Athens' ancient theater hosts final festival season before closing for three-year restoration

ATHENS, Greece — 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."

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.