There are works of art which, no matter how many times you see or hear them, remain inexhaustible fields of interest and creation. Turandot, Giacomo Puccini’s final, unfinished opera – a work that speaks of unattainable dreams, riddles, the power of love, and the transcendence of fate – is one of them.

Turandot kicks off the festival at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on f June 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8.

This year, the Greek National Opera (GNO) returns to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus with a grand new production of Turandot to open the 2025 Athens and Epidaurus Festival. The tale of Princess Turandot, a woman who demands that suitors solve her riddles before she gives them her heart, will fill the summer nights of June 1, 3, 5, 6, and 8 with lyricism, mystery and intense emotion.

While Puccini’s music alone is enough to transport audiences, what makes this production truly unique is the remarkable team behind it. At its helm is acclaimed director Andrei Șerban, who approaches opera and theatre as a “living organism”, while the renowned Chloé Obolensky, one of the world’s most distinguished living set and costume designers, with credits spanning Covent Garden to the Met and La Scala, brings her vision to bear on Turandot. Her conception eschews the merely decorative for the profoundly narrative: each set, prop, jewel, and costume hue tells a story of its own, illuminating the darker corners of the fairytale and capturing the ritualistic atmosphere of mythical China.

Equally significant is the return of Italian conductor Pier Giorgio Morandi to the GNO podium to lead the orchestra through this difficult and moving score nearly a century after Turandot’s premiere and just over a century since Puccini passed away. Alongside the orchestra, two outstanding sopranos – Lise Lindstrom and Catherine Foster – alternate in the demanding title role, joined by an exceptional international cast. Together, they promise an experience in which art is transformed into memory and emotion.

This summer, under the light of the moon and in front of a stage set in which Greek and Chinese cultures converge, Turandot will come alive once more. A story of love born of darkness and the riddles we are all called upon to answer in our lives. A performance not merely to be witnessed, but to be experienced. And an offering meant to linger like a nocturnal prayer beneath the Acropolis.

Turandot – Giacomo Puccini
1, 3, 5, 6, 8 June 2025
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
Start time: 21:00
Part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival

Music Director: Pier Giorgio Morandi
Director: Andrei Șerban
Dramaturgy: Daniela Violeta Dima
Set & Costume Design: Chloé Obolensky
Choreography & Movement: Kate Flatt
Associate Choreographer & Movement Coach: Georgia Tegou
Lighting: Jean Kalman, Simon Trottet
Chorus Master: Agathangelos Georgakatos
Children’s Chorus Director: Konstantina Pitsiakou

Princess Turandot:
Lise Lindstrom (June 1, 5, 8) / Catherine Foster (June 3, 6)
Emperor Altoum: Nikos Stefanou
Timur: Tasos Apostolou
Calaf: Arsen Soghomonyan (June 1, 5, 8) / Riccardo Massi (June 3, 6)
Liù: Cellia Costea (June 1, 3, 5) / Maria Kosovitsa (June 6, 8)
Ping: Haris Andrianos
Pang: Yiannis Kalyvas
Pong: Andreas Karaoulis
Mandarin: Giorgos Papadimitriou
Young Prince of Persia: Nikos Stefanou

With the Orchestra, Chorus, and Children’s Chorus of the Greek National Opera, as part of its educational mission.