Tue 29 Nov 2005

The Edinburgh International Festival today released details of some of the major events planned for the 2006 Festival, which will run from 13 August to 3 September. The full programme for Brian McMaster’s last Festival will be announced on Wednesday 22 March. This preliminary announcement ensures that visitors and travel trade operators are able to start planning their visits to Edinburgh, as well as whetting the appetite of local supporters.

Theatre at Festival 2006 includes Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida directed by Peter Stein; an Edinburgh International Festival production which will transfer to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford upon Avon after its Festival performances. A collaboration with the new National Theatre of Scotland sees the world premiere at the Festival of a new play by Anthony Neilson, who returns after his successes with 2004’s The Wonderful World of Dissocia and last year’s The Death of Klinghoffer. Chekhov’s Three Sisters will be performed by American Repertory Theater, in the first English language venture of acclaimed Polish director Krystian Lupa.

Dance includes the British premiere of Balanchine’s full length ballet Don Quixote, performed by The Suzanne Farrell Ballet from the Kennedy Centre, Washington DC. Brazilian dance star Bruno Beltrão, who uses street dance and hip hop as a starting point for his work, brings his Grupa de Rua de Niterói to the UK for the first time, and Festival 2006 also sees the return of the immensely popular Nederlands Dans Theater 1.

The Festival has also commissioned a new opera from young Scottish composer, Stuart MacRae, with a libretto by writer and poet Simon Armitage. The work will be staged by Emio Greco and Pieter C Scholten and conducted by Garry Walker.

Other leading names from the world of music include András Schiff, Richard Goode, Sir Charles Mackerras, Donald Runnicles, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Iván Fischer, Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

The full programme will be announced on Wednesday 22 March 2006 when priority booking opens to the thousands of Patrons and Muses who are friends and supporters of the Festival. Public booking opens on Saturday 8 April online and by telephone, post, fax and in person.

Read more preliminary details here.

ENDS

Notes

EIF is inundated with requests at this time of year from potential visitors planning trips from both far afield and closer to home. Organisers hope that information on the planned programme helps persuade visitors to book flights and locals to invite friends to the Festival.

Audience research conducted at the 2005 Festival revealed that 62% of visitors said that attending EIF was their only reason for visiting Edinburgh; a further 26% saying it was very or fairly important. It also revealed that visitors to Festival 2005 stayed an average of 9.5 nights in the city and attended an average of seven EIF events.

The Festival membership scheme, the Muses and Patrons, helps secure the future of the Edinburgh International Festival while giving members access to special events, ticket offers and priority booking. More information is available on +44 (0)131 473 2000.

The Edinburgh International Festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Arts Council and EventScotland.

All details are subject to change. The latest information is available on www.eif.co.uk

For further information please contact Susie Burnet or Jackie Westbrook in the Edinburgh International Festival Press Office on 0131 473 2020 or press@eif.co.uk