Given the maelstrom of disinformation and growing tension on the world stage, this year’s 2025 International Festival theme of The Truth We Seek is a timely one.
EIF Director Nicola Benedetti calls it “a journey into the elusive nature of truth, in our personal and public lives.”
“In an era of ‘alternative facts’ and manipulated narratives, the arts offer us something deeper: a poetic and metaphorical wisdom that is both more nuanced and more precise,” she says, adding:
“This Festival—born in the city of the Enlightenment—has championed artistic expression as a means of discovery, insight, and mutual understanding. This year, we proudly present seven world premieres, exceptional international and Scottish artists, and celebrate 60 years of our Festival Chorus as well as the brightest emerging talent.”
Highlights of the festival’s 133 performances include the world premiere of a new play by James Graham looking at the meltdown of RBS under Fred “the Shred” with Brian Cox starring as the ghost of economist Adam Smith; a new narrative ballet from Scottish Ballet, and Festival debuts from rising classical stars - violinist Maria Dueñas, mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo, and 2024 BBC Young Musician of the Year Ryan Wang.
Audiences can experience an opera incorporating circus performers for a breathtaking fusion of music and acrobatics in Orpheus and Eurydice, a site-specific promenade dance work that transforms Edinburgh's Old College Quad into a stage for Dance People, and enjoy Bach through a new lens in Breaking Bach, where hip-hop meets 18th-century period instruments.
Audiences can also actively participate in performances—whether by shaping the repertoire in a real-time Classical Jam or sharing their dreams to inspire Hanni Liang’s piano recital, Dreams.
For those seeking deep immersion, eight-hour choral epic The Veil of the Temple invites audiences to sit on beanbags and lose themselves in waves of harmonies, and a choral workshop welcomes amateur singers that will preview a powerful performance at the Festival’s Closing Concert, Mendelssohn's Elijah.
Now in its third year under Festival Director and celebrated Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, the 2025 will bring together 1,700 artists from 42 nations in Edinburgh —including 600 from Scotland.
Ensuring that cost is not a barrier to live performance, over 50,000 tickets (more than half of all tickets available for the 2025 International Festival) are priced at £30 or under. Thousands of free tickets are available for young musicians, NHS staff and community groups, and £10 Affordable Tickets are available for all performances for anyone who needs them.
This year, for the first time, a Dementia-Friendly concert will be presented for people living with dementia, their caregivers, family and friends.
The wider 2025 programme features 33 accessible performances.
Available online, the Access Pass is a free scheme that provides a tailored Festival experience for anybody who needs additional support. The concession for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people remains at 50% off all full price tickets, with the option to add a free essential companion ticket where required.
General booking for the 2025 International Festival opens on Thursday 27 March, with tickets currently on-sale to Members and supporters.
EIF Programme Notes by Genre (provided by the EIF)
Opera
In 2025, the International Festival’s operatic highlights reflect a consideration on how opera can be presented in imaginative ways, with top quality casting and musicianship.
Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice in association with Circa is an electrifying staging of Gluck’s tragédie lyrique opera, bringing together acrobatics and video projections to breathe new life into the ancient myth. Australian contemporary circus company Circa joins with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and a chorus from Scottish Opera for the European premiere of this inspired production of Gluck’s seminal opera, with British countertenor and Grammy Award winner Iestyn Davies as Orpheus, performing alongside rising Australian soprano Samantha Clarke as Eurydice and Amore.
A UK premiere of a spectacular cross-genre stage work, Book of Mountains and Seas fuses opera with puppetry, composed by Huang Ruo, one of the most exciting figures of contemporary opera. This 21st-century adaptation explores our complex relationship with the natural world, reflecting on humanity’s role as caretakers of the Earth. Directed and designed by Basil Twist, designer of the Olivier Award-winning My Neighbour Totoro, the performances feature the Danish choir Ars Nova Copenhagen, joined by an exceptional ensemble of percussionists and puppeteers.
With no pit to divide the orchestra and on-stage cast from the audience, operas in concert make room for an intimate exchange of pure performance and focused listening.
As part of their International Festival residency, the London Symphony Orchestra perform Suor Angelica joined by their Chief Conductor, Sir Antonio Pappano, an unparalleled interpreter of Puccini’s music. Bringing to the fore the drama and sorrow at the heart of this opera, international soloists are joined by the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and RSNO Youth Chorus.
La clemenza di Tito continues the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and its Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev's exploration of Mozart's operas, now entering its third year following last year’s acclaimed Così fan tutte. The SCO and its Chorus unite with a cast of celebrated singers, including Tara Erraught and Hera Hyesang Park.
See www.eif.co.uk/opera for information on individual performances.
Classical Music
The world’s finest orchestras and musicians gather in Edinburgh for 18 spectacular concerts at Usher Hall and 19 intimate morning recitals at The Queen’s Hall.
A popular staple of the programme, International Festival residencies invite leading orchestras to the Festival for an extended stay, in a more sustainable model, offering multiple performances and community engagement alongside them. This year, three outstanding orchestras offer us distinctive perspectives on the inner workings of their collective sound and ambitions.
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) takes the stage at the International Festival for the first time since Sir Antonio Pappano took on the baton as their new Chief Conductor. Founded in 1904 as a pioneer in musician-led ensembles, the LSO’s residency comprises three concerts: a celebration of early 20th-century works including Elizabeth Maconchy’s Nocturne for Orchestra, Erich Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and soloists Vilde Frang, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Will Liverman, a concert of Beethoven and Shostakovich co-presented by Pappano and Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, and Puccini’s Suor Angelica. A special performance in The Queen’s Hall also sees Sir Antonio Pappano at the piano join with tenor Ian Bostridge and members of the LSO.
Travelling from New York, Carnegie Hall’s trailblazing youth orchestra, NYO2, lands in Edinburgh for its European debut. This marks the first of a three-year creative collaboration between the International Festival and Carnegie Hall. Led by Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, they present a thrilling programme: American cellist Alisa Weilerstein shines in Dmitri Shostakovich’s gripping First Cello Concerto, followed by the triumphant optimism of Sergei Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony, composed in 1944 reflecting the turning tide of the Second World War.
Back due to popular demand, the Family Concert is recommended for ages 7-11, but suitable for all ages. In a special interactive introduction to classical music, Scottish musical traditions are contrasted with the sounds of America, performed by the inspirational young musicians of NYO2, with presenter Lucy Drever introducing the musicians and the music.
The resident orchestra of the National Forum of Music in Wrocław, NFM Leopoldinum comes to the International Festival as the flagship ensemble of this year’s Focus on Poland season. The string orchestra has been developing its sound for almost 40 years, now led by British violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky. Their residency comprises two concerts, Bizet’s Carmen Suite as well as a tribute to Yehudi Menuhin, one of the foremost violinists of the 20th century, conceived by two of his former pupils: Alexander Sitkovetsky and Festival Director Nicola Benedetti. They are joined by the original strings cohort of early career musicians from the International Festival’s Rising Stars mentorship scheme, now in its third year.
This year’s Opening Concert sees Usher Hall transform into a sanctuary for John Tavener’s magnum opus, The Veil of the Temple, in its eight-hour glory. In a rare moment of vocal communion, the Monteverdi Choir joins the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and National Youth Choir of Scotland for the second ever performance of this work. Comprising eight cycles with short breaks in between, the audience are seated on beanbags and can come and go.
This year, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus celebrates 60 years of incredible dedication and stirring performances at the very heart of the International Festival. Since its inception, this leading choir has been performing with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. Brought together by a shared love of singing, the Chorus is made up of over 150 volunteer members. Their performances span across the epic Opening Concert, Vaughan Williams's Sea Symphony, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (this year’s grand Closing Concert).
In an exciting opportunity for aspiring singers, members of the public are invited to join the Edinburgh Festival Chorus in Come and Sing Elijah, an immersive workshop led by Chorus Director James Grossmith, leading to a special performance alongside the Chorus and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Thomas Søndergård.
Also in the Usher Hall, the Aurora Orchestra make their International Festival debut, in the year of their 20th anniversary as a group. Audiences can listen to Dmitri Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony from the inside out, with a conversational presentation in the round led by Founder and Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon that delves into the composer’s grapple with the pursuit of truth under oppression. That evening, they play the piece in full, by memory, alongside cellist Abel Selaocoe, who joins for a performance of his work Four Spirits.
Under the baton of Principal Conductor Edward Gardner, the London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the International Festival for the first time in a decade with a stunning programme that includes Sergei Rachmaninoff’s inspired Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with pianist Beatrice Rana, and Gustav Holst’s The Planets, exploring our true place in the universe.
One of the most in-demand conductors of her generation, Karina Canellakis also returns after making her Festival debut in the 2023 Closing Concert. Leading a monumental programme with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, Olivier Messiaen's moving Les Offrandes oubliées and Igor Stravinsky's orchestral reworking of his hit ballet Petrushka bookend the beauty of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, led by Chief Conductor Jaime Martín, sweeps from Edward Elgar’s In the South, to a world premiere work by Indigenous Australian composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO, featuring didgeridoo virtuoso William Barton. The journey concludes at the ‘Great Gate of Kyiv’, the majestic finale to Modest Mussorgsky’s vivid Pictures at an Exhibition.
Also in the Usher Hall, Myung-Whun Chung conducts the resident orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing along with Bruce Liu, winner of the 2021 Chopin International Piano Competition; the extraordinary Budapest Festival Orchestra and polymath founder-conductor Iván Fischer return to Edinburgh after their enormously popular 2023 performances in a programme that celebrates their Hungarian heritage; and the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, with esteemed Baroque conductor Jonathan Sells, showcase enthralling works from their repertoire, featuring George Frideric Handel’s Dixit Dominus.
In The Queen’s Hall, the series opens with award-winning ensemble The King’s Singers and one of the world's leading percussionists, Colin Currie, including a world premiere of a James MacMillan work.
Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo – the first singer to ever win the Leonard Bernstein Award – is accompanied by pianist Sophia Muñoz in a programme of songs woven together by the theme of the natural world, ranging from Béla Bartók, Scottish-Irish folksong by Francis McPeake, to Canadian composer Walter MacNutt.
Two outstanding young musicians, violinist Maria Dueñas and pianist Alexander Malofeev, join forces for a passionate programme of music by Karol Szymanowski, Claude Debussy and César Franck; and another duo, the fast-rising countertenor Hugh Cutting and pianist George Ireland present a recital journeying genres and centuries.
Recital performances include duo performances from pairs including pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy, baritone Florian Boesch and pianist Malcolm Martineau, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich and pianist Alexei Grynyuk and clarinettist Mark Simpson with Piano Professor at the Royal College of Music, Richard Uttley.
As part of a Focus on Poland, recitals from violinist Bomsori Kim and pianist Thomas Hoppe, pianist Piotr Anderszewski, and the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble share stunning programmes featuring Polish music, and BBC Young Musician of the Year’s 2024 winner, Ryan Wang, performs an all-Chopin programme.
Further performances from world-class ensembles include the Dunedin Consort with John Butt, the Fibonacci Quartet, the Sitkovetsky Trio, Belcea Quartet, and The Apollon Ensemble with Leonidas Kavakos.
Through the Rising Stars programme, the International Festival continues to champion the world’s most promising young musicians, offering them a chance to shine on an international stage. Chosen via audition, there are 26 Rising Stars this year – spanning woodwind, strings and voice – who will take part in a mentorship programme with professional musicians, culminating in public performances at The Usher Hall, The Queen’s Hall and The Hub.
In the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, The Hub, intimate surroundings bring performers and artists closer together.
First Night at The Hub, curated by Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, is a mixed bill revealed on the night for a celebration of artistry and anticipation for the Festival season ahead. Two spontaneous ‘jam’ concerts, Jazz Jam and Rising Stars: Classical Jam, draw inspiration from jazz jam sessions, where emerging musicians and professionals create exciting and unpredictable results on stage together.
In an interactive concert, Hanni Liang also invites audience members to share their dreams, and creates a live response on the piano.
Contemporary Music
This year’s contemporary music programme crosses electronic, indie, jazz, blues, garage, traditional, and contemporary-classical with acts from America, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Poland, as well as leading Scottish talent.
Indie, Jazz, Contemporary Classical and Electronic Music
Electronic artist Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith turns synth-driven soundscapes into otherworldly experiences. A leading force in progressive modern ambient music, she brings the Buchla modular synthesiser to life, shaping intricate, evolving compositions that blur the line between organic and electronic.
Scottish singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph brings her meditative vocals and rhythmic piano to a late night at The Hub, including songs from her forthcoming album. Joseph first captivated audiences with her 2015 album, bones you have thrown me and blood I’ve spilled, which won the Scottish Album of the Year award. Since then, the Inverness-born artist has added two more albums and a five-track EP to her name, all filled with her signature honesty and raw emotion.
Jazz musician, spoken word poet and activist Alabaster DePlume combines his atmospheric saxophone melodies with his personal politics. A musical maverick, DePlume’s last two albums were created on the premise of giving his fellow musicians little time to practice, encouraging true improvisation and a raw, eclectic sound. Expect the unexpected as DePlume’s saxophone riffs create a distinctive, warm atmosphere, where spontaneity and creativity lead the way.
Fast becoming a staple of The Hub programme, Endea Owens returns to bring the International Festival to a joyful finale. The irresistibly charismatic Grammy and Emmy award-winning bassist and composer is once again joined by her sextet The Cookout for their original renditions of jazz standards and Owen’s own compositions.
Joep Beving, celebrated for his emotive piano work that melds minimalist and modern influences, joins forces with Berlin-based composer, cellist and electronic innovator Maarten Vos, blending classical piano, experimental electronics and avant-garde textures in fresh, unexpected ways.
Traditional Music
The Hub series continues to spotlight those who lead a new generation of Celtic musicians, with representation from Scotland and all corners of the earth. This year features Norwegian trio Østerlide, Irish fiddle player Aoife Ní Bhriain and Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, Glasgow string musicians The Kinnaris Quintet, Celtic supergroup Ímar, Poland’s VOŁOSI and a new project from three award-winning musicians of Glasgow’s freewheeling music scene - Greg Lawson, Phil Alexander and Mario Caribé (formerly of fusion band Moishe’s Bagel).
Visual artist Tazeen Qayyum creates in real-time with calligraphic drawing, with music by Basel Rajoub (saxophone, duclar and percussion) and qanun player Feras Charestan, as part of a programme from the Aga Khan Music Programme that also includes Tanzanian singer and composer Yahya Hussein Abdallah and Tunisian-born viola d’amore player Jasser Haj Youssef, and a performance from musical visionaries including pipa player Wu Man, accordionist Vincent Peirani and cellist Vincent Segal.
Other performances span the globe, sharing music styles from Hungary with Roby Lakatos and his ensemble, West African djembe from virtuoso Sidiki Dembele and ensemble, and Indigenous Australian composer and didgeridoo player William Barton, whose experimental compositions stem from his Kalkadunga heritage and a musical upbringing of Elvis Presley, AC/DC and Antonio Vivaldi. A frontierless quartet of Malian kora star Ballaké Sissoko, Vincent Segal, Vincent Peirani and saxophonist Émile Parisien, fuses neoclassical, jazz and West African kora music with infectious energy.
A full line-up can be found at www.eif.co.uk/contemporarymusic.
Theatre
Works explore the climate emergency, colonialism and politics, including one world premiere, two UK premieres and two Scottish premieres.
Opening the International Festival, Make It Happen is an epic new satirical play by acclaimed playwright James Graham, directed by Andrew Panton, Artistic Director of Dundee Rep Theatre. This co-production between National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival and Dundee Rep Theatre is the first major artwork to tell the story of Royal Bank of Scotland’s role in the 2008 financial crash, and marks the return of Brian Cox to Scottish stages for the first time in a decade, with Sandy Grierson.
Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman present the UK premiere of Works and Days, a wordless piece that blends stunning imagery, movement and music to explore our connection with the land we inhabit. Accompanied by on-stage musicians playing original music inspired by Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, ingenious set design exposes the actors to all the elements, from fire to water, with visuals that nod to famous pastoral paintings, all told with FC Bergman's signature humour and pathos.
30 years after its original premiere, Faustus in Africa! reimagines the timeless tale of Faust’s downfall, reframing it to confront the catastrophic costs of colonialism and the climate emergency. Directed by William Kentridge, this bold re-working of the Handspring Puppet Company’s multi-award-winning 1995 production combines puppetry with Kentridge’s celebrated animations. The haunting score, featuring Warrick Sony and the late James Phillips, ramps up the drama, while Handspring’s extraordinary puppetry (of War Horse fame) brings a surreal quality to the stage.
A collection of political plays arrives at the International Festival with a fresh wave of urgency - following a sellout debut at London’s Arcola Theatre, Cutting the Tightrope makes its Scottish debut to delve into the ever-tightening grip of censorship on artistic freedom. Written by a diverse group of award-winning playwrights, this is an audacious exploration of the role of the arts in today's global conflicts and political resistance.
In another Scottish premiere, although Shakespeare’s title promises something for everyone, cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal’s As You Like It A Radical Retelling reimagines the Bard strictly for the open-minded. An Indigenous Canadian artist based in Toronto, Cardinal’s take is bold, unapologetic and unafraid to tackle the thorny truths of our times, balancing black humour with raw emotion.
There are also post-show talks after many productions with companies and creative teams.
See www.eif.co.uk/theatre for information on individual productions.
Dance
2025’s dance programme offers three world premieres, three UK premieres and three Scottish premieres.
Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots is a major new production from choreographer-in-residence Sophie Laplane and co-creator James Bonas that draws on the complex relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I of England. Laplane’s bold choreography blends classicism with modernity, reshaping a familiar story with powerful originality. With dazzling costumes that capture the grandeur of the era, with nods to haute couture and punk, new music is by the team behind 2022 International Festival hit Coppélia, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.
Another world premiere looks at Bach from a fresh perspective, as classical music meets hip hop and contemporary dance in Breaking Bach. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, performing on 18th-century period instruments, is joined by a troupe of dancers, some professional dancers as well as young talent from Acland Burghley School in London, where the orchestra is engaged in a groundbreaking residency. Award-winning choreographer Kim Brandstrup also returns to the Festival after his acclaimed Minotaur (2023).
Set outdoors against the striking backdrop of Edinburgh’s Old College Quad, choreographers Omar Rajeh and Mia Habis with Lebanese-French dance company Maqamat present the UK premiere of Dance People. A performance where the line between audience and performer dissolves, the promenade production pirouettes between joy and critique, examining the power structures that influence the artistic process.
The Scottish premiere of Figures in Extinction sees Nederlands Dans Theater in collaboration with two heavyweights of their fields: visionary choreographer Crystal Pite and ground-breaking theatremaker Simon McBurney (Complicité). Contemporary dance is fused with striking soundscapes and dialogue – from the crack of melting ice caps to the jarring chatter of social media influencers – to confront hard truths about humanity's impact on the world and art’s meaning in the face of mass destruction.
A daring International Festival debut fuses sexy choreography and touching theatricality to take a stand against the disabling forces of society. Australian disabled performer Dan Daw is joined by collaborator Christopher Owen, turning the spotlight inward to find his own truth through a subject that holds the power to both challenge and liberate: kink.
See www.eif.co.uk/dance for information on individual performances.
Keynote Talks
Under Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, the International Festival has a renewed focus on dialogue and debate, with keynote talks from leading voices calling for change.
In a panel with thought-provoking guests, broadcaster, author and University of Edinburgh rector Simon Fanshawe tackles the 2025 theme, The Truth We Seek. A co-founder of the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall and a Perrier Award for Comedy winner, Fanshawe’s debut appearance at the International Festival is bound to spark fresh debate, fuelled by his signature wit.
Art and cultural historian Sarah Lewis leads a gripping exploration of the role of art in shaping history, and how it might yet transform the future. A professor at Harvard University, Lewis’ recent book The Unseen Truth confronts the falsehoods that have upheld systemic inequality in the United States, offering a razor-sharp reassessment of the nation’s racial regime.
Visual Art
At Talbot Rice Gallery, Egyptian artist Wael Shawky presents a striking solo exhibition exposing the falsehoods of colonial histories. This landmark exhibition includes Drama 1882, an operatic film interrogating the 1882 Urabi revolution, sculptures and drawings. It also pays tribute to David Talbot Rice – the Byzantine and Islamic art historian who gave the gallery its name 50 years ago – bridging past and present.