Wed 5 August 2026 at 7 pm
Joyce DiDonato: Emily – No Prisoner Be
Main Auditorium, Tampere Hall
Standard tickets €69/79, pensioners €69, children (under 16 years) and students €49
Performers:
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Time for Three trio:
Nicolas Kendall, violin and voice
Charles Yang, violin and voice
Ranaan Meyer, double bass and voice
Award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato performs in Tampere for the first time
World-renowned mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato brings her acclaimed Emily – No Prisoner Be to Tampere Hall. The extraordinary artistic collaboration had its world premiere at the Bregenz Festival in August 2025. The Grammy Award-winning American, who has previously performed in Helsinki and Turku, will now sing in Tampere for the first time.
Emily – No Prisoner Be explores a unique poetic cosmos of the American poet Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) and offers a fascinating new perspective on her poetry.
Even 150 years after her death, Dickinson’s poems, characterized by deeply felt emotions, existential questions and a special connection to nature, are among the most valued works of English literature.
In recent decades, Dickinson has grown into something of a cult figure in America, although during her lifetime she published only a handful of poems. She did not let social expectations or conventions limit her, and her works address topics such as freedom of mind, her own poetry and the search for identity and, thus, often question faith and social norms.
Emily – No Prisoner Be was composed by Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer Kevin Puts. On stage with DiDonato is the trio Time for Three, featuring violinists Nicolas Kendall and Charles Yang and double bassist Ranaan Meyer. The production is directed by Andrew Staples, a multifaceted artist with experience in film, theatre and opera.
Creative Team
Stage Director, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer Andrew Staples
Collaboration Set and Lighting Design William Reynolds
Collaboration Sound Design Colin Egan
Duration approx. 80 minutes. No intermission.
Performed in English with Finnish surtitles.
Changes reserved.
Production: Tampere Opera
