues in the joyful Te Deum by one of music’s most profound mystical explorers, Anton Bruckner.

Franz Welser-Möst and his mighty Cleveland Orchestra bring their power and precision to the piece in a welcome return to the Festival. Folk music, this time from Poland, also lies behind Lutoslawski’s colourful Concerto for Orchestra, a virtuoso showpiece that shines a spotlight on the individual talents of Cleveland’s exceptional players.

‘This world-class orchestra... outshines all competitors these days’ The Wall Street Journal

Bruckner’s monumental Ninth Symphony is the composer’s crowning orchestral achievement, a piece that explores profound emotions yet remains possessed of a serene, radiant mysticism. Herreweghe has devoted his career to returning masterworks to their original essences, and tonight his orchestra plays instruments from Bruckner’s time.

This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Monday 20 August 8.00pm

Tuesday 21 August 8.00pm

Supported by

Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Edinburgh International Festival Friends and Patrons

1 hour 55 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/champselysees

eif.co.uk/cleveland1

Performance of Lutoslawski supported by

Photo Roger Mastroianni

Cleveland Orchestra 02

European Union Youth Orchestra

Franz Welser-Möst Conductor

Gianandrea Noseda Conductor

Lars Vogt Piano

Garrick Ohlsson Piano

Lutoslawski Piano Concerto Smetana Má Vlast (parts 5 – 6) Shostakovich Symphony No 6

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Franz Welser-Möst concludes the Cleveland Orchestra’s account of Smetana’s Má Vlast with the powerful final movements, which depict the glories of Bohemian pride in music of blazing defiance. Shostakovich wrote his seldom-heard Symphony No 6 just after the dark years of Stalin’s purges, and the jollity of its conclusion makes a startling contrast with its haunting opening.

Compelling German pianist Lars Vogt is the soloist in Lutoslawski’s Piano Concerto, a piece full of energy and shimmering colours that proudly displays the inspiration its composer took from Chopin and Rachmaninov. It’s the perfect showpiece for Vogt’s combination of muscularity and refinement, and for the remarkable warmth and clarity of the Cleveland Orchestra’s sound.

Richard Causton Twenty-Seven Heavens (New Music 20x12 UK premiere) Debussy Nocturnes Busoni Piano Concerto The exceptional young players of the European Union Youth Orchestra take on one of the largest and grandest piano concertos ever written.

Busoni’s vast creation, with a male chorus swelling its overwhelming conclusion, is rarely performed because of the demands it places on its performers. The rich, deep sound of acclaimed US pianist Garrick Ohlsson is ideal for the piece’s vast canvas.

Conductor Gianandrea Noseda also brings his thrilling energy to bear on Debussy’s magical Nocturnes, three sound portraits of subtle shades and dazzling light. Twenty-Seven Heavens, by Richard Causton, is part of New Music 20x12, delivered by PRS for Music Foundation with the BBC, LOCOG and NMC Recordings.

‘The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the greatest in the world – the playing is perfection.’ The Guardian ‘The EUYO played... with such vitality and brilliance that they certainly turned heads.’ Berliner Zeitung This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Wednesday 22 August 8.00pm

Supported by

Thursday 23 August 8.00pm

Usher Hall

Edinburgh International Festival Friends and Patrons

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12 2 hours approximately eif.co.uk/cleveland2

Performance of Lutoslawski supported by

45

Photo Tomasz Ogrodowczyk

Music

Sponsored by

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12 2 hours 10 minutes approximately

With additional support from

eif.co.uk/euyo

The Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh

Photo akg-images/Gerd Hartung

Music

Photo Silvia Lelli

46

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester

The Nutcracker

Daniele Gatti Conductor

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Wagner Prelude to Act 3 from Parsifal Good Friday Music from Parsifal Mahler Symphony No 7

Ilan Volkov Conductor

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester is one of the world’s most revered ensembles of young musicians – and also one of the largest, with over 80 string players alone. None of its members is over the age of 26, and they are hand-picked from the best young musicians throughout Europe. Famed for its breathtaking energy, agility and great sonic beauty, the orchestra excels in music on a grand scale, including the works by the two great 19th-century composers in tonight’s programme.

Mahler’s dark-hued Symphony No 7 charts a journey from dusk to dawn, with music that is passionate and lyrical, yet also at times chilling and grotesque. Conductor Daniele Gatti has a well-established reputation as a fine Mahlerian. He also has an instinctive flair for opera, and conducts the mystical orchestral meditations from Wagner’s final stage work.

National Youth Choir of Scotland Christopher Bell Chorus Master Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker (complete ballet)

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite is one of the composer’s best-loved works, with timeless pieces including the ‘Trepak’, ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ and ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’. Hearing the suite’s wealth of melody in its rightful place as part of Tchaikovsky’s complete ballet score places the famous movements in their true dramatic context, and also offers the chance to discover lesser-known gems.

Ilan Volkov directs the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in sumptuous music that’s perfect for festive occasions of all seasons, and enchants listeners whatever their age.

This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

‘As an exercise in orchestral technique it was supreme, as a musical encounter it was better still.’ New Statesman ‘Simply ravishing... an extraordinary phenomenon’ The Scotsman

Friday 24 August 8.00pm

Sponsored by

Saturday 25 August 7.30pm

Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

2 hours 10 minutes approximately

2 hours approximately

eif.co.uk/gmjo

eif.co.uk/nutcracker

Sponsored by

Budapest Festival Orchestra

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

Iván Fischer Conductor

Andris Nelsons Conductor

József Lendvay Violin

Baiba Skride Violin

Bartók Hungarian Peasant Songs, Sz100 Violin Concerto No 1 Mahler Symphony No 5

Sofia Gubaidulina Offertorium, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Sibelius Symphony No 2

Iván Fischer founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra 29 years ago and today it is one of central Europe’s most prestigious ensembles, its unmistakable sound combining Magyar fire with thrilling spontaneity.

It is just the orchestra to bring a spellbinding authenticity to its compatriot Béla Bartók’s folk-inspired Hungarian Peasant Songs, and to his youthful First Violin Concerto, a tender musical love letter that went unanswered. Soloist József Lendvay, too, is steeped in Magyar culture: the son of a Hungarian folk musician, he brings a virile virtuosity to the music of his homeland.

The famous Adagietto used in Visconti’s 1971 film Death in Venice forms the slow movement of Mahler’s Symphony No 5. It is a beautiful love song without words. Hearing the whole symphony is a triumphant journey from tragedy to jubilation.

‘The Budapest Festival Orchestra filled the Royal Albert Hall with pounding, blinding energy.’ The Daily Telegraph

Often considered to embody the spirit of Finnish nationalism, Sibelius’s Second Symphony is one of the composer’s warmest pieces, emerging from forest murmuring at its opening to the blazing light of its grandiose conclusion’s triumphant fanfares.

The violin concerto Offertorium by Tartar-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina has become a modern classic, its profound spiritual message conveyed in music of glowing transcendance. Written in defiance of Soviet oppression, its score was smuggled out of the USSR for its 1981 premiere in Vienna. It is just the piece to showcase the lyricism and emotional depth of Latvian-born violinist Baiba Skride’s playing to the full.

‘Andris Nelsons is six-and-a-half feet of pure energy’ The Daily Telegraph ‘there really is something going on between Nelsons and the CBSO… an alchemy that makes the combination irresistible in concert.’ The Guardian

‘the sheer power of the Budapest players took the breath away’ The Scotsman This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at a future date.

Sunday 26 August 7.30pm

Sponsored by

47

Photo Marco Borggreve

Photo Kürti Ákos

Photo Marco Borggreve

Music

Tuesday 28 August 8.00pm

Usher Hall

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

2 hours 15 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/budapest

eif.co.uk/cbso

Baiba Skride’s performance supported by

Mr and Mrs James Anderson

Music

Photo Clive Barda

Photo Bernard Benant

48

The English Concert David Daniels

Philharmonia Orchestra

Harry Bicket Director and harpsichord

Esa-Pekka Salonen Conductor

David Daniels Countertenor Nadja Zwiener Violin Katharina Spreckelsen Oboe

Viviane Hagner Violin

A. Scarlatti Sinfonia ‘Clori, Dorino e Amore’ Cantata ‘Perchè tacete, regolati concenti’ J.S. Bach Concerto in A for oboe d’amore BWV1055 Concerto in C minor for oboe and violin BWV1060 Vivaldi Cantata ‘Cessate, omai cessate’ Handel ‘Crede l’uom’ from Il trinofo del tempo e del disinganno ‘Voi che udite’ from Agrippina ‘Perfido’ from Radamisto

World-renowned countertenor David Daniels joins The English Concert, one of Europe’s most celebrated period-instrument ensembles, for sparkling vocal and instrumental showpieces by some of the continent’s greatest Baroque composers.

Daniels’s peerless lyricism and infectious energy will be put to good use in three passionate arias by Handel. Scarlatti’s Perchè tacete, regolati concenti and Vivaldi’s Cessate, omai cessate are intense cantatas of unrequited love, one full of ornate floating melodies, the other brimming with rage and heartbreak – and both ideal settings for Daniels’s vivid characterisation and gymnastic vocal abilities.

Unsuk Chin Violin Concerto Bruckner Symphony No 4 in E flat ‘Romantic’

Principal conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the Philharmonia Orchestra in Bruckner’s magnificent Fourth Symphony, one of the composer’s most popular works.

Nicknamed the ‘Romantic’ in reference to its themes of medieval chivalry, the Symphony moves from an evocative awakening of nature in its first movement to the majestic affirmations of its conclusion in music of radiant grandeur.

The Violin Concerto by South Korean-born composer Unsuk Chin won the 2004 Grawemeyer Award, contemporary music’s most coveted prize, for its glittering sounds and expressive beauty. German violinist Viviane Hagner, tonight’s soloist, knows the virtuosic solo part better than anyone: she gave the first performance in 2002, and even advised the composer on the score.

‘The orchestra were at the top of their game’ The Guardian ‘The Philharmonia’s playing was terrific, in detail and in grand design’ The Observer

‘Bicket is a sure and stylish Baroque hand and directed his colleagues with grace and aplomb’ Chicago Classical Review

Wednesday 29 August 7.30pm Usher Hall Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

Supported by

American Friends of the Edinburgh International Festival

Thursday 30 August 8.00pm

Supported by

Usher Hall

Joscelyn Fox

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 55 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/englishconcert-daniels

eif.co.uk/philharmonia

Photo Felix Broede

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Belshazzar’s Feast

Robin Ticciati Conductor

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Alina Pogostkina Violin Anja Kampe Soprano Sir Willard White Bass baritone

David Robertson Conductor

Mahler What the Wild Flowers Tell Me (arr. Britten) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto Shostakovich Symphony No 14

Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell Chorus Master

Neal Davies Baritone

Lyricism and virtuosity mingle in Tchaikovsky’s brilliant Violin Concerto, a showpiece of agility and speed that also demands great sensitivity in its wistful slow movement. Its soloist, Russian-born violinist Alina Pogostkina, is one of the most sought-after young talents today, praised for her subtle nuances and fiery passion.

The carefree mood is earlier set by What the Wild Flowers Tell Me, Britten’s delicate arrangement of the second movement of Mahler’s Third Symphony, one of the composer’s most graceful, gentle pieces.

Conductor Robin Ticciati changes the atmosphere completely with Shostakovich’s Symphony No 14, a gripping examination of our mortality that rages against death and celebrates life. It’s a riveting setting of 11 poems for two singers and chamber orchestra, for which Ticciati is joined by two celebrated soloists – the outstanding German-born soprano Anja Kampe and the powerful bass baritone Sir Willard White.

Ives The Unanswered Question Feldman Coptic Light Walton Belshazzar’s Feast

The Festival’s concert programme concludes as it began: with grand, celebratory British choral music. Walton’s much-loved Belshazzar’s Feast is one of the composer’s most acclaimed pieces, telling of the Jews’ miraculous regaining of their freedom following the fall of the Babylonian King Belshazzar. Welsh-born baritone Neal Davies, a regular visitor to the Festival, takes the demanding solo part in a thrilling work full of rich orchestration and fiery climaxes.

American conductor David Robertson precedes Walton’s opulent oratorio with music by two of his pioneering compatriots. Ives’s The Unanswered Question is an enigmatic piece with a solo trumpet throwing out interrogations to the cosmos. The shimmering web of hushed sounds that forms Morton Feldman’s Coptic Light delights the ear with its luminous patterns of light and shade.

Robin Ticciati and Scottish Chamber Orchestra: ‘One of the great partnerships in British music’ The Daily Telegraph

Friday 31 August 7.30pm

Supported by

Saturday 1 September 8.00pm

Usher Hall

Donald and Louise MacDonald

Usher Hall

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

49

The National Gallery, London Photo akg-images

Music

Tickets £42 £35 £26 £24 £17 £12

2 hours approximately

1 hour 40 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/sco2

eif.co.uk/belshazzarsfeast

Sponsored by

50

Music

Gagaku Imperial Court Music and Dance of Japan

Perfomed by the Musicians of the Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo

Gagaku is the world’s oldest living orchestral tradition. This music of unforgettable elegance and beauty dates back to 5th century Japan.

Performed by a powerful ensemble of wind instruments, plucked strings and deeply resonant percussion, its slow-moving melodies and exquisite harmonies suggest a serene world of ancient ritual and contemplation.

Gagaku performances are as arresting to watch as they are to hear.

Dancers interpret the stately music with stylised movements, and the musicians’ dramatic costumes and the dazzling decor are just as important as the astonishing music.

The musicians of the Imperial Household in Tokyo are Japan’s most exceptional players. One of Japan’s most ancient performing groups, the ensemble is designated a living national treasure, its performances usually reserved for the private ceremonies of the Japanese imperial family. This is a very rare chance to hear one of the pinnacles of Japanese culture in a wide-ranging programme of traditional court music and dance, its only performance in the UK.

Wednesday 22 August 7.30pm Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Tickets £30 £27 £22 £17 £12 2 hours 10 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/gagaku

Supported by

Virgin Money Fireworks

51

Virgin Money Fireworks Concert Scottish Chamber Orchestra Garry Walker Conductor Walton Orb and Sceptre Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet (excerpts) Walton Suite from Henry V (excerpts)

Bringing Edinburgh’s summer festival season to a magnificent conclusion, the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert combines passionate music from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra with breathtaking pyrotechnics, specially choreographed by international fireworks artists Pyrovision to enhance the musical experience. It is all set against the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh’s historic castle.

This year’s Virgin Money Fireworks Concert is a feast of pageantry and patriotism, celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and also echoing the Festival’s Shakespearean offerings.

Walton’s noble Orb and Sceptre march was written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. It is followed by Vaughan Williams’s glowing pastoral evocation of the folk song ‘Greensleeves’. Prokofiev’s ballet score for Romeo and Juliet is where the greatest love story meets the greatest entertainment, and is well-known to viewers of the BBC’s The Apprentice. The concert’s triumphant conclusion is Walton’s music for Laurence Olivier’s great 1944 film Henry V. Visit eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks for up-to-the-minute news, features and advice on how to make the best of your evening at the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert.

Please note that there are special ticket sales arrangements for this event. See page 70 for further details.

Sunday 2 September 9.00pm Tickets Ross Theatre (seated) £27.50

New for 2012 £17.50 for priority entry 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks

Sponsored by

Photo Rob McDougall

Princes Street Gardens (standing) £12.50

52

Greyfriars

Greyfriars

Greyfriars Kirk Tickets £20 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/greyfriars

Greyfriars Series is supported by

The Binks Trust

Special Ticket Offer Save £20 Buy for 8 concerts and the 9th is free

His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Concerto Palatino

Concerto Caledonia

A CELEBRATION OF GIOVANNI GABRIELI

MUSIC BY TOBIAS HUME

Two of the world’s finest early brass ensembles join forces to reveal the awe-inspiring splendours of Renaissance brass music, exploring the gleaming sounds of Giovanni Gabrieli’s monumental pieces to mark the 400th anniversary of his death.

One of Scotland’s premier early-music ensembles, Concerto Caledonia has an enviable reputation for reviving little-known but important music from the country’s past. Joined by tenor Thomas Walker, the group explores subtle instrumental gems and songs by 16th-century Scottish composer, viol player and soldier Tobias Hume, which display his extraordinarily fertile imagination.

The virtuoso players of both His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Concerto Palatino ensure an authentically resplendent sound.

This concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show at a later date.

Monday 13 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/sagbutts

Dalmatica Dialogos Katarina Livljanic´ Director Kantaduri Josˇko Caleta Director Paris-based vocal ensemble Dialogos brings alive some of the earliest known music, in performances renowned for their purity and spirituality. Dalmatica is a collaboration between the six female singers of Dialogos and Kantaduri, a choir of six traditional Croatian male cantors. They each explore the extraordinary richness of Dalmatian chant and religious music since the Middle Ages, in which Roman Catholic and Byzantine traditions collide, creating a glowing sound fresco of colourful, compelling pieces.

Wednesday 15 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/caledonia

Arcangelo and Iestyn Davies MUSIC BY GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL AND NICOLA ANTONIO PORPORA Iestyn Davies Countertenor Arcangelo Jonathan Cohen Cello and director Stéphanie-Marie Degand Violin Kristian Bezuidenhout Organ, harpsichord Mónica Pustilnik Guitar, lute Exciting young period-instrument ensemble Arcangelo makes its Festival debut with the acclaimed countertenor Iestyn Davies.

Handel and Porpora were two great rival composers in the 18th century, the former supported by King George II and the latter by his son, Frederick, Prince of Wales. Both composers strove for ever greater feats of expression, as displayed in the simmering passions of their chamber cantatas performed today.

Their extraordinarily taxing vocal parts were designed to show off the solo singer’s virtuosity and subtlety.

Tuesday 14 August 5.45pm

Thursday 16 August 5.45pm

eif.co.uk/dalmatica

eif.co.uk/arcangelo

Greyfriars

Homayun Sakhi Trio Homayun Sakhi Rubab Salar Nader Tabla Abbos Kosimov Doyra Kabul-born virtuoso Homayun Sakhi is arguably the greatest living exponent of the Afghan rubab, a plucked stringed instrument of great subtlety.

This is a rare chance to hear the highly expressive music of Afghanistan, involving thrilling interplay between the three musicians, building to exciting conclusions full of swirling melodic colours.

Friday 17 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/homayunsakhi

Supported by Aga Khan Foundation

Ricercar Consort 01

Hebrides Ensemble and Synergy Vocals JAMES MACMILLAN WORLD PREMIERE William Conway Cello and director Scotland’s premier new-music group, Hebrides Ensemble joins forces with Synergy Vocals and renowned bass Brindley Sherratt for the world premiere of a new hour-long piece, co-commissioned by the Festival, by leading Scottish composer James MacMillan. Based on the story of the Resurrection, Since it was the day of preparation… is a major work full of dazzling virtuoso music in which Sherratt portrays the figure of Christ.

Wednesday 22 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/hebrides-synergy

Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

MUSIC BY JOHN BLOW AND HENRY PURCELL Philippe Pierlot Bass viol and director Robin Blaze Countertenor Carlos Mena Countertenor Philippe Pierlot and his renowned period-instrument Ricercar Consort make a welcome return to the Festival for two concerts of early English music. The first explores poignant songs and odes by Purcell alongside Blow’s Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell.

Monday 20 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/ricercar1

Ricercar Consort 02

Alim Qasimov Ensemble Alim Qasimov Voice, daf Fargana Qasimova Voice, daf Rauf Islamov Kamancha Zaki Valiyev Tar Rafael Asgarov Clarinet, balaban Javidan Nabiyev Naghara Alim Qasimov has been described as one of the world’s greatest vocalists. His performances of Azeri mugham – the classical music of Azerbaijan – are recognised worldwide for their searing intensity and raw emotion. Qasimov shares the stage with his daughter Fargana, their soaring voices combining in dramatic vocal duets on themes of love and devotion.

MUSIC BY CHRISTOPHER TYE AND WILLIAM BYRD

Thursday 23 August 5.45pm

Philippe Pierlot Bass viol and director

eif.co.uk/alimqasimov

For their second concert, Philippe Pierlot and the Ricercar Consort explore uplifting and moving music

by Byrd and Tye for viol consort, an expressive early ensemble that can be considered a predecessor of the string quartet.

Supported by Aga Khan Foundation

Tuesday 21 August 5.45pm eif.co.uk/ricercar2

53

The Queen’s Hall Series Start your day with an unforgettable musical experience at the Festival’s celebrated and hugely popular Queen’s Hall Series. Immerse yourself in a world of music – from the USA to Russia, from Europe to Australia – and a profusion of styles to excite and delight every taste, from piano and song recitals to string quartets, and from early opera to jazz guitar.

As well as much-loved chamber masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms, there are thrilling discoveries to be made in French wind quintets, a wide-ranging chamber orchestra programme, and the arresting music of contemporary British composer Thomas Adès.

Alongside performances by many of the world’s most respected established artists, this year’s Queen’s Hall concerts focus on some of the finest young musicians of today, figures whose acclaimed interpretations have already made a truly global impact.

The Queen’s Hall Series is supported by

Edinburgh International Festival Benefactors

eif.co.uk/queenshall

Photo Robert Piwco

The Queen’s Hall Series

Photo Robert Piwco

54

Ferrier Centenary Celebration Concert Kitty Whately Mezzo soprano Njabulo Madlala Baritone Sir Thomas Allen Baritone Roger Vignoles Piano Songs by Gounod, Debussy, Duparc, Ravel and Brahms, and folksongs from Northumbria and South Africa

The legendary contralto Kathleen Ferrier was one of the finest voices Britain has ever produced, achieving world renown and a very special relationship with the Edinburgh International Festival through her memorable performances in its early years. This thrilling showcase of vocal talent celebrates her legacy.

The Kathleen Ferrier Award was set up to honour outstanding young singers at the start of their careers, and its winners represent the most exciting hopes for the opera houses and Lieder platforms of the future.

London-born mezzo soprano Kitty Whately, praised for her sweet-toned voice and natural charisma, was the 2011 recipient, and South African baritone Njabulo Madlala won in 2010 with his rich, creamy tones and dramatic characterisation.

They are joined by two masters of the Lieder recital, Sir Thomas Allen and pianist Roger Vignoles, for a wide-ranging programme contrasting the rich Romanticism of Gounod and Brahms with the subtle, evocative impressionism of Debussy, Ravel and Duparc, and also taking in folksongs from Allen’s Northumbrian and Madlala’s South African homelands.

Saturday 11 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

Frank Hitchman

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

With additional support from

1 hour 45 minutes approximately eif.co.uk/ferrier

Ian Smith of Stornoway Legacy

Trio Zimmermann Schubert String Trio in B flat D471 Schoenberg String Trio Mozart Divertimento in E flat

Praised for its ravishing sound and commanding performances, Trio Zimmermann was formed in 2007 by violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, violist Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra, each an internationally acclaimed soloist in his own right. The ensemble thrilled Festival audiences in 2010 with an all-Beethoven programme.

Despite its title, Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat is not light music at all – it is one of the towering achievements of chamber music. It is also one of Mozart’s noblest works, each instrument playing an equal role in conveying its warm-hearted intimacy.

Schoenberg’s String Trio is a remarkably intense and virtuosic piece, and Schubert’s single-movement Trio in B flat opens the concert on a generous, easy-going note.

Antonio Meneses Cello Maria João Pires Piano Schubert Sonata in A minor ‘Arpeggione’ Brahms Three Intermezzi Op 117 Mendelssohn Song without Words in D Op 109 Brahms Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor

Portuguese-born pianist Maria João Pires has the ability to transfix audiences with her performances, combining spellbinding poetry and utter sincerity. She is joined by Brazilian cellist Antonio Meneses, formerly cellist of the renowned Beaux Arts Trio, who is admired for his luminous, refined playing. Together, their elegant interpretations let the beauty of the music they play shine through.

Their programme is one of understated passion, from the lyricism and aching melancholy of Schubert’s ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata to the joyful Song without Words by Mendelssohn. Pires performs three solo-piano intermezzi by Brahms, deeply personal works of tranquillity and peacefulness, and the two players come together for the same composer’s songful First Cello Sonata, full of rapturous expression.

‘Individually... (they) are fabulous musicians – but combined they are explosive’ The Scotsman This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

55

Photo Felix Broede

Photo Mats Bäcker

Photo Marco Borggreve

The Queen’s Hall Series

‘There was totally equal converse, as though only a single musical mind were at work’ The Times

Monday 13 August 11.00am

Tuesday 14 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Donald and Louise MacDonald

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/zimmermann

eif.co.uk/pires-meneses

The Queen’s Hall Series

Photo Felix Broede

Photo wildundleise.de

56

Les Vents Français

Leif Ove Andsnes Piano

Ibert Trois pièces brèves Ravel Le tombeau de Couperin Milhaud Quintet ‘La cheminée du Roi René’ Barber Summer Music Zemlinsky Humoreske Taffanel Quintet

Beethoven Piano Sonata in C Op 53 ‘Waldstein’ Piano Sonata in F Op 54 Chopin Three Waltzes Op 70 Ballades Nos 1 and 3 Waltz in A flat Op 42 Nocturne in B Op 62 No 1

Making its Festival debut, Les Vents Français gathers together five of the world’s top wind players, each one a virtuoso soloist – flautist Emmanuel Pahud, oboist François Leleux, clarinettist Paul Meyer, bassoonist Gilbert Audin and horn player Radovan Vlatkovic´.

They celebrate French wind music at its elegant, witty best.

Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is one of the most gifted musicians of his generation, his immaculate performances establishing a rapturous atmosphere with their clear-headed, penetrating interpretations.

He makes a welcome return to the Festival with music by two of the composers most dear to him.

Succinct and delicious pieces by Ibert and Milhaud frame Ravel’s glittering Le tombeau de Couperin. Barber’s bluesy Summer Music contrasts languid charm with lively activity, and the richly Romantic Quintet in G minor by Paul Taffanel is full of lyricism and opulent harmonies.

Beethoven’s ‘Waldstein’ Sonata is a tour de force of invention and emotion, from the meditative stillness of its slow movement to its triumphant conclusion, while the Piano Sonata in F Opus 54, shows the composer’s humorous side. Chopin’s exquisite waltzes, full of sophistication, are the ideal vehicles for Andsnes’s lucid, supple playing, and the ballades demand the power and commanding technique that are his trademark.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

‘His playing was impressively pristine, lucid and supple.’

The New York Times This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Wednesday 15 August 11.00am

Supported by

Thursday 16 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

Mr Hedley G Wright

The Queen’s Hall

Donald and Louise MacDonald

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/lesvents

eif.co.uk/andsnes

Leonidas Kavakos Violin Nikolai Lugansky Piano

Les Arts Florissants

Janácˇek Violin Sonata Brahms Violin Sonata No 1 in G Stravinsky Duo concertante Respighi Violin Sonata

Elodie Fonnard Soprano Rachel Redmond Soprano Reinoud Van Mechelen Tenor Pierre Bessière Bass

Leonidas Kavakos has been widely praised for his passionate performances combining physicality with an intense intimacy. He returns to the Festival after a triumphant recital in 2008, when he also had popular success with the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, with whom he performs Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No 2 in the Usher Hall this year.

Joined by the inspirational Russian pianist Nikolai Lugansky, a performer who mixes subtle refinement with breathtaking virtuosity, Kavakos performs four ravishing chamber masterpieces.

Brahms’s dreamy, rain-inspired First Sonata is full of languid melodies and graceful tenderness, while Respighi’s seldom-heard Violin Sonata is a turbulent piece, with passionate climaxes and soaring solo lines. Violin and piano are in competition in Stravinsky’s fiery Duo concertante, and Janácˇek’s folk-inspired Violin Sonata swings restlessly between sunny melodies and episodes of great poignancy.

Kavakos: ‘playing so good that you could scarcely believe it came from a fallible human being.’ Financial Times

57

Photo Pascal Gely

Photo Yannis Bournias

The Queen’s Hall Series

Paul Agnew Conductor

Airs and instrumental music from early French opera

by Cambert, Lully, Grabu, Charpentier and Rameau

The musicians of Les Arts Florissants are considered to be among the world’s greatest interpreters of the sparkling, brightly coloured works of French Baroque opera, with fresh, sensual performances full of dancing rhythms and simmering passions.

Under conductor Paul Agnew, they bring together some of the genre’s most fascinating moments, and also chart a brief history of the period, from the very first French opera, Robert Cambert’s Pomone of 1671, through to the imaginative, sensual music of Rameau’s highly virtuosic Les Indes galantes of 1735. On the way, we discover Lully’s first and last stage works, Cadmus et Hermione and Armide, the French-style opera that Louis Grabu wrote for the English court of Charles II, and the dark yet spectacular Médée by Charpentier.

‘So immaculately assured and yet sounded so spontaneous’ The Guardian

Lugansky: ‘rippling brilliance in his artistic armoury’ Daily Express This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Friday 17 August 11.00am

Saturday 18 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

Dunard Fund

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/kavakos-lugansky

eif.co.uk/florissants

Photo Sian Trenberth

The Queen’s Hall Series

Photo Tyler Boye

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Calder Quartet Mozart String Quartet in C K465 ‘Dissonance’ Thomas Adès Arcadiana Andrew Norman ‘... toward sunrise and the prime of light...’

Mendelssohn String Quartet in F minor Op 80

The players of the Calder Quartet from Los Angeles are as at ease performing with rock musicians Airborne Toxic Event and Andrew WK as they are in their incisive interpretations of the Classical repertoire.

They have collaborated extensively with British composer Thomas Adès, and their lyrical performances of his nostalgic Arcadiana, seven exquisite miniatures evoking idyllic memories of places real and imagined, have been widely acclaimed.

Alongside a rapturous short piece by young US composer Andrew Norman and the glowing melodies of Mozart’s ‘Dissonance’ Quartet, they also perform Mendelssohn’s last major work, a hugely impassioned piece full of rage and lamentation, written shortly after the death of the composer’s beloved sister. ‘a group of four dynamic and wickedly talented musicians’ Hollywood Weekly This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Rebecca Evans Soprano Malcolm Martineau Piano Songs by Purcell, Bellini, Mozart, Bizet, Gounod, Hahn, Saint-Saëns, Obradors, Bernstein and Dilys Elwyn-Edwards

Hearing Welsh soprano Rebecca Evans perform is an electrifying experience. She brings a warmth and natural charm to her music, yet her interpretations display her astonishing technical assurance and a fierce emotional intensity.

Her recital ranges from restrained yet vivid songs by Purcell to the tongue-in-cheek recipe settings of Bernstein’s La bonne cuisine, by way of the languid love songs of Bellini’s Sei ariette. Evans also includes a selection of Mozart’s Lieder and the 1977 Nature Songs by her compatriot Dilys Elwyn-Edwards, as well as two Spanish sets: Granados’s passionate La maja dolorosa, and folk-inspired songs

by Obradors.

Evans is joined by the acclaimed Edinburgh-born pianist Malcolm Martineau, accompanist of choice for a whole generation of renowned Lieder artists.

‘A riveting, note-perfect performance’ Mail on Sunday This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Monday 20 August 11.00am

Tuesday 21 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

David McLellan

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/calder

eif.co.uk/evans-martineau

Photo Kathy Panama

John Williams Guitar John Etheridge Guitar Two of the world’s greatest guitarists – one the most celebrated classical guitarist of his generation, and the other a luminary of jazz and blues guitar – unite for an eclectic concert fusing jazz, folk, world and classical music. They have collaborated for over a decade, combining their contrasting styles into a fascinating mix.

Both guitarists have refused to recognise orthodox musical boundaries, as today’s performance demonstrates. Among compositions by John Williams and jazz and blues standards from John Etheridge, they play dazzling music from across Africa, Bach, and Paul Hart’s witty homage to Beethoven, Ludwig’s Horse, written specially for the duo.

‘Together they made charming music that bridged their different worlds while allowing scope to display their individual skills.’

London Evening Standard

59

Photo Marco Borggreve

The Queen’s Hall Series

Luca Pisaroni Bass baritone Justus Zeyen Piano Songs by Schubert, Rossini, Meyerbeer and Liszt

Luca Pisaroni has been hailed as one of the most captivating and versatile singers of his generation, with a rich, dark voice that’s also startlingly agile. The Venezuelan-born, Italian-educated bass baritone has been praised for his opera performances worldwide, and today’s recital appropriately focuses on vivid, opera-inspired songs that are full of drama and passion.

Schubert’s Three Songs D902 are showpieces that reveal the clear influence of Rossini, and they are followed by a vibrant selection from Rossini’s Péchés de vieillesse and seldom-heard gems by Meyerbeer.

Pisaroni’s Liszt selection includes the beautiful Petrarch Sonnets, which display the composer’s masterful gifts as a dramatist, with characteristically virtuosic piano accompaniments delivered by German pianist Justus Zeyen.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

‘Lithe and handsome, Pisaroni has an attractive stage presence, and his singing was mellifluous and expressive.’ San Francisco Chronicle This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Wednesday 22 August 11.00am

Thursday 23 August 11.00am

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/williams-etheridge

eif.co.uk/pisaroni-zeyen

Photo Javier del Real

The Queen’s Hall Series

Photo Vadim Shults

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Daniil Trifonov Piano Scriabin Piano Sonata No 3 Medtner Three Fairy Tales (Skazki) Stravinsky Three Dances from The Firebird (arr. Agosti) Debussy Images, Book 1 Chopin Etudes Op 25

One of the most exciting new names in pianism, young Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov spectacularly won two of the world’s toughest piano competitions – Israel’s Arthur Rubinstein Competition and Russia’s Tchaikovsky Competition – within weeks of each other in 2011, confirming his glowing reputation as one of his generation’s most outstanding pianists.

Trifonov has been praised for his astonishing technical command, his overwhelming energy, and his total absorption in his music.

He performs pieces by three of his compatriots – Scriabin’s rhapsodic Third Sonata, three of Medtner’s vividly descriptive Fairy Tales, and Guido Agosti’s dazzling, flamboyant arrangements of Stravinsky.

Debussy’s Images and Chopin’s Etudes provide an opportunity for Trifonov to display his sensitivity and delicacy as well as his supreme technical skills.

Anne Schwanewilms Soprano Malcolm Martineau Piano Songs by Debussy, Wolf and Strauss

German lyric soprano Anne Schwanewilms is one of today’s finest opera singers, and her imaginative insight, dramatic flair and lustrous tone are equally apparent in her bewitching song recitals.

Joined by Malcolm Martineau, she performs a selection from Hugo Wolf’s settings of highly charged poems by Eduard Mörike, each one a miniature drama of expressive intensity and harmonic sophistication.

She also takes on three of Richard Strauss’s joyful Opus 49 songs, and the ethereal symbolism of Debussy’s contemplative early Proses lyriques.

‘Schwanewilms and her accompanist rose to majestic heights of musicianship’ Opera Today

‘Every note he touched was pure gold... Compelling, radiant, every gesture in the music lovingly communicated’ New York Concert Review This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Friday 24 August 11.00am

Supported by

Saturday 25 August 11.00am

The Queen’s Hall

The Inches Carr Trust

The Queen’s Hall

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

2 hours approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/trifonov

eif.co.uk/schwanewilms-martineau

Dietrich Henschel Baritone Steven Osborne Piano Songs by Wolf, Korngold, Martin and Mahler

German baritone Dietrich Henschel brings his wide experience on the opera stage to his dramatic, heartfelt concert performances, in which he truly embodies the emotions of his songs. His welcome return to the Festival is in a programme of rich, passionate late-Romantic song.

He is joined by the acclaimed Scottish pianist Steven Osborne, praised widely for his dazzling pianism, his characterful, nuanced interpretations and the restrained intensity of his playing.

Alongside poignant settings of Byron and Michelangelo by Wolf, Henschel and Osborne perform evocative songs from both ends of Korngold’s career: four remarkable Lieder written when the composer was just a teenager, and three later songs that draw on his well-loved film scores. The powerful Jedermann Monologues by Frank Martin are among the composer’s most moving creations, dealing with mortality, faith and redemption. Henschel contrasts them with four of Mahler’s vivid folk-poetry settings from Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

‘Dietrich Henschel and pianist Steven Osborne perform with sheer intelligence and communicative power’ The Daily Telegraph

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Photo Marco Borggreve

Photo Ben Ealovega

Photo Thibaut/Naive Records

The Queen’s Hall Series

Francesco Piemontesi Piano Mozart Piano Sonata in D K284 Schumann Faschingsschwank aus Wien Webern Variations Op 27 Schubert Piano Sonata in A minor D845

The enormously gifted young Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi is one of the piano world’s rising stars, admired for his intimate, singing tone and his keen musical integrity. His carefully considered interpretations are all the more thrilling for their sudden eruptions of wild abandon.

Piemontesi’s gift for theatricality is the ideal match for Schumann’s effervescent Faschingsschwank aus Wien (‘Carnival Scenes from Vienna’), with its vivid scenes of Viennese dance, drama and revelry, which he precedes with Mozart’s grand D major Sonata. Webern’s Variations are terse and taut, and Piemontesi concludes his recital with the emotional intensity of Schubert’s great Sonata in A minor, one of the composer’s most personal creations.

‘Clarity of thought is complemented by clarity of touch, incisive intellect by a good dose of fantasy.’ BBC Music Magazine This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Monday 27 August 11.00am

Tuesday 28 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

Frank Hitchman

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

2 hours approximately

eif.co.uk/henschel-osborne

eif.co.uk/piemontesi

Photo John Ferro Sims

The Queen’s Hall Series

Photo Mitch Jenkins

62

Toby Spence Tenor Julian Milford Piano Beethoven An die ferne Geliebte Mahler Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn Schumann Dichterliebe

Internationally renowned British lyric tenor Toby Spence has long been acclaimed in an astonishingly wide range of music, from the Baroque through to contemporary works, and admired for the passion and insights of his powerfully expressive interpretations.

He opens his recital with Beethoven’s stormy An die ferne Geliebte (‘To the Distant Beloved’), a cycle of love songs to a faraway lover that are full of heartfelt longing and inner turmoil. After five striking Lieder from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Spence concludes with one of the best-loved song cycles in the repertoire: Schumann’s Dichterliebe, ‘A Poet’s Love’. A poignant work that follows a journey from passion to disillusion as a young writer realises his love is not returned, it contains songs of the utmost delicacy and of blazing youthful ardour.

It is just the piece to showcase Spence’s vivid characterisation, and its prominent piano part is delivered by his regular recital partner, British pianist Julian Milford. ‘a singer of rare genius’ Seen and Heard International

Llyr Williams Piano Liszt Vallée d’Obermann Sonetto del Petrarca No 104 Les jeux d’eaux à la villa d’Este Tarantelle di bravura (Venezia e Napoli) Piano Sonata in B minor

The hypnotically intense performances of pianist Llyr ˆ Williams have thrilled audiences with their breathtaking power and revelatory insights.

For this concert, he scales the heights of 19th-century piano virtuosity in contrasting pieces by one of the greatest ever composers for the instrument.

Liszt is famed for his spectacular showpieces that push performers to their limits. But his music is equally possessed of a transcendental spirituality, as revealed in the ecstatic Vallée d’Obermann, which conveys a sense of wonder at nature’s grandeur. Les jeux d’eaux à la villa d’Este is a shimmering evocation of light and water, and the monumental Sonata in B minor, a piece of startling originality and daring emotional scope, is the ideal showpiece for Williams’s astonishing abilities.

‘His performance was near-miraculous’ The Herald This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Wednesday 29 August 11.00am

Supported by

Thursday 30 August 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

John-Paul and Joanna Temperley

The Queen’s Hall

Joscelyn Fox

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/spence-milford

eif.co.uk/llyrwilliams

Australian Chamber Orchestra Richard Tognetti Director and violin CPE Bach String Symphony in B flat Wq182 No 2 Peteris Vasks Vox amoris Scelsi Anagamin Grieg String Quartet in G minor (arr. Tognetti)

Acclaimed for its vibrant, stylish delivery, the Australian Chamber Orchestra is an ensemble like no other. Its performers stand to play, giving the orchestra the huge sense of energy that defines its elegance and verve. Violinist Richard Tognetti is the driving force behind the orchestra and it is his dramatic orchestral arrangement of Grieg’s heartfelt String Quartet that forms the concert’s climax.

In a typically eclectic programme, the orchestra also reaches back to the daring expressivity of CPE Bach’s String Symphony in B flat, and explores two modern masterworks: the bewitching soundscape of Scelsi’s Anagamin, and Peteris Vasks’s beautifully meditative Vox amoris, written specially for the ACO with Tognetti as the soloist.

Emerson String Quartet Mozart String Quartet in D K575 Thomas Adès The Four Quarters Beethoven String Quartet in E flat Op 127

The Queen’s Hall Series concludes with one of America’s finest string quartets, famed for its impeccable technique, assured musicality and dramatic spontaneity.

In a wide-ranging programme, the Emerson String Quartet contrasts two late masterpieces from Mozart and Beethoven with a fresh work by one of Britain’s leading composers, Thomas Adès, which the players premiered only last year.

Beethoven’s Opus 127 Quartet is the first of his so-called ‘late quartets’, in which the composer explores hitherto uncharted depths of intense spirituality. Its music touches on the profoundest emotions, with melodies of great lyricism and ineffable beauty.

Mozart’s Quartet K575 is a sprightly, glittering piece with a prominent cello part written for the Prussian King Wilhelm Friedrich II to play.

The vivid sound pictures of Adès’s The Four Quarters evoke night time, dawn and daytime in virtuosic music, including an unforgettable movement describing a shimmering cascade of raindrops.

‘Richard Tognetti and his group produced playing of fabulous alertness and tight ensemble’ The Guardian This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

63

Photo Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Photo Paul Henderson-Kelly

The Queen’s Hall Series

‘one of the most impressive of American string quartets.’

The New York Times

Friday 31 August 11.00am

Saturday 1 September 11.00am

Supported by

The Queen’s Hall

The Queen’s Hall

The Peter Diamand Trust

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

Tickets £29 £26 £21 £17.50 £11 £8

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

1 hour 45 minutes approximately

eif.co.uk/aco

eif.co.uk/emerson

64

Encounters

Encounters Ideas, cultural assumptions, the art of satire, notions of truce and much more are explored, challenged and debated in this high-powered series presented in collaboration with British Council Scotland.

The extraordinary performers and artists in the Festival programme come together with public intellectuals, cultural commentators and international academics to discuss ideas and themes thrown up by the Festival performance programme.

Speech-to-Text Reported All events in the Encounters series are Speech-to-Text Reported.

For deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing audience members, a Speech-to-Text Reporter types words as they are spoken which are instantly displayed on screens so that you can follow the talks and discussions.

What Does It Mean to be British?

Athletes and Ideals

In a provocative keynote address, Robert McCrum, associate editor of The Observer and author of Globish, argues that it is not a suicide mission to define Britishness in terms of our inheritance and that, properly expressed, the definition can be a passport to a renewed and vigorous participation in global affairs. Having analysed what he calls the seven ages of Britishness, McCrum demonstrates how modern Britons, free at last from the taint of imperialism, are becoming citizens of a new world of innovation and opportunity. Chaired by Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council.

Louise Martin, Vice Chair of the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games Scotland, chairs this discussion on what sport means to us today and the values of the classical Greek athlete. With Angus Farquhar, Creative Director of NVA’s Speed of Light, runner and writer Robin Harvie and Professor Douglas Cairns, specialist in the ethics of ancient Greek society at the University of Edinburgh.

Tuesday 14 August 2.30pm

Sunday 12 August 2.30pm

A Classical World The Four Nations of the United Kingdom A distinguished panel of creative writers meets to explore the voices of the four nations of the United Kingdom. Irish playwright Frank McGuinness, Scots poet and novelist Jackie Kay, writer and Wales’ first National Poet Gwyneth Lewis and English poet Lavinia Greenlaw come together for a series of readings and to discuss the distinctive voices that comprise the United Kingdom today. Chaired by Scottish poet Don Paterson.

Richard Jenkyns, Professor of the Classical Tradition at Oxford University, explores the importance and popularity of the classical world and its influence on modern culture. Chaired by Graham Sheffield, Director Arts for the British Council.

Friday 17 August 5.00pm

Satire Monday 13 August 2.30pm

Director of Gulliver’s Travels Silviu Purca˘ rete joins Dr Valerie Rumbold of the University of Birmingham and Martin Rowson, cartoonist and author of his own Gulliver story, to discuss the great tradition of satire from which Jonathan Swift’s original tale emerged. Chaired by The Guardian columnist and feature writer Lucy Mangan.

Saturday 18 August 2.30pm

Encounters

65

The Hub Tickets £6 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/encounters

In collaboration with

A Very French Connection

Choosing Myths and Fairytales

Ariane Mnouchkine, director of Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir, is joined by Michel Le Bris, founder of book and film festival Étonnants Voyageurs, and author Professor Ian Thompson to discuss Jules Verne’s fascination with Scotland. Chaired by Catherine Lockerbie, the panel explores the cultural bonds between Scotland and France.

Scots Makar, poet and playwright Liz Lochhead discusses her work and its connections with myth and fairytales from Scottish and European traditions with Robyn Marsack, Director of the Scottish Poetry Library.

Tuesday 28 August 2.30pm

Saturday 25 August 2.30pm

Representations Myth and Enchantment Writer Marina Warner, Wagner specialist Derek Watson and Dmitry Krymov, director of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It), examine the roles of myth, fairytale and enchantment in culture and creativity. Chaired by the Head of Literature for the British Council, Susie Nicklin.

Matthew Lenton, director of Wonderland, joins Professor Michael Lamb, psychologist and specialist in child development from the University of Cambridge, and Jean Kilbourne, a feminist speaker internationally recognised for her work on the image of women in advertising, to explore depictions of young women in the arts and media.

Chaired by the BBC’s arts correspondent Razia Iqbal.

Friday 31 August 2.30pm

Sunday 26 August 2.30pm

Fresh Voices Jen Hadfield, the English poet and artist, who found inspiration and a new voice when she moved to Shetland five years ago, Scottish teen fiction writer Jamie Jauncey and Lawrence Rhodes, Artistic Director of New York’s Juilliard Dance, discuss regeneration and renewal of the arts.

Chaired by Richard Holloway, Chairman of Sistema Scotland.

A Peaceful Place James MacMillan, composer of Clemency, and Ohad Naharin, Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company, join Sir Adam Roberts, President of the British Academy, and Chair Eugene Downes of Culture Ireland, to explore ways in which the Olympic Truce can be applied today and how the arts can promote and support peace and better understanding.

Saturday 1 September 2.30pm

Monday 27 August 2.30pm

66

Conversations

Emerson String Quartet Photo Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Camille O’Sullivan Photo RSC/ Ellie Kurttz

Conversations with Artists

Tom Cairns

Les Vents Français

Angelin Preljocaj

Camille O’Sullivan

Director of Opera North’s The Makropulos Case Tom Cairns talks about his new production of Janácˇek’s popular 1926 opera to BBC Radio Scotland broadcaster Jamie MacDougall.

The five members of France’s celebrated wind ensemble discuss their work, fresh from their Queen’s Hall recital, with Richard Morrison, chief music critic of The Times.

The French choreographer and artistic director of the Ballet Preljocaj, in conversation with arts journalist Jackie McGlone, talks about bringing his 2010 creation And then, one thousand years of peace to the Edinburgh International Festival.

Singer Camille O’Sullivan talks to BBC Radio Scotland’s Stephen Duffy about interpreting art song and her solo performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of The Rape of Lucrece.

Wednesday 15 August 2.30pm Sunday 12 August 5.00pm

Barry McGovern Barry McGovern, world renowned for his interpretations of the work of Samuel Beckett, discusses his adaptation and solo performance of Watt, produced by Dublin’s Gate Theatre, with questions from theatre specialist Dr Olga Taxidou.

William Christie

Saturday 18 August 5.00pm

William Christie, the American-born conductor and musician, and founder of the French ensemble Les Arts Florissants, talks to John Kitchen about presenting Charpentier’s 1688 opera David et Jonathas at Festival 2012.

Hebrides Ensemble and Synergy Vocals

Friday 17 August 12 noon Monday 13 August 12 noon

Graham Valentine Scots-born actor Graham Valentine talks about performing in Theater Basel’s Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor, the Swiss company’s reinvention of My Fair Lady, in conversation with journalist Jackie McGlone.

Wednesday 15 August 12 noon

Nicola Benedetti Brilliant young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti talks about performing at the Edinburgh International Festival with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, in conversation with Richard Morrison, chief music critic of The Times.

Friday 17 August 2.30pm

Members of Scotland’s foremost contemporary music group, Hebrides Ensemble, and vocalists from unique voice ensemble Synergy Vocals, discuss presenting a world premiere at Festival 2012 with Richard Morrison, chief music critic of The Times.

Saturday 25 August 12 noon

Emerson String Quartet The members of the incomparable New York City-based string quartet discuss their music and closing the Queen’s Hall recital series for Festival 2012 with composer John Harris.

Friday 31 August 5.00pm

Thursday 23 August 12 noon

Supported by

Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust The Hub Tickets £6 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/conversations

Masterclasses and more

Reflections on Song

Masterclasses

Study Events

Sir Thomas Allen

Homayun Sakhi Trio

Major international star, English baritone Sir Thomas Allen reflects upon his career as a singer with music writer and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service.

Master of the Afghan rubab Homayun Sakhi brings his trio to perform in Edinburgh for Festival 2012. In this Masterclass the trio presents the music-making and performance style of the Afghan tradition and provides an insight into its long history.

Polish Modernism – Szymanowski and Lutoslawski

Saturday 11 August 5.00pm

Thursday 16 August 2.30pm

Rebecca Evans and Malcolm Martineau Welsh soprano Rebecca Evans and Malcolm Martineau, two of the UK’s leading artists of their generation, discuss the art of singing and accompaniment with music writer and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service.

Wednesday 22 August 12 noon

Ian Bostridge with Sir John Tusa Internationally celebrated English tenor Ian Bostridge discusses his recent collection of essays on music, A Singer’s Notebook, with Sir John Tusa, cultural commentator and former Managing Director of London’s Barbican.

67

Professor Stephen Downes, Deputy Head and Director of Research, School of Arts, University of Surrey, explores the music of Szymanowski and Lutoslawski offering unique insights into their work.

Thursday 16 August 10.00am 3 hours approximately with break

Alim Qasimov Ensemble One of the foremost mugham singers in Azerbaijan, Alim Qasimov performs with his ensemble as part of Festival 2012.

In this Masterclass the ensemble presents the complex art of Azerbaijani mugham, illustrating a thousand years of musical tradition with vocal and instrumental performances.

Wednesday 22 August 2.30pm

Tickets £12

Szymanowski’s Homeland – Europe’s Forgotten Orient In a panel organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, contributors rediscover the orient in Szymanowski’s music and, by exploring his work from a post-colonial perspective, add a new dimension to our understanding of this cultural icon.

Thursday 16 August 5.00pm

The Hub Tickets £6

1 hour approximately Tickets £6

1 hour 15 minutes approximately Tuesday 28 August 5.00pm

eif.co.uk/masterclasses

Toby Spence

Leigh Warren Professional Dance Class

World-renowned English tenor Toby Spence shares his thoughts and ideas on singing in the company of music writer and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom Service.

Advanced contemporary dance class with one of Australia’s foremost choreographers and dancers.

Wednesday 29 August 5.00pm

The Hub Tickets £6

Personal Mythology Mythic stories may reveal hidden worlds. Psychologist and storyteller Professor Jonathan Young draws on his work with mythologist Joseph Campbell. The day is highly participatory and explores how metaphors can reveal elements of psychological life through storytelling and conversation.

Sunday 26 August 11.00am Dance Base

Wednesday 29 August 11.00am

Tickets £12

5 hours approximately with breaks

1 hour 30 minutes approximately

Tickets £12

eif.co.uk/danceclass

1 hour approximately

The Hub

eif.co.uk/reflections

eif.co.uk/studyevents

68

Fringe Prize and Edinburgh University Events

Fringe Prize 2011

Edinburgh University Events

Primer for a Failed Superpower

Truce

the TEAM

We are writing a love letter to our children about what it was like to grow up in the 1980s… We are forming a cover band. Primer for a Failed Superpower will (likely) tell the tale of two cities: Washington, DC (then) and Detroit (now). It will (likely) be about a group of characters who were awesome in their 20s.

Winner of the 2011 Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize, the TEAM presents a work in progress.

Friday 24 August 2.30pm & 5.00pm The Hub Tickets £6 45 minutes approximately

Composer Nigel Osborne, Reid Professor of Music, and Dr Igor Stiks are joined in an interactive workshop by Dr Olga Taxidou and broadcaster Professor Jolyon Mitchell to explore the concept of truce in the arts.

Thursday 30 August 12 noon

Tales from a Turbulent World: can journalism really be the first draft of history?

BBC Special Correspondent Allan Little gives the Edinburgh University Festival lecture, chaired by Vice Principal and Head of Humanities and Social Science Professor Dorothy Miell.

Thursday 30 August 2.30pm

eif.co.uk/fringeprize

Nationhood Today Broadcaster Sheena McDonald discusses the changing face of nationhood today in Scotland with the distinguished line-up of Professor of Constitutional Law Christine Bell, Grierson Professor of Literature Susan Manning, Professor of Politics Charlie Jeffery and Alvin Jackson, Richard Lodge Professor of History.

Thursday 30 August 5.00pm

The Hub Tickets £6 1 hour approximately eif.co.uk/edinburghuniversity

A Festival for Everyone

69

A Festival for Everyone An Accessible Festival for All

Festival Online

Look out for these Festival logos in the brochure.

Audio Described

Touch Tour

Speech-to-Text Reported

Our goal is to make the Festival accessible to as many people as possible. In this brochure you will find details of accessible, Audio Described, Speech-to-Text Reported and supertitled performances, talks and conversations. The venue guide on page 71 has details on venues and for even more information go to eif.co.uk/venues People with a disability can buy the seats most suited to them for the lowest (unrestricted view) ticket price for that performance.

Your companion’s ticket will be free.

This brochure is available, with an extended venue and access guide, in audio and Braille formats. Simply call +44 (0)131 473 2089 or go to eif.co.uk/accessguide for digitally accessible versions. And don’t miss our special ticket prices – see page 70 for details.

Festival backstage For unique insights into who and what makes a Festival, Festival backstage is a series of short films that take you behind the scenes.

You can access all areas with these films created together with Standard Life and Edinburgh Napier University.

Visit eif.co.uk/festivalbackstage and start exploring.

Get connected and follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, catch our video channel on YouTube, or listen to our latest podcasts.

There’s even more on our website – sign up for your regular e-bulletin, plan your Festival with our online diary, watch performance trailers and buy tickets quickly and easily. Regular updates make it easy to stay on top of what’s happening. Visit us at eif.co.uk/interact.

Festival Chorus Are you an enthusiastic and talented singer? Would you like the opportunity to perform some of the most exhilarating choral repertoire with internationally celebrated conductors, orchestras and soloists?

If so, we invite you to audition to become a member of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. Find out more about what it’s like to be a member with our Festival backstage video or read the chorus blog Confessions of a Chorus Member at edintfest.blogspot.com.

For more information or to arrange an audition contact chorus@eif.co.uk or call +44 (0)131 473 2027.

70

Booking Information

How to Book, Access and Tickets How to Book Online eif.co.uk Telephone 0131 473 2000 Overseas +44 (0)131 473 2000 Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE

Ticket Discounts

Ticket Prices

Young People and Students – Half Price Now!

Ticket prices are listed under each event. Full details of ticket prices and areas of the house can be found at eif.co.uk/tickets.

Young people can buy any ticket at 50% off on selected performances when booking opens on Saturday 24 March.

Under 18s and all students in full time education.

Standby – Half Price from Wednesday 1 August

Wednesday 14 March Priority booking opens for Festival Friends and Patrons by fax, post and online.

50% off all tickets for senior citizens, unemployed people, Young Scot, Equity and MU card holders.

Saturday 24 March Public booking opens by telephone, post, in person and online.

Are you under 26?

Tickets for only £8 on the day

Please note: a transaction fee of £1 will be added to bookings by phone, post and in person. There is no transaction fee for internet bookings.

Pay only £8 on the day for selected performances, for everyone 26 years old and under.

Proof of age is required and you must buy in person from Hub Tickets or at the venue.

Hub Tickets Opening Hours Saturday 24 March – Thursday 19 July Monday to Saturday 10.00am to 5.00pm Friday 20 July – Saturday 1 September Monday to Saturday 9.00am to 7.30pm, Sunday 10.00am to 7.30pm Sunday 2 September 1.00pm to 6.00pm

Buy your tickets at our venues From Monday 26 March you can buy tickets at The Edinburgh Playhouse, Festival Theatre, The Queen’s Hall, Royal Lyceum Theatre and the Usher Hall.

During the Festival, any unsold tickets for Greyfriars Kirk, Traverse Theatre, King’s Theatre and Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston will go on sale at those venues an hour before the performance.

Virgin Money Fireworks Concert – for ticketing information see Ticket Prices section on this page.

Access Information and Discounts If you are a wheelchair user, have severe mobility difficulties or have visual or hearing impairment you can buy seats/spaces in the area of the venue most appropriate to your needs for the lowest (unrestricted view) ticket price for that performance. Your companion’s ticket will be free.

Find details of all Audio Described and Touch Tour performances on pages 11, 15, 19, 28, 32 and 37. Find details of all Speech-to-Text Reported events on pages 64, 65 and 67. For more information or to claim an access discount please call the Access line +44 (0)131 473 2089 or email access@eif.co.uk. To enable us to determine your requirements and assist you fully we are unable to offer this service online.

Group Bookings available now We are delighted to offer great benefits for bookings of 10 or more tickets.

- 10% discount on all Festival tickets for selected performances.

- The opportunity to make flexible ticket reservations.

- Dedicated Group Sales Staff to assist you.

Please call +44 (0)131 473 2089 or email groupbookings@eif.co.uk.

Greyfriars Series Buy for 8 concerts in the series and get the 9th free.

Scottish Opera Book all 3 performances for £60 and save 20%.

London Symphony Orchestra Book all 4 concerts and save 20%.

Virgin Money Fireworks Concert – New for 2012 Due to the popularity of this event you can now take advantage of a limited number of special Priority Entry tickets for the Gardens.

For only an extra £5 you gain access to the gardens a full half hour before the gates open.

As ever, ticket holders for the Ross Theatre don’t need to rush to secure their spot in the gardens and so can take their seats once the gates are open.

- Princes Street Gardens (standing) tickets are £12.50 and £17.50 with Priority Entry - Ross Theatre (seated) tickets £27.50 standard entry.

- All tickets are on sale from the opening of booking and are limited to only ten per booking.

Last Chance to Buy A limited number of gardens tickets will be released for sale only at The Hub in person from 10.00am on Saturday 1 September.

Please visit eif.co.uk/virginmoneyfireworks for most up-to-date information and advice on transport and parking advice for the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert.

Booking Information

71

Venue Access and Information A full access guide with information about parking, travel to venues and accessible performances is available at eif.co.uk/access where it can be viewed online or as a Word document.

If you would like a copy of the Festival brochure in Braille, on CD or in large print, including a full access guide please email access@eif.co.uk or call +44 (0)131 473 2089. We welcome calls through Text Relay in the UK. Textphone users prefix our number with 18001.

Please note: if you require the use of the loop or Sennheiser systems please check with Hub Tickets when booking. There are some areas in the theatres where the signal is not available. Hub Tickets staff will ensure that you are seated in the correct area to receive the best signal.

Artlink offers an escort service to help people with disability to enjoy the arts. For more information contact them directly at artlinkedinburgh.co.uk or +44 (0)131 229 3555. Assistance animals are welcome in all of our venues.

The Queen’s Hall, 85-89 Clerk Street - Ramped access. Wheelchair spaces, accessible toilet and café/bar on ground floor.

- Gallery only accessible by stairs.

- Induction loop in stalls and Sennheiser infrared system with receivers available from the cloakroom.

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 13-29 Nicolson Street - Ramped access at front and level access at side entrance.

- Wheelchair spaces in stalls on floor 1.

- Lift to all levels with accessible toilet on floors 1 and 2.

- Sennheiser infrared system with receivers available from the cloakroom on the mezzanine level.

- Café/bar on ground floor with lift access to other bars.

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 2 Leven Street

Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston

- Level access through the Box Office with level access to the foyer. Platform lift to the stalls.

- Wheelchair spaces in the stalls with accessible toilet on stalls level.

- Sennheiser infrared system with receivers available from main foyer.

- Bars only accessible by stairs.

Please ask staff for refreshments before the performance to have them brought to you.

- Level access to hall.

- Level and ramped access to auditoria.

- Accessible toilets.

- Wheelchair spaces available.

- Bar on ground floor.

- Wheelchair drop off zone at entrance to the building.

- Infrared system with receivers available from the cloakroom.

The Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place - Level access to circle level which is on the ground floor, with wheelchair spaces and accessible toilet on circle level.

- Steep stairs only to balcony and stalls levels.

- Sennheiser infrared system.

Headsets available from staff.

- Bar and refreshment kiosk on ground level.

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay Street - Lift to all levels and bars.

- Wheelchair spaces in stalls with accessible toilet on ground floor.

- Induction loop and Hearing enhancement system available from information and shop area.

Usher Hall, Lothian Road - Level access from Grindlay Street.

- Lift to all levels.

- Wheelchair spaces and accessible toilets in stalls and grand circle.

- Stalls café/bar fully accessible, upper circle bar accessible by lift.

Greyfriars Kirk, Greyfriars Place - Level access to the Kirk.

- Wheelchair spaces in the Kirk and accessible toilet.

Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street - Level access to Box Office from Cambridge Street.

- Lift with voice announcement and Braille buttons to all levels. For lift access to Traverse 1, please make yourself known to a member of the Front of House team.

- Accessible toilets on ground and lower ground Bar Café levels.

- Infrared hearing enhancement system. Headsets available from staff.

- Wheelchair spaces available.

The Hub, Castlehill - Level, ramped or lift access to all public areas.

- Wheelchair spaces in Main Hall.

- Induction loop in Hub Tickets and Main Hall.

- Accessible toilet on ground floor and another via stair lift.

- Bar and café on ground floor.

- Lift with voice announcement and Braille buttons.

Ross Theatre, Princes Street Gardens - Level access to the Gardens and Ross Theatre approximately 200 metres from the King’s Stables Road entrance.

Please arrive before 8.00pm.

- Wheelchair spaces available in the Ross Theatre and Princes Street Gardens. Please tell Hub Tickets if you would like to use either of these areas when you book your tickets.

- Accessible toilets in the gardens and behind the Ross Theatre.

- Please note that the gardens become very crowded, which, combined with the noisy fireworks, may make this event unsuitable for assistance animals.

72

Festival City

Festival City Edinburgh’s Summer Festivals 2012 Edinburgh International Film Festival 20 June – 1 July +44 (0)131 228 4051 edfilmfest.org.uk

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 3 – 25 August +44 (0)131 225 1188 edintattoo.co.uk

Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival 20 – 29 July +44 (0)131 467 5200 edinburghjazzfestival.com

Edinburgh Festival Fringe 3 – 27 August Admin: +44 (0)131 226 0026 (until mid-June) Box office: +44 (0)131 226 0000 edfringe.com

Edinburgh Art Festival 2 August – 2 September +44 (0)131 226 6558 edinburghartfestival.com

Edinburgh International Book Festival 11 – 27 August +44 (0)131 718 5666 edbookfest.co.uk

Edinburgh Mela 31 August – 2 September +44 (0)131 332 2888 edinburgh-mela.co.uk edinburghfestivals.co.uk The online one-stop shop for Edinburgh’s 12 major festivals.

The place to go to find news, listings and the festivals’ iPhone application.

Official Edinburgh Festivals Map Pick up a copy of the official festivals map, available at most venues around town during the festivals.

Visiting the city…

VisitScotland For all your accommodation and tourism information needs. +44 (0)845 22 55 121 info@visitscotland.com visitscotland.com Festival Beds Accommodation in private homes in the city and surrounding area. +44 (0)131 225 1101 admin@festivalbeds.co.uk festivalbeds.co.uk Traveline travelinescotland.com National Rail Enquiries nationalrail.co.uk

Getting around…

The following Lothian Bus services will take you to Festival venues lothianbuses.com Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, The Queen’s Hall 3, 3A, 5, 7, 8, 14, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 47, X47, 49 The Edinburgh Playhouse 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 15A, 16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 34, 44, 49 Royal Lyceum Theatre, Usher Hall, Traverse Theatre 1, 10, 11, 15, 15A, 16, 24, 34 The Hub, Dance Base, Greyfriars Kirk 23, 27, 41, 42, 67 (stop on George IV Bridge, 5 minutes walk from The Hub or Dance Base) King’s Theatre, Edinburgh 10, 11, 15, 15A, 16, 23, 27, 45 Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston 35, 100 Airport Express drop off at Hilton Hotel stop.

Approx 10 minutes walk to Lowland Hall.

Festival City

Festival Venues

Lowland Hall Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston

73

A3

Adjacent to Edinburgh International Airport. Access from A8 dual carriageway, and sign-posted Royal Highland Centre.

Free parking available to Festival event ticket holders.

The Hub Edinburgh’s Festival Centre, Royal Mile

C3

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Nicolson Street

D4

The Queen’s Hall Clerk Street

E5

The Edinburgh Playhouse Greenside Place

E1

Royal Lyceum Theatre Grindlay Street

B3

Usher Hall Lothian Road

B3

Ross Theatre Princes Street Gardens

B3

Traverse Theatre Cambridge Street

B3

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Leven Street

B5

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Place

D4

Other festivals International Book Festival Charlotte Square

A2

Jazz and Blues Festival Box Office The Hub C3

PH Partner Hotels

Partner Hotels on map

1 The Caledonian Hilton (A3) Princes Street Edinburgh EH1 2AB +44 (0)131 222 8888 thecaledonianedinburgh.com

3 Hotel du Vin, Edinburgh (D4) 11 Bristo Place Edinburgh EH1 1EZ +44 (0)131 247 4900 hotelduvin.com/hotels/edinburgh

2 The Glasshouse (E1) 2 Greenside Place Edinburgh EH1 3AA +44 (0)131 525 8325 theetoncollection.co.uk/glasshouse

4 Macdonald Holyrood Hotel (E3) 81 Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8AU +44 (0)131 550 4500 macdonaldhotels.co.uk/holyrood

5 The Rutland Hotel (A3) 1 – 3 Rutland Street Edinburgh EH1 2AE +44 (0)131 229 3402 therutlandhotel.com Look out for exclusive offers from our Festival partners at eif.co.uk/offers

Military Tattoo Office Market Street

D2

Festival Fringe Box Office Royal Mile

D3

Tourist Information Centre Princes Street

D2

74

Festival Diary

Venue

Thu 9 August

Fri 10 August

The Queen’s Hall

Sat 11 August

Sun 12 August

11.00am Ferrier Centenary Celebration Concert

Clerk Street

(p54)

Mon 13 August

Tue 14 August

11.00am Trio Zimmermann (p55)

11.00am Antonio Meneses, Maria João Pires

12 noon Conversations: Barry McGovern (p66)

2.30pm Encounters: Athletes and Ideals (p64)

(p55)

R WS T H WC C

The Hub

5.00pm Reflections on Song: Sir Thomas Allen (p67)

Castlehill LF WS T H WC C

2.30pm Encounters: What Does It Mean to be British? (p64) 5.00pm Conversations: Tom Cairns (p66)

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Place L WS WC

Lowland Hall Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston

2.30pm Encounters: The Four Nations of the United Kingdom (p64)

5.45pm His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts and Concerto Palatino (p52)

5.45pm Dalmatica (p52)

7.30pm Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor (p8)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

TR Warszawa

TR Warszawa

TR Warszawa

8.00pm Waiting for Orestes: Electra (p10)

8.00pm Waiting for Orestes: Electra (p10)

8.00pm Waiting for Orestes: Electra (p10)

Suzuki Company of Toga

Suzuki Company of Toga

Suzuki Company of Toga

L R WS WC C H

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Leven Street L R WS H WC

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

7.15pm The Makropulos Case

7.15pm The Makropulos Case

Opera North

Opera North

(p32)

Nicolson Street L R LF WS H WC C

Dialogos, Kantaduri

Theater Basel

(p32)

The Edinburgh Playhouse

7.30pm Tatyana (p18)

7.30pm Tatyana (p18)

7.30pm Tatyana (p18)

7.30pm Tatyana (p18)

Greenside Place

Deborah Colker Dance Company

Deborah Colker Dance Company

Deborah Colker Dance Company

Deborah Colker Dance Company

Royal Lyceum Theatre

8.00pm Watt (p11)

8.00pm Watt (p11)

8.00pm Watt (p11)

8.00pm Watt (p11)

Grindlay Street

Gate Theatre Dublin

Gate Theatre Dublin

Gate Theatre Dublin

Gate Theatre Dublin

7.30pm A Mass of Life (p39)

8.00pm Alpine Symphony (p40)

Royal Scottish National Orchestra

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

8.00pm Deborah Voigt, Brian Zeger (p40)

8.00pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream (p41)

8.00pm London Philharmonic Orchestra (p41)

Donald Runnicles

Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Vladimir Jurowski

Sir Andrew Davis

L WS H WC C

L LF WS T H WC C

Usher Hall Lothian Road L LF WS WC C

Conductor

Other Venues

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Sir Roger Norrington

Conductor

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Conductor

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

(p30)

(p30)

(p30)

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Access Facilities Key: L Level access R Ramped access LF Lift SL Stair lift WS Wheelchair spaces in auditorium T Induction loop H Infrared system WC Accessible toilets C Accessible catering/bar

Conductor

Festival Diary Wed 15 August

Thu 16 August

Fri 17 August

Sat 18 August

11.00am Les Vents Français (p56)

11.00am Leif Ove Andsnes (p56)

11.00am Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolai Lugansky (p57)

12 noon Conversations: Graham Valentine (p66)

10.00am Study Day: Polish Modernism – Szymanowski and Lutoslawski (p67)

2.30pm Conversations: Les Vents Français (p66)

2.30pm Masterclass: Homayun Sakhi Trio (p67) 5.00pm Study Day: Szymanowski’s Homeland – Europe’s Forgotten Orient (p67)

Sun 19 August

Mon 20 August

Tue 21 August

11.00am Les Arts Florissants (p57)

11.00am Calder Quartet (p58)

11.00am Rebecca Evans, Malcolm Martineau (p58)

12 noon Conversations: William Christie (p66)

2.30pm Encounters: Satire (p64)

7.30pm Villa+Discurso (p17)

7.30pm Villa+Discurso (p17)

2.30pm Conversations: Nicola Benedetti (p66)

5.00pm Conversations: Angelin Preljocaj (p66)

Teatro Playa

Teatro Playa

5.45pm Ricercar Consort 01

5.45pm Ricercar Consort 02

5.00pm Encounters: A Classical World (p64)

5.45pm Concerto Caledonia (p52)

5.45pm Arcangelo and Iestyn Davies (p52)

5.45pm Homayun Sakhi Trio

2.00pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

TR Warszawa

TR Warszawa

2.00pm Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor (p8)

2.00pm Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor (p8)

7.30pm Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor (p8)

Theater Basel

Theater Basel

Theater Basel

Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor (p8)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

7.30pm 2008: Macbeth (p7)

Theater Basel

TR Warszawa

TR Warszawa

8.00pm Gulliver’s Travels (p12)

8.00pm Gulliver’s Travels (p12)

2.30pm Gulliver’s Travels (p12)

8.00pm Gulliver’s Travels (p12)

Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania

Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania

Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania

Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania

7.30pm

(p53)

(p53)

(p53)

8.00pm Gulliver’s Travels (p12) Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu, Romania 7.15pm David et Jonathas (p34)

7.15pm David et Jonathas (p34)

7.15pm David et Jonathas (p34)

Les Arts Florissants

Les Arts Florissants

Les Arts Florissants

7.30pm And then, one thousand years of peace (p20)

7.30pm And then, one thousand years of peace (p20)

7.30pm And then, one thousand years of peace (p20)

Ballet Preljocaj

Ballet Preljocaj

Ballet Preljocaj

7.30pm Uncharted Seas / Timeless (p22)

7.30pm Uncharted Seas / Timeless (p22)

Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company

Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company

8.00pm London Symphony Orchestra 01 (p42)

8.00pm London Symphony Orchestra 02 (p42)

7.30pm London Symphony Orchestra 03 (p43)

7.30pm London Symphony Orchestra 04 (p43)

8.00pm Orchestre des Champs-Élysées (p44)

8.00pm Cleveland Orchestra 01 (p44)

Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev

Valery Gergiev

Philippe Herreweghe

Franz Welser-Möst

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light (p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

5.00pm Tristan und Isolde (p38) Concert performance Welsh National Opera

Conductor

Conductor

Conductor

Conductor

Lothar Koenigs Conductor

(p30)

Events Key:

Dance

Theatre

Opera

75

Music

Speed of Light

Discussions

Conductor

Conductor

76

Festival Diary

Venue The Queen’s Hall Clerk Street

Wed 22 August

Thu 23 August

Fri 24 August

Sat 25 August

11.00am John Williams, John Etheridge (p59)

11.00am Luca Pisaroni, Justus Zeyen (p59)

11.00am Daniil Trifonov (p60)

11.00am Anne Schwanewilms, Malcolm Martineau (p60)

12 noon Reflections on Song: Rebecca Evans and Malcolm Martineau (p67)

12 noon Conversations: Hebrides Ensemble and Synergy Vocals (p66)

2.30pm Primer for a Failed Superpower

12 noon Conversations: Camille O’Sullivan (p66)

the TEAM (p68)

2.30pm Encounters: A Very French Connection (p65)

Sun 26 August

Mon 27 August 11.00am Dietrich Henschel, Steven Osborne (p61)

R WS T H WC C

The Hub Castlehill LF WS T H WC C

2.30pm Masterclass: Alim Qasimov Ensemble (p67)

5.00pm Primer for a Failed Superpower

2.30pm Encounters: Myth and Enchantment (p65)

2.30pm Encounters: Fresh Voices (p65)

the TEAM (p68)

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Place L WS WC

5.45pm Hebrides Ensemble and Synergy Vocals (p53)

Lowland Hall

5.45pm Alim Qasimov Ensemble (p53)

Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston

6.00pm Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) (p9)

6.00pm Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) (p9)

6.00pm Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) (p9)

6.00pm Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) (p9)

L R WS WC C H

Théâtre du Soleil

Théâtre du Soleil

Théâtre du Soleil

Théâtre du Soleil

7.30pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)

7.30pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)

2.30pm A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It)

Chekhov International Theatre Festival

Chekhov International Theatre Festival

Chekhov International Theatre Festival

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh Leven Street

(p14)

R L WS H WC

(p14)

(p14)

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

7.30pm Gagaku

7.30pm Breathe / Impulse (p23)

2.30pm Breathe / Impulse (p23)

Nicolson Street

Imperial Court Music and Dance of Japan (p50)

Leigh Warren + Dancers

Leigh Warren + Dancers

8.00pm Juilliard Dance (p24)

8.00pm Juilliard Dance (p24)

L R LF WS H WC C

The Edinburgh Playhouse Greenside Place L WS H WC C

Royal Lyceum Theatre Grindlay Street L LF WS T H WC C

Usher Hall Lothian Road L LF WS WC C

Musicians of the Imperial Household Agency, Tokyo

7.30pm Helikopter/Eldorado (Sonntags Abschied) (p21) Ballet Preljocaj

9.00pm The Rape of Lucrece

9.00pm The Rape of Lucrece

9.00pm The Rape of Lucrece

9.00pm The Rape of Lucrece

9.00pm The Rape of Lucrece

Royal Shakespeare Company

Royal Shakespeare Company

Royal Shakespeare Company

Royal Shakespeare Company

Royal Shakespeare Company

8.00pm Cleveland Orchestra 02 (p45)

8.00pm European Union Youth Orchestra (p45)

8.00pm Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (p46)

7.30pm The Nutcracker (p46)

7.30pm Budapest Festival Orchestra (p47)

Franz Welser-Möst

Gianandrea Noseda

Daniele Gatti

(p15)

Conductor

(p15)

Conductor

(p15)

Conductor

(p15)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ilan Volkov

(p15)

Iván Fischer Conductor

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light (p30)

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

(p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

Concert performance The Sixteen Conductor

11.00am Professional Dance Class: Leigh Warren (p67)

(p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

LF T WC

Dance Base Grassmarket Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light (p30) Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Access Facilities Key: L Level access R Ramped access LF Lift SL Stair lift WS Wheelchair spaces in auditorium T Induction loop H Infra red system WC Accessible toilets C Accessible catering/bar

7.30pm King Arthur (p38)

Harry Christophers

Conductor

Other Venues

8.00pm Juilliard Dance (p24)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

(p30)

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Festival Diary Tue 28 August

Wed 29 August

Thu 30 August

Fri 31 August

Sat 1 September

11.00am Francesco Piemontesi

11.00am Toby Spence, Julian Milford (p62)

11.00am Llyˆr Williams (p62)

11.00am Australian Chamber Orchestra (p63)

11.00am Emerson String Quartet

2.30pm Encounters: Choosing Myths and Fairytales (p65)

11.00am Study Day: Personal Mythology (p67)

12 noon Truce (p68)

2.30pm Encounters: Representations (p65)

2.30pm Encounters: A Peaceful Place (p65)

(p61)

5.00pm Reflections on Song: Ian Bostridge with Sir John Tusa (p67)

5.00pm Reflections on Song: Toby Spence (p67)

2.30pm Tales from a Turbulent World (p68) 5.00pm Nationhood Today (p68)

Sun 2 September

(p63)

5.00pm Conversations: Emerson String Quartet (p66)

6.00pm Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) (p9) Théâtre du Soleil

8.00pm The Lady from the Sea (p36)

Scottish Opera

8.00pm Clemency (p37)

4.00pm Clemency (p37)

Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera 9.00pm The Lady from the Sea (p36)

Scottish Opera 7.30pm Cinderella (p28)

7.30pm Cinderella (p28)

2.30pm Cinderella (p28)

Mariinsky Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet 7.30pm Cinderella (p28) Mariinsky Ballet

8.00pm City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (p47)

Andris Nelsons

7.30pm Hora (p26)

7.30pm Hora (p26)

7.30pm Hora (p26)

Batsheva Dance Company

Batsheva Dance Company

Batsheva Dance Company

7.30pm Wonderland (p16)

7.30pm Wonderland (p16)

7.30pm Wonderland (p16)

7.30pm Wonderland (p16)

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point

7.30pm The English Concert David Daniels (p48)

8.00pm Philharmonia Orchestra (p48)

7.30pm Scottish Chamber Orchestra (p49)

8.00pm Belshazzar’s Feast (p49)

Harry Bicket

Esa-Pekka Salonen

Robin Ticciati

Director and Harpsichord

Conductor

Conductor

Conductor

Royal Scottish National Orchestra David Robertson Conductor

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

8.00pm In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol (p37)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light

12 noon In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol (p37)

3.00pm In the Locked Room & Ghost Patrol (p37)

(p30)

Scottish Opera

(p30)

Scottish Opera

Scottish Opera

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Traverse Theatre Cambridge Street

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Traverse Theatre Cambridge Street

Traverse Theatre Cambridge Street L LF WS H WC C

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light (p30)

Every 15 minutes from 9.15pm until 11.00pm NVA’s Speed of Light (p30)

9.00pm Virgin Money Fireworks Concert

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

Arthur’s Seat Holyrood Park

L LF WS H WC C

L LF WS H WC C

Scottish Chamber Orchestra Princes Street Gardens L WS WC

Events Key:

Dance

Theatre

Opera

Music

Speed of Light

Discussions

77

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