An ancient theater in Greece opens for its final season before
undergoing a 3-year restoration
[June 23, 2025]
By THEODORA TONGAS
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — For visitors to Athens, the ancient Odeon of Herod
Atticus is the must-see theater at the foot of the Acropolis. Artists
revere it for the majestic stage where legends have performed. And for
the Greek capital's residents it is the touchstone of their summer
cultural calendar.
The Odeon of Herod Atticus recently opened the 70th season of the annual
Athens Epidaurus Festival, a cherished annual tradition for many Greeks.
But this edition marks the last before the theater that’s more than 18
centuries old shuts down for maintenance and restoration work that is
expected to last at least three years.
While theater and dance grace its stage, music is its cornerstone.
Renowned artists who have performed here include Luciano Pavarotti,
Frank Sinatra, Coldplay, and Greece’s own Maria Callas.
Its closure will be a profound loss for spectators who have long enjoyed
first-class performances under the stars in one of the world’s most
iconic open-air theaters.
“When (people) think of the Athens cultural scene, everyone thinks of
the festival and Herodion,” said Katerina Evangelatos, the festival’s
artistic director since 2019, calling the theater by its commonly used
Greek name. “It has become a synonym of the festival. It is the heart of
the festival.”
When the Greek National Opera opened this season’s festival with Giacomo
Puccini’s opera Turandot, it erected temporary structures behind the
Roman-era odeon’s arched walls to expand available space for performers’
dressing rooms. The permanent underground facilities weren’t enough.
The production also needed more space inside the venue to accommodate
the scale of the production.
To meet the opera’s scenic and casting demands, a crew constructed a
wooden, balcony-like platform to partially extend over the orchestra
pit.
This adaption allowed space for the large cast and complex staging,
including the emblematic scene in which the emperor, Turandot’s elderly
father, is ceremonially rolled out in his towering throne to watch
suitors attempt to solve his daughter's riddles — at the risk of
execution. The scene requires significant simultaneous on-stage presence
by multiple performers.
‘It’s like entering a temple’
Giorgos Koumendakis, the Greek National Opera’s artistic director,
describes the Herod Atticus Odeon as “a strained, fatigued space” which
still commands widespread veneration.
“People who are conscious, cultivated, educated — who understand what
this space is, its historical significance, the importance of the
festival, and the history of the Greek National Opera — respect it
deeply and enter it almost reverently,” said Koumendakis. “It’s like
entering a temple — a temple of art — and it truly has an impact. I can
see it from the singers and the orchestra, too. When they come here,
they genuinely want to give their all."
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Performers of the Greek National Opera Denia Mimerini, center, and
Nikos Egglezos, left, prepare ahead of Giacomo Puccini's "Turandot"
during the 70th Athens Epidaurus Festival at the Odeon of Herodes
Atticus in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis
Stavrakis)
 During previous restoration and
conservation projects, the Herod Atticus Odeon had surfaces cleaned,
cracks filled with grout and new seating installed. This time, the
scope of the work will depend on findings from the studies still
underway.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said that although the venue’s closing
date is certain, at the end of summer, its reopening is not.
“This will depend on the problems that the studies will reveal,” she
said in an interview to Greek radio station Skai last month. “What
is certain is that at least three years will be needed.”
A long intermission
The closure of the Herod Atticus means the Athens Epidaurus Festival
will need to consider alternatives for the next few years.
Evangelatos reflected on the festival’s 70 years, noting that it
began during Greece's turbulent postwar years of political division
and economic hardship.
“It’s a miracle of survival and artistic legacy,” she said.
On the festival's opening night, the backstage area was abuzz with
final preparations, with wigs styled, masks adjusted and costumes
touched up.
Soprano Lise Lindstrom, who starred as Turandot, took in the gravity
of the setting.
“It’s an absolutely magical atmosphere here. To be able to stand on
the stage and look directly up and see the Acropolis is a little bit
mind-blowing, I have to admit,” she said. “And then also to look out
and see all the people sitting there and just being so absorbed into
the performance. It’s very, very powerful and magical.”
All eyes were on Lindstrom as she took center stage beneath the
stars — marking the start of a final season before a long
intermission.
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