Scotland

It&#8217;s 250 years since American independence and to mark the occasion, this summer&#8217;s Edinburgh International Festival spotlights US artists while exploring themes of freedom, creativity, resilience and cultural friction. Taking the theme All Rise, the festival, which runs from 7 to 30 August, will bring 24 days of world-class opera, theatre, music and dance to Scotland&#8217;s capital – 147 performances from 44 countries. Yep, it&#8217;s a lot! 



If (like Timothée Chalamet) you think opera, ballet and the like are not for you, think again. Or at least try it out and see – 50,000 tickets are £30 or less, and better still there are lots of £10 “Give it a Go” options too. You can book tickets from 26 March 2026 and the full programme is <a href="http://eif.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.



Here are the performances we&#8217;ve got our eyes on:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-classical-and-jazz">Classical and Jazz</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Wynton-Marsalis-©-Courtesy-of-the-Artist.jpg" alt="Wynton Marsalis" class="wp-image-3496" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Wynton-Marsalis-©-Courtesy-of-the-Artist.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Wynton-Marsalis-©-Courtesy-of-the-Artist-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Wynton-Marsalis-©-Courtesy-of-the-Artist-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Wynton-Marsalis-©-Courtesy-of-the-Artist-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wynton Marsalis. Photograph: courtesy of the artist</figcaption></figure>



The Festival kicks off with the monumental symphony by Wynton Marsalis – All Rise (yes, the theme of this year&#8217;s festival takes its name from this). Marsalis is about to step down from his role as founding artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, making it a not-to-be-missed monumental opening concert with over 200 performers on stage. It&#8217;s also the International Festival&#8217;s first-ever jazz ensemble residency.



Speaking of which, other legendary orchestras taking residency include: the Berliner Philharmoniker with Kirill Petrenko and Augustin Hadelich and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel in his final year. Canadian Orchestre symphonique de Montréal brings rare works, while recitals at The Queen’s Hall feature Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Vilde Frang and tributes to Alfred Brendel. Family-friendly beanbag concerts round out the programme.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-opera">Opera</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1333" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/The-Galloping-Cure-2026-RBG-Eye-Credit-Courtesy-of-Scottish-Opera.jpg" alt="Galloping Cure" class="wp-image-3497" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/The-Galloping-Cure-2026-RBG-Eye-Credit-Courtesy-of-Scottish-Opera.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/The-Galloping-Cure-2026-RBG-Eye-Credit-Courtesy-of-Scottish-Opera-225x300.jpg 225w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/The-Galloping-Cure-2026-RBG-Eye-Credit-Courtesy-of-Scottish-Opera-768x1024.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Galloping Cure. Photograph: Scottish Opera</figcaption></figure>



Scottish Opera opens with the gripping new work The Galloping Cure, a visually stunning reflection on the global opioid crisis by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. Verdi’s A Masked Ball arrives from Zurich Opera House, transplanted to America’s Gilded Age, while concert performances of Don Giovanni and Strauss’s Elektra showcase world-class voices including Nina Stemme and Louise Alder.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contemporary-and-folk">Contemporary and Folk</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1483" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/corto.alto-©-James-Pearson-Howes-3.jpg" alt="corto.alto" class="wp-image-3498" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/corto.alto-©-James-Pearson-Howes-3.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/corto.alto-©-James-Pearson-Howes-3-202x300.jpg 202w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/corto.alto-©-James-Pearson-Howes-3-690x1024.jpg 690w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/corto.alto-©-James-Pearson-Howes-3-768x1139.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">corto.alto. Photograph: James Pearson-Howes</figcaption></figure>



At The Hub, music crosses continents. Mercury Prize-nominated corto.alto fuses jazz and electronic beats, Senegal’s Orchestra Baobab celebrates Afro-Cuban rhythms, Camilla George blends Afrofuturism with jazz and Routes to Roots joins Scottish and Argentinian musicians in a global collaboration. Experimental folk, Scottish clarsach and all-female ensembles like Beyond Tradition make this a really joyful musical celebration.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-theatre">Theatre</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Angels-in-America-©-Fee-Golin-2.jpg" alt="Angels in America" class="wp-image-3499" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Angels-in-America-©-Fee-Golin-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Angels-in-America-©-Fee-Golin-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Angels-in-America-©-Fee-Golin-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Angels-in-America-©-Fee-Golin-2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Angels in America. Photograph: Fee Golin</figcaption></figure>



The newly renovated and reopened Kings Theatre will play host to an epic five-hour staging of Tony Kushner&#8217;s Angels in America, the epoch-defining work of the AIDS crisis (Internationaal Theater Amsterdam).



Visionary Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy reimagines Ibsen in A Trial, with audience participation and Golden Globe-winner Wagner Moura. And immersive international works like Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah, [seagull] and Taverna Miresia push boundaries, while family-friendly Hostile delivers a playful Spaghetti Western adventure.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dance">Dance</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Mere-Mortals-©-Courtesy-of-the-Company-2.jpg" alt="Mere Mortals" class="wp-image-3500" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Mere-Mortals-©-Courtesy-of-the-Company-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Mere-Mortals-©-Courtesy-of-the-Company-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Mere-Mortals-©-Courtesy-of-the-Company-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Mere-Mortals-©-Courtesy-of-the-Company-2-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mere Mortals. Photograph: courtesy of San Francisco Ballet</figcaption></figure>



San Francisco Ballet returns with the European premiere of Mere Mortals, fusing Greek myth and AI with a live score from Floating Points. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui presents Ihsane, exploring cycles of destruction and rebirth. Dan Daw’s EXXY celebrates disability and belonging, while Groupwork’s When Prophecy Fails hypnotises with UFO doomsday cult drama.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-talks-and-visual-arts">Talks and Visual Arts</h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1499" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Sarah-Lewis-c-Joyanne-Panton.jpg" alt="Sarah Lewis" class="wp-image-3501" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Sarah-Lewis-c-Joyanne-Panton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Sarah-Lewis-c-Joyanne-Panton-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Sarah-Lewis-c-Joyanne-Panton-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/scotland/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2026/03/Sarah-Lewis-c-Joyanne-Panton-768x1151.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sarah Lewis. Photograph: Joyanne Panton</figcaption></figure>



The Festival’s Global Ideas Stage, hosted by Harvard Professor Sarah Lewis and Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, brings thinkers and cultural leaders to Edinburgh. The Legacy Museum presents its first international exhibition on slavery and racial injustice, while Anne Hardy transforms the Talbot Rice Gallery into an immersive, tech-driven experience.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-the-mood-for-more">IN THE MOOD FOR MORE?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/latest-news/first-must-book-fringe-shows/">Early bird gets the belly laugh: The first must-book Fringe shows</a></li>



<li><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/arts-culture/scotland-theatre-2026/">Is 2026 Scotland’s year of theatre? These eight not-to-be missed performances say “Yes”</a></li>



<li><a href="https://scotland.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/whats-on-march/">Mad for March! Your guide to what’s on around Scotland this month</a></li>
</ul>

Superflash! The Edinburgh International Festival 2026 highlights you need to know

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