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Wed 22 Mar 2006

Sunday 13 August – Sunday 3 September

60th FESTIVAL PRESENTS WORLD CLASS PROGRAMME WITH BROAD AUDIENCE APPEAL

Claudio and Daniele Abbado bring Mozart’s The Magic Flute

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts: 3 concerts a night, 3 nights a week for 3 weeks in the Usher Hall. 9 Beethoven Symphonies, 9 Masterworks, 9 Bruckner Symphonies. All tickets £10

World premieres of new work from Anthony Neilson, Stuart MacRae and Calixto Bieito

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Brazil’s Grupo de Rua de Niterói and the New Riga Theatre make their UK debuts

Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall Series presents world renowned artists, including eight EIF debuts

Epic new production from Peter Stein of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida

Over £2.25 million in sponsorship and donations already pledged to Festival 2006

Brian McMaster today announced his final programme as Director of the Edinburgh International Festival. At the launch in Edinburgh he said “The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the most exciting places in the world to experience the performing arts, enabling us to present world class experiences to the widest possible audience. The Festival constantly evolves, re-imagining itself each year to bring new experiences to audiences and creating new initiatives such as the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts.”

The 2006 Edinburgh International Festival runs from Sunday 13 August to Sunday 3 September in Edinburgh’s concert halls, opera houses and theatres. World class artists and companies fill the city’s stages, creating a unique event which has visitors flocking from across the globe.

Highlights of Festival 2006 include Claudio Abbado conducting Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Charles Mackerras conducting all of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, Peter Stein directing both Tchaikovsky’s opera Mazeppa and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, large scale ballet with the UK premiere of Balanchine’s Don Quixote, and a host of international orchestras and artists.

The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts challenge the conventions of concert going and the traditions of how audiences experience music. For three nights each week there are three concerts a night, each concert is approximately an hour in length and each features the work of one composer. Across the nine evenings of the series, there is the opportunity to hear all nine Beethoven symphonies conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras at 5.30pm, and to hear nine of Bruckner’s symphonies performed by leading orchestras and conductors at 9.30pm. At 7.30pm the focus is on a masterwork by one composer. The Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts can be enjoyed horizontally or vertically, by attending all 27, by collecting symphonies or by choosing the concerts that most appeal at times which can be worked into flexible Festival days, for one ticket price of £10.

Brian McMaster added, “I think the 2006 Festival programme has popular appeal. There are excellent opportunities for first timers to choose from a broad range of world class experiences which I hope will get them hooked and returning to the arts again and again. At the same time I know we have events this year which will have seasoned arts goers booking flights from around the world. This year is obviously a very special Festival for me. Many artists I admire expressed a wish to be in my final Festival and many supporters have invested that bit extra this year.”

The Festival continues to increase its earned income. In a very strong year for fundraising, the Festival has already secured in excess of £2.25 million from the corporate sector, trusts and foundations, and individuals. The Festival benefits from a significant increase in income from the Festival’s Patrons and Muses scheme and a major boost from trusts and foundations. Costs are also reduced through co-productions of events which receive their world premieres at the Festival, making the Edinburgh Festival the place to see things first in the face of increasing international competition. This year the Edinburgh International Festival will co-produce opera and theatre productions with the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Teatre Romea, Barcelona.

On the launch of Festival 2006, Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport said, “The Edinburgh International Festival is unique to Scotland, drawing people from across the globe to enjoy artists and performances of world class calibre. This year’s programme is exciting and is a fitting farewell from Brian McMaster, who over fifteen years as Festival Director has proved himself as a visionary and inspirational leader. He has helped to ensure that Edinburgh in August remains one of the most exciting cities in the world to sample the performing arts, and his final Festival line-up offers many delights which I look forward to sampling.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Public Booking opens Saturday 8 April 2006

Hub Tickets 0131 473 2000

Online information and booking www.eif.co.uk

Postal Booking to Edinburgh International Festival, Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh EH1 2NE

We would like to make a request for your support:

Corporate sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Festival is crucial to its future. As arts supporters yourselves we hope you will help us in maintaining this 25% of our income and healthy relationships with sponsors by crediting them in print. This makes a real difference to EIF. Mentions are counted and used as an evaluation of projects. A credit at the foot of an article can make all the difference to us. Please credit our sponsors where you can.

For a full listing of supporters and sponsored shows please contact the press office.

Please see enclosed brochure for full programme information and listings.

We can supply Festival listings and information in any format you require, please contact the press office.

Ticket prices for Festival events start from £6.

Young people and students in full time education receive a 50% discount, with tickets for most shows therefore as low as £3 - £3.75.

£6 Youth Tickets are also available for all young people under the age of 26 on the day of the performance.

50 Turn Up and Try It tickets are available at £10 from one hour before for each performance, ensuring last minute access to events that may have sold out months before. (except the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert and events at The Hub)

Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert. There are three allocations of Garden Tickets released to the public: a postal ballot with a closing date of 20 May, max 6 tickets; online from 24 July, max 4 tickets; and in person on the Sunday prior (27 August) at the counter of The Hub at 10.00am, max 4 tickets.

The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the most exciting places in the world to experience the performing arts. The chance to see and hear some of the world’s greatest companies and performers, to experience something out of the ordinary, the informal atmosphere, the conviviality, the buzz, the sense that anything can happen: all combine to offer an intensity of experience for both artists and audiences which is as thrilling for an old hand as it is for newcomers. 2006 marks the 60th Festival.

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

For further information please contact Susie Burnet or Jackie Westbrook in the EIF press office on 0131 473 2020 or press@eif.co.uk