EIF Announces First Performances and Theme for 2025
Edinburgh International Festival has unveiled the first details of the 2025 Festival, the third from Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, taking place 1–24 August 2025. The 2025 Festival invites audiences to examine their relationship with truth through a curated programme of music, dance, theatre and opera. The pursuit of truth is an essential part of being human, but today this search for meaning is precarious, fractured and abused. Through the lens of this year’s theme The Truth We Seek, the International Festival presents contemporary reflections on the world alongside time-honoured tales, a place where fact meets faith and fiction. The first performances announced feature a world premiere, European premiere, and a European debut.
A highlight of the 2025 Festival’s opera programme, Opera Queensland's production of Orpheus and Eurydice breathes new life into the ancient myth, in a ground-breaking work exploring the enduring theme of true love and the depths to which our inner beliefs are challenged. Created in collaboration with renowned Australian contemporary circus company Circa, this reimagined staging of Gluck’s tragédie lyrique opera makes its European premiere at the International Festival with Opera Australia.
Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots is the first full-length narrative ballet from Scottish Ballet Resident Choreographer Sophie Laplane. The world premiere production is told through the eyes of Queen Elizabeth I, based on her perceived and imagined relationship with Mary. Blending history with legend, the production delves into the stories – the true and the fictional – that surround Mary’s life and legacy.
The International Festival also announces a new three-year creative partnership with Carnegie Hall and its national youth ensembles, with the European debut of NYO2 (National Youth Orchestra 2), one of three resident orchestras in 2025. This residency model strengthens the orchestra’s connection with Edinburgh, offering workshops and diverse performance styles to enrich the local cultural landscape. On their first European tour, NYO2 join their Scottish peers on stage for a family concert, forming cross-border connections and sharing the perspectives of the next generation of musicians in both countries.
The International Festival remains a champion of Scottish stories, creatives and companies during this uncertain time for Scottish arts, and its 2025 line-up features all five national performing companies. Supporting artists, creating jobs and showcasing homegrown talent on an international stage is now more essential than ever.
Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, Edinburgh International Festival, said:
To be alive is to know the elusive nature of truth. Within our homes or workplaces, amongst loved ones or colleagues, we all experience trying to piece together indignantly expressed, absolutely believed, yet utterly contradictory truths. How often are we able to rise above our own bubble? From the weaving of myth and enduring truths in a bold reimagining of Orpheus and Eurydice, to reconciling rival perspectives in Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots or finding inspiration from the next generation of musicians with Carnegie Hall’s incredible National Youth Orchestra 2, we invite you to join us for our 2025 Festival: The Truth We Seek.