Biography

After making an early career as a musician and honored no less than four times with the title of Young Accordionist of the Year, the Finnish tenor Raimo Sirkiä took up studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, initially in its Department for Music Education. Three years later he changed course and began singing studies.

In 1981, he won the Timo Mustakallio Competition for singers and entered his first permanent opera-house engagement at Kiel in Germany from 1983-85. At that time he concentrated mainly on lyric tenor roles but very soon he widened his repertoire to include Italian spinto tenor roles.

From 1985 until 1991 Raimo Sirkiä was engaged at the Dortmund City Opera, where he snag all the major Italian tenor roles, including Otello and Radames, roles which he has since performed all over Europe. In addition to Italian repertoire, Raimo Sirkiä also sang his first young dramatic Wagner roles, Erik, Parsifal, and Walter von Stolzing.

Since 1990 he has been a full-time member of the cast of soloists at the Finnish National Opera and, beginning with the 1991-92 season, also at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as a young dramatic Italian tenor.

Raimo Sirkiä has appeared as a guest soloist at many important opera houses all over Europe. His thrilling portrayal of the role of Canio at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm was followed by a new production of I Pagliacci, in Tampere, Finland.

In June 1998, Mr. Sirkiä made his debut as Tristan at the Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, and in March 1999, he will make his debut as Lohengrin in a new production (Michael Hampe, director) at the Athens Opera House.

In his home country of Finland and in the rest of Scandinavia, Raimo Sirkiä has made several recordings. He has appeared in leading roles at the Savonlinna Opera Festival since 1982, including his performance as Erik in the internationally acclaimed video of The Flying Dutchman, the title role in their new production of Tannhäuser in 1996, and the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre that same year. In 1997, he sang the title role in Siegfried in the new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Finnish National Opera.

Discography