"His sense of style is also notable--he is a natural for major roles!"

German Opernglass Magazine

Biography

A native of Finland, Raimo Laukka started his musical education in 1980 at the Helsinki Conservatory. From 1983 - 1987, he continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy. His teachers included Jaakko Ryhänen, Jolanda di Maria Petris, and Milan’s Maria Luisa Cioni.

Mr. Laukka has won several vocal competitions in Finland. In 1988, he was a finalist in the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna. The following year, the Finnish National Opera engaged him, where he has continued to perform each season since then. Since 1986, he has been a regular guest of the Savonlinna Opera Festival. During the 1996 - 97 season, he performed roles in The Magic Flute and Carmen at the Bonn Opera. In 1998, Daniel Barenboim invited Laukka to perform in a new production of Wagner’s Meistersinger at the Staatsoper Berlin. In 2001, he moved Frankfurt audiences and the press alike with his outstanding portrayal of Miller in a new production of Luisa Miller. In 2001 – 02, he made his debut in Wiesbaden as Sheriff Rance in Puccini’s La Fanculla de West.

Raimo Laukka’s opera roles include Onegin in Eugene Onegin, Figaro and the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, Escamillo in Carmen, Germont in La Traviata, Valentin in Faust, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Amonasro in Aida, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Posa in Don Carlos, Scarpia in Tosca and title characters such as Rigoletto, Macbeth, and Don Giovanni.

As a concert singer, Mr. Laukka has appeared not only in his homeland, but also in other world-class cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, London, Wien, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Los Angeles, Tokyo and more. He has performed under the baton of conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Eri Klas, Sergiu Comissiona, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Myung Wung Chung, and Miguel Comez-Martinez.

His discography includes critically acclaimed recordings of Sibelius’ Kullervo as performed with the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra under conductor Leif Segerstam; as well as the title role of the oratorio of Des Jona Sendung with the Estonia State Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Neeme Järvi.

Mr. Laukka’s future plans include his roles in Helsinki as Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier, Barak in Die frau ohne schatten, Jago in Othello, and Amfortas in Parsifal, as well as an appearance with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center in September 2005.

August 2005
Please disregard previously dated materials.

Excerpts from the Press

"Raimo Laukka presented a Germont that made the listener want to hear more of this young singer. He has a readily recognizable, original voice with a secure upper register (more akin to Chernov than Hvorostovsky or, for a historical parallel, more akin to Merrill than to Warren). His sense of style is also notable--he is a natural for major roles!"

German Opernglass Magazine

Discography