Description
Sat 12 Dec 2026 17:00
Espoo Cultural Centre, Tapiola Hall
Lippu.fi 29.90/90 € + booking fee
Wed 16 Dec 2026 18:00
Art Factory Porvoo
8–25 € + booking fee
Fri 18 Dec 2026 18:00 and 20:30
Temppeliaukio Church Helsinki
Ticketmaster 15–37 € + booking fee
Duration approx. 70 min, no intermission.
Highly anticipated! The enchanting Christmas jazz tale The Nutcracker, which sold out two venues last year, returns! Storyteller is Anna Airola, music provided by UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. Concerts at Porvoo Art Factory, Espoo Cultural Centre and Helsinki’s Temppeliaukio Church.
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra will play Duke Ellington’s and Billy Strayhorn’s jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Christmas classic. Beloved actress Anna Airola brings the story to life and reads, alongside the music, the fairy‑tale by E. T. A. Hoffman about the Nutcracker and the Mouse King’s Christmas‑night adventure.
Sparkling winter forests, an enchanted marzipan castle, toys that come alive… The Nutcracker is full of fairy‑tale magic and thrilling twists! The plot of the Nutcracker, one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous and esteemed ballets, is based on E. T. A. Hoffman’s Christmas story. The ballet premiered at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre in December 1892. Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote and recorded their original jazz version of the work in 1960. In recent years the jazz arrangement has become UMO’s Christmas tradition, now seasoned with storytelling.
Dive into the world of fairy‑tale and jazz!
It is not strictly a children’s concert, but it is suitable for the whole family. Especially with the youngest audience members we recommend being prepared for high volume levels. Doors open 30 minutes before the concert starts. Duration approx. 70 min, no intermission.
"Clearly the most wonderful concert experience of the year. My soul sang. Absolutely mind‑blowing!" – Audience feedback
"This Christmas concert made an impression. People seek experiences, we delivered one. Thank you!" – Audience feedback
Anna Airola (born 1994) is a popular and award‑winning actress from Kokkola. Graduated from the Theatre Academy in 2022, Airola was chosen as Television Actress of the Year and awarded the Golden Venla for her role as Oona in Yle’s series Aikuiset. Raised in a musical family, Airola sings in the Ykspihlaja cinema orchestra and also has experience playing the tenor horn.