[8][9] In 1959, Karolos Koun's performance of Aristophanes' Birds, with music by Manos Hadjidakis and sets and costumes by Yannis Tsarouchis, aroused both public approval and opposition and was finally withdrawn following government intervention.

[9][10] For some twenty years, the performances at Epidaurus were entrusted to the National Theatre of Greece and to actors such as Paxinou, Minotis, Anna Synodinou, Mary Aroni and Nezer[clarification needed].

[9] In 1965, the Damnation of Faust by the Paris Opera, directed and choreographed by Maurice Béjart, and Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra were performed.

[15][16] Two years later (1982), Peter Hall presented Aeschylus' Oresteia with the Royal National Theatre, becoming the first foreign director to take part in the Epidaurus Festival.

The institution was launched on an experimental basis in 1995 with the "Musical July" (Greek: Μουσικός Ιούλιος) and met with great success, leading to its becoming a permanent fixture, and integrated with the Athens-Epidaurus Festival.