Other theatre highlights at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival include: Vienna Schauspielhaus’ Poppea, directed by Barrie Kosky, and the Wooster Group’s La Didone, which marry music and theatre through the inspiration of early opera; the UK premiere of the acclaimed Mabou Mines DollHouse directed by Lee Breuer; American Repertory Theatre’s modern take on the Orpheus myth in Orpheus X, receiving its European premiere; and an international collaboration between Theatre Cryptic and Singapore’s T’ang Quartet.

In addition to theatrical productions, 2007 EIF attractions include: the Festival debuts of Olivier Award-winning Compagnie Montalvo-Hervieu performing On Danse and the Trisha Brown Dance Company with a spread of her works over 20 years, including the UK premiere of Canto/Pianto; a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the first major opera with a traditional production of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, directed by Gilbert Deflo and conducted by Jordi Savall; the world premiere of a new production of Richard Strauss’ Capriccio by Cologne Opera, starring Gabriele Fontana, conducted by Markus Stenz and directed and designed by Christian von Götz and Gabriele Jänicke; and a series of early evening concerts following the development of music from the 11th to the 17th century.

Mills said in a statement today: “Festivals are a gift; a special gift from a city to itself, to its citizens, to its visitors, to its future, to its very soul. In planning this, my first year’s programme, my inspiration was Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo - not just as a celebration of its 400th anniversary, but as an exploration of its legacy still alive in the work of artists today. I hope audiences will have a fantastic time at the Festival. There is a broad range of artists, styles and work, from the deeply serious to the seriously fun, which I hope will appeal to everyone. I look forward to welcoming both locals and visitors to Edinburgh in August.”

More than half a million people plan their August holidays each year around a trip to Edinburgh. The granddaddy of them all, EIF is just one of some seven festivals that overtake the Scottish city in August. The others are the Edinburgh Film Festival, Book Festival, Jazz & Blues Festival, Visual Arts Festival, the Military Tattoo and, of course, its main spin-off, the Edinburgh Fringe which, on its own, qualifies as the world's largest arts festival, with over 1,500 shows presented annually.