Musica nova & Tapiola Sinfonietta: Once Again 

The one-act opera Kerran, by composer Heta Aho and writer Juha Itkonen, tells a love story whose protagonists meet in a hardware store somewhere along a ring road.

Aku Sorensen conductor  
Anni Elif vocals  

Heta Aho & Juha Itkonen (libretto): Once, one-act opera for soloist and orchestra, concert version  

The program for the second half will be confirmed later.  

Once tells a love story in the form of a one-act opera, in which the protagonists meet at a hardware store somewhere along a ring road. When the woman encounters her ex, suddenly her entire youth — love, uncertainty, and madness — floods back through her.   

Former Tapiola Sinfonietta artist-in-residence, writer Juha Itkonen, and composer Heta Aho created the work Once on commission from the Tapiola Sinfonietta for the 2024 Nuoruus (Youth) Festival. The soloist is singer, cellist, and composer Anni Elif.  

Aho drew inspiration for the work from Yona’s idea that “Powerful emotions need an entire orchestra as their canvas.” Yona made this remark while recording the album Uni johon herään (2021) with the Tapiola Sinfonietta.   

The musical expression has been inspired not only by Anni Elif herself, with her jazz background, but also by the legendary pop stars Carola Standertskjöld, Seija Simola, and Irina Milan, as well as the rich arrangements of their 1970s recordings.   

“The hardware store setting has inspired Aho’s musical imagination to run wild. She masterfully and inventively combines different styles — nostalgic entertainment, jazz, contemporary music, and classical.” Helsingin Sanomat, April 12, 2024 

Tickets 10–35 € + subscription fees (starting at €1.50 + 0.65% of the total amount of the order www.lippu.fi)