The Aria Borealis International Baroque Singing Competition reaches its climax in the final.

Finalists:

Josefine Mindus, soprano (Sweden)
Antonia Ortner, soprano (Austria)
Maija Rautasuo, coloratura soprano (Finland)
Lucija Ercegovac, mezzo-soprano (Croatia)
Virgile Pellerin, countertenor (France)
Martin Höhler, tenor (Germany)
Lucas Zuehl, bass-baritone (United States)
Mari Aschehoug, soprano (Norway)

Finnish Baroque Orchestra

The international baroque singing competition Aria Borealis will be held for the second time in Helsinki in October 2026. The inaugural competition took place in Bodø, Northern Norway, in 2022.

Aria Borealis is an international singing competition for performers specialising in early music. It was created, developed, and is jointly led by the four ensembles of the Nordic Baroque Scene (NBS) network: Barokkanerne (Norway), Concerto Copenhagen (Denmark), Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble (Sweden), and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (Finland). The Helsinki edition is also organised in collaboration with Floridante (Estonia).

At the heart of this competition is the interaction and collaboration between performers. You can read more about the ideas behind the competition in a blog post published on the Finnish Baroque Orchestra’s website in 2022.

The jury consists of Emma Kirkby, Veerle De Clercq, Justin Doyle, and Jadran Duncumb.

The competition is part of the Helsinki Early Music Festival. The other organisers of the competition are the Helsinki Music Centre and the Finnish Baroque Orchestra. In connection with the competition, a series of public events under the name Boreallas will also be organised and will be open to everyone.