The programme for this year’s Edinburgh International Festival has been announced. Running from August 2 - 25, the ‘world’s Festival City’ will host performances from some of the globe’s finest ensembles, including a significant amount hailing from the festival’s home country.

The festival will be directed, for a second time, by Scottish violinist, Nicola Benedetti who herself will be performing Vaughan Williams's Lark Ascending with the Philharmonia. The festival continues its tradition of curating performances which centre around a specific theme. This year, the theme is ‘Rituals That Unite Us’. Responding to an 'overwhelming desire for togetherness' from artists and audiences in the wake of the pandemic. This follows last year’s theme, ‘Where Do We Go From Here?’.

Festival Director Nicola Benedetti. Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Notable orchestral performances will include the Philharmonia Orchestra, led by Principle Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth, the Hallé Orchestra with Sir Mark Elder, Basel’s Kammerorchester, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the São Paolo Symphony Orchestra.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Hilary Hahn and Alison Balsom are among the soloists performing, will present a wide range of works from Lianne La Havas to Vaughan Williams. In addition to concert works, the festival will be putting on an array of opera performances. Bizet’s Carmen will be brought to the stage by Opéra-Comique, where the work was originally debuted, (accompanied by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) and the Komische Oper Berlin will perform Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. 

Dancer Aakash Odedra. Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Additionally, the National Museum of Scotland’s Grand Gallery will be the setting of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, performed by the Scottish Opera with a 100-strong community chorus from across Scotland, and Strauss’s final opera Capriccio will act as the finale to the festival, with a star cast which includes Malin Byström, Sebastian Kohlhepp and Dame Sarah Connolly.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2022, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor Iván Fischer brought popular immersive beanbag concerts to the 2023 festival. These will return, along with drop-in rehearsals and a site-specific promenade opera, creating what the Festival calls a 'deepened commitment to creating a closer union between audiences and artists'.

Find out more about the Edinburgh Festival here