The Canadian-American Rufus Wainwright will perform twice at Helsinki Festival next year. One of the most acclaimed songwriters and composers of his generation, Wainwright arrives at the city’s flagship arts event with two strikingly different performances.
At the Huvila tent, he appears in an intimate solo concert, performing his chanson-like, piano-driven songs and threading them together with personal anecdotes and a warm, conversational rapport with the audience.
Over at Musiikkitalo, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra will present his major classical score Dream Requiem, which opens the festival under the baton of Dalia Stasevska. Finnish actor Laura Birn – known from tv series Foundation – performs the narrator’s part, joined by soprano Anna Prohaska and the Key Ensemble choir.
Dream Requiem is among Wainwright’s most recent works. It premiered in Paris in 2024, conducted by Mikko Franck, with Meryl Streep as narrator.
Dream Requiem at Musiikkitalo on 18 August 2026, and Rufus Wainwright at Huvila on 20 August 2026.