Crystal Pite premiere to feature in 2024 Edinburgh International Festival

Five operas and a new show from Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite will feature in the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival.

The second EIF to be led by artistic director and violinist Nicola Benedetti, it will run in the Scottish capital from August 2-25.

The theme of the festival is ’Rituals That Unite Us’, and it aims to “reassert the need for reconciliation and the value of shared experiences in today’s increasingly disconnected world".

Announcing the first shows, Benedetti said: “Next year’s EIF celebrates the unifying force of collective live experiences.”

She continued: “We continue to pursue an openness towards diverse perspectives, and, in exploring ‘Rituals That Unite Us’, reflect our deeply human need to connect with one another.” 

Five operas will feature at the festival, including a production of Bizet’s Carmen from Paris’ Opéra Comique, staged by German director Andreas Homoki.

The show will take place on a replica stage of the Opéra Comique, where the opera premiered in 1875, and is to feature seven iron doors constructed by Gustave Eiffel, designer of the Eiffel Tower. 

It will be performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in traditional opéra-comique style, with dialogue interwoven with the score and the comic elements of the plot emphasised.

Four-time Olivier-winning Canadian choreographer Pite and playwright Jonathon Young will collaborate on Assembly Hall, a new dance-theatre work co-produced with the EIF.

Set in a community centre, Assembly Hall will follow a group of medieval re-enactors coming together for their annual general meeting, at which ancient forces awaken and the line between reality and re-enactment blurs.

The EIF will also collaborate with the World Health Organization, Scottish Ballet and other arts organisations to run a Scotland-wide, week-long initiative advocating for “improved physical, mental and social health through the arts”.

Healing Arts Scotland 2024 will launch on August 19 next year and will include a range of performances, exhibitions, workshops, policy discussions and more.

The full EIF programme will be announced in March.