Karita Marjatta Mattila (born 5 September 1960) is a Finnish

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

. Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

, the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

in London,

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

Opéra Bastille The Opéra Bastille (, "Bastille Opera House") is a modern opera house in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated in 1989 as part of President François Mitterrand's '' Grands Travaux'', it became the main facility of the Paris Nat ...

, the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

, Toronto

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Toronto Defiant. Opened in 1982, its circ ...

, and Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg.

Career

Born in

Somero Somero () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is part of the Southwest Finland region in the province of Western Finland, located northeast of Salo, east of Turku and northwest of Helsinki. The municipality has a population of () and cov ...

, Finland, Mattila graduated 1983 from the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It ...

in Helsinki, where she studied singing with Liisa Linko-Malmio. She then continued her studies with Vera Rózsa in London. Also in 1983, Mattila won the first Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. In 1985, she made her Royal Opera House, Covent Garden debut as Fiordiligi in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's ''

Così fan tutte (''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte ...

''. She was seen as Emma in the first ever televised production of Schubert's ''

Fierrabras ''Fierrabras'', 796, is a three-act German opera with spoken dialogue written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Joseph Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor (Vienna's Court Opera Theatre). Along ...

'' at the Vienna State Opera in 1988. In 1990 she made her

debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; Köchel catalogue, K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The rake (stock character), Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Pon ...

''. In 1994, she made her Spanish debut as Tatyana in

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

'' in Madrid, and 1996 debuts in Paris in Wagner's '' Lohengrin'', Verdi's ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

''. Mattila has won

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s for "Best Opera Recording" for ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is tradit ...

'' in 1998 and for ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed ...

'' in 2004. She was awarded the Evening Standard Ballet, Opera and Classical Music Award for "Outstanding Performance of the Year" in 1998 for her performance of Elisabeth in ''Don Carlos'' at the Royal Opera House. In 2001 ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' chose Karita Mattila as the best singer of the year for her performance in ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, ...

'' at the Metropolitan Opera, and in the same year she was nominated for the

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

"Outstanding Achievement in Opera". Mattila's 2004 New York performances in ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...

'' and subsequent '' Káťa Kabanová'' inspired the New York press to write: "When the history of the Metropolitan Opera around the time of the millennium is written, Karita Mattila will deserve her own chapter." In 2005, she was named ''Musician of the Year 2005'' by ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. History 1898–19 ...

'', which describes her "the most electrifying singing actress of our day, the kind of performer who renews an aging art form and drives the public into frenzies." ''

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher togeth ...

'' named Mattila as one of the top 20 sopranos of the recorded era in 2007. Worldwide audiences saw Mattila in '' Manon Lescaut'' live in movie theatres in 2008. Metropolitan's ''Salome'' and ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramati ...

'' were seen live in High Definition worldwide in 2008 and 2009, respectively. In 2010 at Opéra National de Lyon, Mattila created the role of

Émilie du Châtelet Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French natural philosopher and mathematician from the early 1730s until her death due to complications during childbirth in 1749. ...

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; born 14 October 1952) is a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho has received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Inte ...

's monodrama '' Émilie'', which was dedicated to her. In 2014, Mattila was scheduled to sing '' Four Last Songs'' with the

Munich Philharmonic The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Ra ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

. However, when

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...

, who had publicly supported

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

's stance on

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

, was brought in to conduct, she refused to perform if he remained. Gergiev was replaced with

Fabio Luisi Fabio Luisi (born 17 January 1959) is an Italian conductor. He is currently principal conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Bio ...

. Mattila received threats for her action. In 2020, Mattila played a parody of herself as an opera diva stuck in Finland, in the new comic opera ''

Covid fan tutte ''Covid fan tutte'' is a 2020 comic opera created and produced by the Finnish National Opera. It is a comedic adaptation of Mozart's '' Così fan tutte'', depicting life in the spring of 2020 as disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The libretto i ...

''. In December 2020 Mattila was awarded the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

, Commander, First Class.

Personal life

Mattila lives in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

. In 1988 she met and, in 1992, married Tapio Kuneinen, who served as her manager; they divorced in February 2019. She has been active on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

since October 2018, and has stated that it was a "lifesaver" after her divorce. Upon the abrupt cancellation of her ''Jenůfa'' at the Royal Opera House in late February 2020 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, she moved to an apartment in Helsinki, Finland, until she was able to travel and work safely again and return home. She returned to Florida in April 2021.

Recordings

Solo recitals

* Arias & Scenes (

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius ...

) cond. Yutaka Sado; Queen of Spades, Jenufa, Elektra. * German Romantic Arias (

), Staatskapelle Dresden, cond. Sir Colin Davis; Beethoven, Weber. Lieder * Strauss: Orchestral Songs; Four Last Songs ( DG) * Strauss: Orchestral Songs (

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

) * Strauss: Hölderlin Lieder (

) * Sibelius Songs ( Ondine) * Grieg and Sibelius Songs (

) * ''Lollipops''; Canteloube, Villa-Lobos (

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

) * ''Sydän Suomessa'' – From the Heart of Finland ( Ondine), 1996, recital with Ilmo Ranta (piano); songs by

Toivo Kuula Toivo Timoteus Kuula (7 July 1883 – 18 May 1918) was a Finnish composer and conductor of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods, who emerged in the wake of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1906 to 1908. The core of Ku ...

Oskar Merikanto Oskar Merikanto (; born Frans Oskar Ala-Kanto; 5 August 1868, Helsinki17 February 1924, Hausjärvi-Oitti) was a Finnish composer, music critic, pianist, and organist. As a composer, Merikanto was primarily a miniaturist, and includes songs a ...

Erkki Melartin Erkki Gustaf Melartin (7 February 1875, Käkisalmi – 14 February 1937, Helsinki) was a Finnish composer, conductor, and teacher of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods. Melartin is generally considered to be one of Finland's most sign ...

, Yrjö Kilpinen and folk songs.Ondine 0 ODE892-2 (58 minutes: DDD). Texts and translations included. Recorded in association with Helsingin Energia
Gramophone review
/ref> * ''Wild Rose'' ( Ondine) with Ilmo Ranta. Lieder by Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Mahler. * ''Modern Portrait'' ( Warner/Finlandia), 1995.

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

''Das Marienleben'', song cycle for soprano & piano, Op. 27; Aulis Sallinen ''Dream Songs''; Mikko Heinio song cycle ''Vuelo de Alambre'' Live * Karita Live! ( Ondine) cond. Jukka Pekka Saraste; Wagner, Verdi, Strauss, Gershwin * Helsinki Recital (Ondine), Martin Katz (piano); Duparc,

''Quatre instants'', Rachmaninov, Dvořák Gypsy songs. Compilations * Excellence – The Artistry of Karita Mattila ( Ondine)

Complete operas

* ''Salome'' (

) * ''Káťa Kabanová'' ( Fra Musica) * ''Tosca'' (Virgin) * ''Manon Lescaut'' (

EMI Classics EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...

) * ''Don Carlos'' (

) * ''Fidelio'' ( DG) * ''Die Meistersinger'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in We ...

, DG) * ''Simon Boccanegra'' (TDK) * ''Jenůfa'' (

) * ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (

) * ''Così fan tutte'' (

) * ''Don Giovanni'' (

) * ''Fierrabras'' ( DG) * ''Der Freischütz'' (

) * ''Scenes from Goethe's Faust'' (

)

Symphonic works

* Mozart: ''Requiem'' ( DG) * Beethoven: Symphony no. 9 ( DG) * Shostakovich: Symphony no. 14 (

) * Schoenberg: ''Gurrelieder'' (

) * Bernstein: Symphony no. 3 (

) * Sibelius: ''Kullervo'' (BIS) * Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 2 ( DG) * Schubert: Mass in E flat major; Mozart: Aria of the Angel, Laudate dominum ( DG)

Popular music

* ''Fever'' ( Ondine) * ''Best of Evergreens'' ( Ondine) * ''Karita's Christmas'' ( Ondine) * ''Songs To The Sea''; Popular Melodies by Lasse Mårtenson (2001)

DVDs

* ''

James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala ''James Levine's 25th Anniversary Metropolitan Opera Gala'' was a concert, lasting (including intermissions) approximately eight hours, that the Metropolitan Opera staged in 1996 in honour of its then principal conductor and artistic director. Exc ...

'' (1996), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, B0004602-09

Repertory

References

External links

Official profile

Intermusica

Ondine Records: Biography and discography

Karita Mattila Forum

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071127151042/http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/salome_1.html "Mysteries of Love: Karita Mattila's Salome," Alex Ross, ''The New Yorker'', April 5, 2004
Interview with ''Classical Voice''

by Bruce Duffie, January 23, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mattila, Karita 1960 births Living people People from Somero Finnish operatic sopranos Grammy Award winners Sibelius Academy alumni Commanders First Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland 20th-century Finnish women opera singers 21st-century Finnish women opera singers Erato Records artists