Taru Aura Helena Valjakka (née Kumpunen; 16 September 1938, Helsinki,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a Finnish soprano opera singer. Before her opera career she worked as music teacher and a choir director in Helsinki. She made her opera debut in 1964 as Donna Anna in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''. She had a central role in rise of the new

Finnish opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

in 1970s, singing lead roles in world premieres of '' The Horseman'' and ''

The Red Line ''The Red Line'' (''Punainen viiva'') is an opera in two acts with music by Aulis Sallinen to a libretto by the composer, which premiered on 30 November 1978 at the Finnish National Opera.Arni E. The Red Line. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Ope ...

'' by

Aulis Sallinen Aulis Sallinen (born 9 April 1935) is a Finnish contemporary classical music composer. His music has been variously described as "remorselessly harsh", a "beautifully crafted amalgam of several 20th-century styles", and "neo-romantic". Sallinen ...

, ''

The Last Temptations ''The Last Temptations'' ( fi, Viimeiset kiusaukset) is an opera in two acts by Joonas Kokkonen to a libretto by Lauri Kokkonen. Along with Leevi Madetoja's '' Pohjalaisia'' and Aarre Merikanto's ''Juha'', it is considered one of the most importa ...

'' by

Joonas Kokkonen Joonas Kokkonen (; 13 November 1921 – 2 October 1996) was a Finnish composer. He was one of the most internationally famous Finnish composers of the 20th century after Sibelius; his opera ''The Last Temptations'' has received over 500 performance ...

and ''Silkkirumpu'' by

Paavo Heininen Paavo Johannes Heininen (13 January 1938 – 18 January 2022) was a Finnish composer and pianist. Biography He was born in Helsinki, where he studied at the Sibelius Academy and was taught composition by Aarre Merikanto, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Ei ...

. Valjakka is also noted for lied recitals and her interpretations of songs by

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valjakka, Taru 1938 births Living people Singers from Helsinki Finnish operatic sopranos