Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2025

It is the traditional start to the pre-Christmas season for classical music lovers throughout Germany: on the eve of the First Advent, the Frauenkirche shines in its baroque splendour and offers a magnificent experience with the Sächsische Staatskapelle, the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor and the Kreuzchor Dresden. Conductor Nicholas Collon takes the podium for this year’s concert, joined by the dazzling soprano Elsa Dreisig, star tenor Benjamin Bernheim, and virtuoso violinist Daniel Hope. Together, they present a festive programme of Mozart, Berlioz, Bach, Gounod, and more.

Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2024

The Advent concerts have long become a tradition, and numerous internationally renowned artists have since accepted the invitation to the annual Advent concert. For this production, the audience can look forward to the Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, who is on stage with the Saxon State Opera Chorus and the Saxon Staatskapelle under the baton of Riccardo Minasi. In addition to soprano Nikola Hillebrand, another prominent guest is Thomas Quasthoff, who celebrates his fiftieth stage anniversary this year.

Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2022

Two world-renowned singing stars are this edition’s guests at the “Festive Advent Concert”, German TV’s most successful concert series: soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Mauro Peter. The young French conductor Marie Jacquot leads the Staatskapelle Dresden for the first time. With the 2024/25 season, Marie Jacquot will take over as Musical Director of the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. In addition to the Staatskapelle Dresden, two choirs complete the cast of the 2022 “Advent Concert”: the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden and the Kammerchor der Frauenkirche. The choir’s director, the cantor of the Dresden Frauenkirche, Matthias Grünert, also appears as organist. “The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsischer Staatsoperchor once again proved their quality.“ (Online Merker)

Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2023

It is the traditional start to the pre-Christmas season for classical music lovers throughout Germany: On the eve of the First Advent, the Frauenkirche shines in its baroque splendour and offers a magnificent experience with the Sächsische Staatskapelle under the baton of its music director Christian Thielemann and internationally renowned singers. This edition’s guests are soprano Hanna-Elisabeth Müller (“with a smooth, melodious, effortless sounding voice and great diction”, Online Merker) and tenor Mauro Peter (“offering a lyrical swell with depth”, Sächsische Zeitung). The programme includes baroque instrumental music, Romantic choir works and atmospheric arias. Together with “his” orchestra, “Christian Thielemann spread ut a carpet of pulsating sonority, dynamically highly differentiated, flexibly responding to the respective partners.” (Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten)

Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2021

The Festive Advent Concert has become a much loved tradition in Dresden and one of German TV’s biggest classical music success stories. In 2021, conductor Petr Popelka, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Staatsopernchor join forces with soprano Katharina Konradi, tenor Jonathan Tetelman and organist Samuel Kummer to present a programme ranging from Bach to festive arias and works of Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns, Handel, Grieg, Humperdinck and Lili Boulanger.