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Mon 14 Aug 2006

Sets are constructed, costumes fitted and singers warming up at major venues across the city. Opera, theatre, dance and music, the four strands of the International Festival, are now getting underway over the first twenty four hours of the Edinburgh International Festival 2006.

An amazing public response to this year’s festival saw ticket sales reach over 2 million pounds before the Usher Hall opened its doors for the opening concert of Elektra last night. The swell in ticket sales has also been matched by an all time record of over 2.5 million pounds raised in sponsorship and donations.

Festival Director, Brian McMaster has said, “There seems to be a fantastic response to this year’s Festival. I am really pleased that people have booked in such numbers for a wide range of events, including a less familiar play by Shakespeare, Indian Dance, and new writing. But the real excitement is that we’ve sold more seats this year to classical music. The festival is a time to try new experiences and I hope people will continue to take risks with us for the next four weeks”.

Shows opening today include Peter Stein’s epic production of Troilus and Cressida at the King’s Theatre. Also opening today at the Lyceum Theatre is the world premiere of Anthony Neilson’s new play, Realism, which marks the first co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Tonight our opera programme opens with The Lindbergh Flight/The Flight Over the Ocean & The Seven Deadly Sins at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Directed by Francois Girard, this is a spectacular, highly visual production of two short Brecht and Weill dramas. And fresh from Brazil comes Bruno Beltrao’s young dance group Grupo de Rua de Nitoroi, who open the dance programme today at The Hub, performing Telesquat and other short performances.

The first twenty four hours of Edinburgh International Festival 2006 conclude tonight with Andras Schiff performing four Beethoven Piano Sonatas at the Usher Hall. Schiff’s recent recordings and recitals have positioned him as one of the most exciting interpreters of Beethoven’s piano works today.