January 5th, 2026 @ 7 pm
The German Church, Bernhardinkatu 4, Helsinki, Finland
Tickets: 30 € / 25 € at the door
Travel through time to early 17th century Venice!
Imagine: The cream of Venice flocks to St Marc’s Cathedral, wearing their finest, to attend the Christmas Eve Vesper. In the twilight, their faces are lit by warm, flickering candlelight and its reflections in the golden arches of the magnificent cathedral. In the prime seat, on a throne in the centre of the cathedral, sits the Doge of Venice himself.
Composer Claudio Monteverdi has created a thrilling programme for the evening. His music has become an integral part of the vibrant music scene of the time, and he will rise to great fame, leaving a vast legacy of immortal music.
When Monteverdi’s festive and joyous Christmas Vesper fills the space, the audience is enveloped in music, in a joint celebration of jubilation and prayer.
Vespers are often thought to imply a calm and meditative mass, but the vespers of Monteverdi are rather like musical fireworks, where the choir and soloists outdo each other, singing piece after glorious piece, lifting us all into steadily higher musical spheres.
Chamber choir Utopia, together with a select group of excellent musicians, will lead you, the listener, on a musical journey to the eternal city of Venice, where art, faith and glory came together on a Christmas night.
Come and experience how Monteverdi can create a gala of sound – this Epiphany Eve in the German Church of Helsinki!
Chamber Choir Utopia, dir. Mikael Maasalo
Will Crock, Tuuli Talvitie, violin
Olli Hyyrynen, theorbo
Pilvi Listo-Tervaportti, organ
Esa Fagerholm, Saara Indermühle, Martti Vesola, baroque trombone