Raimo Sirkiä (born 7 February 1951) is a Finnish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

whose repertoire ranges from spinto to dramatic. The musical education or Raimo Sirkiä began at the age of four. He was the Finnish Champion in

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

four times, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1964. He studied music pedagogics and voice at the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...

in Helsinki, and in Rome with Gavarrini and Morelli. He won the prestigious Timo Mustakallio award for young opera singers in 1981. Raimo Sirkiä performed mainly in Germany from 1983 to 2001. He was the principal tenor at the

Finnish National Opera The Finnish National Opera and Ballet (; ) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the Töölönlahti bay in Töölö, which opened in 1993, and is state-owned throu ...

from 1990 to 2006. Sirkiä's most noted roles are in

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

Calaf Calaf () is the main town in the northern portion of the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Anoia in Catalonia, Spain, situated on the Calaf Plain. The town holds an important weekly livestock market. It is served by the main N-II road ...

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

, Siegmund, and

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

. Mr. Sirkiä has recorded several complete operas, symphonies, as well as many solo CDs of opera arias, Italian songs, film music, Christmas music, and tangos. In 1993 he was awarded with Beniamino Gigli Prize. Raimo Sirkiä was the Artistic Director of the

Savonlinna Opera Festival Savonlinna Opera Festival () is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna (St. Olaf's Castle), built in 1475. The castle is located amid spectacular lake scenery. Origin The birth ...

from 2002 to 2007, where his new productions included

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

and

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

, and the commissioned Isän tyttö composed by Olli Kortekangas, which subsequently has been played also at the Finnish National Opera. Raimo Sirkiä began the popular children's opera series at the festival and commissioned works from several Finnish composers. Sirkiä was the Artist of the Year of the Festival in 1996, a recognition of his contribution as a singer at the Festival since 1981. Sirkiä was awarded the

Pro Finlandia Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof might also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African reti ...

medal by the president of Finland in 2003, and the Savonlinna City award 2007. Sirkiä has acted as a vocal coach, training young tenors. He retired from the Finnish National Opera in 2006 and now primarily gives concerts worldwide.

Discography

*Jää mun lähellein/Serenadeja (Fazer/Warner -84/-97) *Opera Arias (Ondine -92) *Amado Mio (Ondine -94) *Mahler 8th Symphony (Chandos -94) *Valkea joulu (Ondine -96) *Lemmen Virtaa (Tonus Art -97) *'' Juha'' (Ondine -95) *Pohjalaisia (Finlandia -98) *Die Feen (Dynamic -98) *Oskar Merikanto-Elämälle (Taidekeskus Salmela -99) *Loreley (Bis -03) *Mare and Her Son (Ondine -05) *Der fliegende Holländer

Video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

(Amaya -89/DVD -04)

External links

Artist's home page
1951 births Living people Finnish operatic tenors 20th-century Finnish male opera singers 21st-century Finnish male opera singers Recipients of the Order of the Lion of Finland {{Finland-opera-singer-stub