Tickets for the 2009 Edinburgh International Festival are on sale to the public this Saturday, 4 April at 10am.
This year's hot tickets look set to include: The Opening Concert Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, Wagner's dramatic opera The Flying Dutchman, Handspring
Puppet Company and Ricercar Consort's Il
ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, the huge operatic setting of
Bach's canatas Actus tragicus,
Royal Ballet of Flanders mix of classic and hip in The Return of Ulysses, a new work from the Michael Clark
Company, the Emerson String Quartet, world premiere of playwright Rona
Munro's The Last Witch, wacky
Australian road trip Optimism, and macabre theatre on a grand scale Faust.
Tickets for performances
start at between £7 and £10, with the highest priced tickets for opera just
£64, less than a third of international opera prices and fantastic value for
money.
On eif.co.uk you can now
see video clips of Festival shows, and for the first time hear sound clips of
lots of the music being played in the Usher Hall and Queen's Hall
concerts. These extracts, short films of Jonathan Mills talking about the
programme and a trailer for this year's Festival help to give audiences
more information. Enjoy a taste of the experience and try before you buy.
Jonathan Mills, Festival
Director, said: ‘I hope people will take the Festival as an opportunity
to escape from the everyday and immerse themselves in the experience. There is
a great diversity of shows and artists in the Festival this year and I believe
there truly is something for everyone; the comedian Frank Woodley appearing in Optimism, a wild road trip and look at the
no-worries bravura of the Australian swagger; choreographer Michael
Clark's new work inspired by the music of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy
Pop; recitals from Bryn Terfel and Willard White; and Herbert Wernicke's
stunning setting of Bach in an enormous opera production called Actus tragicus. I look forward to
welcoming you all in August. We want people to take the opportunity to see these
great works and superb artists at what are remarkably competitive ticket prices
starting at just £8.'
Jackie Westbrook, Director
of Marketing and Communications said: ‘Our website eif.co.uk now has lots
of new features. Get a sense of the productions, including dance, opera and
theatre from Flanders, South Africa, and New York, by watching short video clips. Listen
to extracts of music being played at the Usher Hall and Queen's Hall or hear
the Festival Director give an introduction to the Festival. It all helps you to
make up your mind about what to see and maybe you'll feel encouraged to
try something new.
‘Buying your ticket
online is easy and means you can book whenever you want to. And not only that
but you can select the very seat you want to sit in. We sell over 50% of our
tickets online these days, and we are working hard to continue improving this
resource for customers.'
Tickets available from
10.00am Saturday 4 April for the Edinburgh International Festival at The Hub