Soile Isokoski
Encyclopedia
Soile Isokoski is a Finnish
lyric soprano
. She is an opera
singer as well as a concert and lieder
singer.
. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy
in Helsinki
(a cantor-organist diploma, a singing teacher's degree and a singing diploma) and made her concert debut there in 1986.
Isokoski won the Lappeenranta song competition in Finland (1987), the Elly Ameling Competition in the Netherlands (1988), and the Tokyo International Singing Competition (1990). In 1987 she won 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World competition in Cardiff.
She worked first as a church musician in Northern Finland. In 1987 she was engaged as a soloist with the Finnish National Opera
and stayed there until 1994. Her first appearance there was as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème
in 1987.
Isokoski has sung at all the leading opera houses in Europe, including the Vienna State Opera
, Théâtre du Châtelet
, Opéra Bastille
, La Scala
, Deutsche Oper Berlin
, Berlin State Opera
, Semperoper
, the Hamburg State Opera
, and the Cologne Opera
.
She made her début at the Metropolitan Opera
as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro
in 2002. The New York Times
wrote on January 28, 2002: "Ms. Isokoski... touched on the Countess' sense of abandonment by the Count without diminishing her regal bearing or the graceful humor she must contribute to the second act. And her dark, burnished soprano should make her a good addition to the Met roster."
In 2007 Isokoski made her San Francisco Opera
debut portraying the role of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
. In 2010 she made her Los Angeles Opera
debut as Elsa in Lohengrin
.
She has also appeared at many festivals such as Salzburg Festival
, Edinburgh International Festival
, Chorégies d'Orange
, The Proms
in London, Tanglewood Music Festival
and Savonlinna Opera Festival
.
Isokoski's lied repertoire is extensive. She has given recitals with her regular accompanist Marita Viitasalo all over the world, including in New York, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale
, Vienna, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Athens, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tokyo.
Isokoski has appeared with many renowned conductors including Claudio Abbado
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
, Daniel Barenboim
, James Conlon
, Andrew Davis
, Colin Davis
, John Eliot Gardiner
, Daniele Gatti
, Valery Gergiev
, Bernard Haitink
, Marek Janowski
, Neeme Järvi
, Okko Kamu
, James Levine
, Zubin Mehta
, Yehudi Menuhin
, Riccardo Muti
, Sakari Oramo
, Seiji Ozawa
, Simon Rattle
, Esa-Pekka Salonen
, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
, Leif Segerstam
, and Osmo Vänskä
.
----
DVD
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
lyric soprano
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
. She is an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer as well as a concert and lieder
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
singer.
Career
Isokoski was born in PosioPosio
Posio is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is 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. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(a cantor-organist diploma, a singing teacher's degree and a singing diploma) and made her concert debut there in 1986.
Isokoski won the Lappeenranta song competition in Finland (1987), the Elly Ameling Competition in the Netherlands (1988), and the Tokyo International Singing Competition (1990). In 1987 she won 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World competition in Cardiff.
She worked first as a church musician in Northern Finland. In 1987 she was engaged as a soloist with the Finnish National Opera
Finnish National Opera
The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
and stayed there until 1994. Her first appearance there was as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
in 1987.
Isokoski has sung at all the leading opera houses in Europe, including the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, Théâtre du Châtelet
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 built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
, Opéra Bastille
Opéra Bastille
L'Opéra Bastille ' is a modern opera house in Paris, France. It is the home base of the Opéra national de Paris and was designed to replace the Palais Garnier, which is nowadays mainly used for ballet performances....
, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
, Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
, the Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
, and the Cologne Opera
Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company.-History of the company:...
.
She made her début at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
in 2002. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote on January 28, 2002: "Ms. Isokoski... touched on the Countess' sense of abandonment by the Count without diminishing her regal bearing or the graceful humor she must contribute to the second act. And her dark, burnished soprano should make her a good addition to the Met roster."
In 2007 Isokoski made her San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
debut portraying the role of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
. In 2010 she made her Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
debut as Elsa in Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
.
She has also appeared at many festivals such as Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
, Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...
, Chorégies d'Orange
Chorégies d'Orange
The Chorégies d'Orange is a summer opera festival held each year in August in Orange located about seventy miles northwest of Marseille in southern France...
, The Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
in London, Tanglewood Music Festival
Tanglewood Music Festival
The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
and Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna Opera Festival is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna , built in 1475...
.
Isokoski's lied repertoire is extensive. She has given recitals with her regular accompanist Marita Viitasalo all over the world, including in New York, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
, Vienna, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Athens, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tokyo.
Isokoski has appeared with many renowned conductors including Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, James Conlon
James Conlon
James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New...
, Andrew Davis
Andrew Davis (conductor)
Sir Andrew Frank Davis CBE is a British conductor.Born in Ashridge, Hertfordshire to Robert J. Davis and his wife Florence J. née Badminton, Davis grew up in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and in Watford. Davis attended Watford Boys' Grammar School, where he studied classics in his sixth form years...
, Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
, John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Sir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
, Daniele Gatti
Daniele Gatti
Daniele Gatti is an Italian conductor.Official website: He is currently Music Director of the Orchestre National de France, a role he assumed in September, 2008 , and also Chief Conductor of the Zurich Opera, a position he began in September, 2009; his contract is for three seasons, after which...
, Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
, Marek Janowski
Marek Janowski
Marek Janowski is a Polish-born conductor.Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, Germany, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the start of World War II to be with her parents...
, Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...
, Okko Kamu
Okko Kamu
Okko Kamu is a Finnish orchestral conductor.Kamu was born into a family of musicians. His father played double bass in the Helsinki Philharmonic. He began violin studies at age two and entered the Sibelius Academy at age six. He formed his own string quartet, the Suhonen, in 1964 where he played...
, James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
, Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta
Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
, Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti
Riccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.-Childhood and education:...
, Sakari Oramo
Sakari Oramo
Sakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor.Oramo started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he enrolled in Jorma Panula's conducting class at the Sibelius Academy...
, Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.Saraste was trained as a violinist. He later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä...
, Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam
Leif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....
, and Osmo Vänskä
Osmo Vänskä
Osmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982...
.
Roles
- Così fan tutteCosì fan tutteCosì fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
"Fiordiligi" (MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
) - Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
"Donna Elvira" (Mozart) - The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
"Countess " (Mozart) - The Magic FluteThe Magic FluteThe Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
"Pamina " (Mozart) - OtelloOtelloOtello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
"Desdemona" (Verdi) - FalstaffFalstaff (opera)Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
"Alice Ford" (Verdi) - Simon BoccanegraSimon BoccanegraSimon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
"Amelia" (Verdi) - Die Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
"Eva" (Wagner) - LohengrinLohengrin (opera)Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
"Elsa" (Wagner) - Der FreischützDer FreischützDer Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
"Agathe" (Carl Maria von WeberCarl Maria von WeberCarl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
) - The Bartered BrideThe Bartered BrideThe Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
"Marenka " (Bedřich SmetanaBedrich SmetanaBedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
) - Der RosenkavalierDer RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
"Marschallin" (Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
) - CapriccioCapriccio (opera)Capriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
"Countess" (Richard Strauss) - Ariadne auf NaxosAriadne auf NaxosAriadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
"Ariadne" (Richard Strauss) - DaphneDaphne (opera)Daphne is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his 13th opera, subtitled "A Bucolic Tragedy in One Act". The German libretto was by Joseph Gregor. The opera is based loosely on a myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and also includes elements taken from The Bacchae by Euripides...
"Daphne" (Richard Strauss) - Les contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
"Antonia" (OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
) - FaustFaust (opera)Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
"Marguerite" (Gounod) - La JuiveLa JuiveLa Juive is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on February 23, 1835.-Composition history:...
"Rachel" (HalévyFromental HalévyJacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
) - La bohèmeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
"Mimi" (Puccini) - TurandotTurandotTurandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
"Liù" (Puccini) - CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
"Micaëla" (BizetGeorges BizetGeorges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
) - Eugene OneginEugene Onegin (opera)Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
"Tatjana" (Tchaikovsky) - Peter GrimesPeter GrimesPeter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
"Ellen Orford" (BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
) - Dialogues des carmélites "Madame Lidoine" (PoulencFrancis PoulencFrancis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
)
Recordings
CD- Christmas Carols Finlandia Records 1989
- Schubert: Lieder Finlandia 1994
- Schumann : Liederkreis Op. 39, Frauenliebe und –leben Finlandia 1995
- My World of Songs, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Grieg & al. Finlandia 1999
- Finnish Songs Ondine 2000
- R. Strauss: Orchestral Songs Ondine 2002
- Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch with Bo Skovhus Ondine 2002
- Artist Portrait Schubert, Schumann, Grieg, Sibelius Warner Classics 2002
- Finnish sacred Songs Ondine 2003
- Mozart: Arias Ondine 2004
- Hymns in Finnish Ondine 2005
- Sibelius: LuonnotarLuonnotar (Sibelius)Luonnotar, Op. 70, is a tone-poem for soprano and orchestra, completed by Jean Sibelius in 1913. It was dedicated to Aino Ackté, who premiered the work at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester, England on 10 September 1913, with an orchestra conducted by Herbert Brewer...
, Orchestral Songs Ondine 2006 - Songs by Sibelius, Strauss and Berg Wigmore Hall Live A BBC Recording 2006
- Christmas Carols with YL Male Voice ChoirYL Male Voice ChoirYL Male Voice Choir was founded by P.J. Hannikainen in 1883 to become the choir of the Helsinki University. It is also the oldest Finnish-language choir. Nowadays the choir is not completely tied to the university, but all applicants are expected to have passed the matriculation exam or study at...
Ondine 2006 - Scene d'amore: Scenes and arias by Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, Verdi Ondine 2008
- Hindemith: Das Marienleben Ondine 2009
----
- Rautavaara: Cantos, Die Liebenden etc. Finlandia 1989
- Mendelssohn: Elias, op. 70 Harmonia Mundi 1993
- Mahler: Symphonie 4 Symphonie für Sopran und Orcheste 1993
- Mozart: Così fan tutte Accent 1993
- Mendelssohn: Paulus, op. 36 Opus III 1995
- Sibelius: Kullervo Op 7 Chandos 1995
- Gothoni: Der Ochs und sein Hirte Ondine 1995
- Fux: La deposizione dalla croce Novalis 1995
- Schubert: Messe Es-dur D 959 Berlin Classics 1996
- Kokkonen: Requiem BIS 1996
- Sibelius: Finlandia / Luonnotar etc. Deutsche Grammophon 1996
- Mahler: Symphonie 2 in C minor Fonit Cetra Records 1997
- Schubert: Die Verschworenen Opus III 1997
- Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op.45 Opus III 1997
- Zemlinsky:: Der Zwerg EMI 1997
- Mozart: Don Giovanni Deutsche Grammophon 1998
- Schubert: Missa Solemnis, Stabat Mater, Salve Regina Ondine 1999
- Mendelssohn: "Lobgesang" Eine Symphonie Cantate No. 2 Opus III 2000
- Beethoven: Fidelio 2000
- Beethoven: Symphonie No 9 Teldec 2000
- Sibelius: Conferment and Coronation Cantatas etc. Ondine 2000
- Zemlinsky: Sämtliche Orchesterlieder EMI 2000
- Live from the Kuhmo Festival, A Century of Finnish Chamber Music Ondine 2002
- Zemlinsky: Lyrische Symphonie EMI 2002
- Halévy: La Juive RCA 2002
- Pacius: Die Loreley BIS 2003
- Graun: Der Tod Jesu Querstand 2004
- Nielsen: Complete Symphonies Deutsche Grammophon 2005
- Mahler: Symphony No. 8 EMI 2005
- Wiener Opernfest 2005 Orfeo 2005
- 13. Festliche Operngala für die Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung Sony BMG 2007
- Sibelius: Kullervo Ondine 2008
- Schönberg: Gurrelieder Signum 2009
- Gounod: Faust Orfeo 2010
DVD
- Vienna State Opera gala concert – 50th anniversary of the reopening Live: Vienna 11/5/2005,
- 13. Festliche Operngala für die AIDS-Stiftung. Live-Aufnahme aus der Deutschen Oper Berlin vom 11. November 2006
- Ioan Holender Farewell Concert: Live From the Vienna State Opera 2010
- Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites BelAir Classiques 2011
Awards and recognitions
- 1st prize in the Lappeenranta song competition 1987
- 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World competition 1987
- 1st prize in the Elly Ameling Competition 1988
- 1st prize in the Tokyo International Singing Competition 1990
- The Pro Finlandia medal in honour of her notable contribution to Finnish music 2002
- Gramophone Editors's Choice Award, Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss (Ondine) 2002
- The State Prize for Music 2005
- Gramophone Award nomination for Songs by Songs by Sibelius, Strauss and Berg 2006
- MIDEMMidem-MIDEM:Short for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, MIDEM is the world's largest music industry trade fair, which has been held annually at and around the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, since 1967...
Classical Award, Sibelius: Luonnotar Orchestral Songs (Ondine) 2007 - BBC Music MagazineBBC music magazineBBC Music Magazine is a magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom by BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC. Reflecting the broadcast output of BBC Radio 3, the magazine is devoted primarily to classical music, though with sections on jazz and world music. Each edition comes...
Award, Disc of the Year and Vocal Award, Sibelius: Luonnotar Orchestral Songs (Ondine) 2007 - The Sibelius Medal of the Sibelius Society of FinlandSibelius Society of FinlandThe Sibelius Society of Finland is a society in Finland dedicated to the music of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was set up in December 1957. The Society and the Ministry of Education opened the composer's house Ainola as a museum in 1974....
2007 - The title of KammersängerKammersängerKammersänger , abbreviation: "Ks.", literally means "Chamber singer." It is a German honorific title for distinguished singers...
in in Vienna 2008 - Diapason d’Or 2008, Sibelius: Kullervo with YL Male Voice Choir, Helsinki PO/Leif Segerstam, Tommi HakalaTommi HakalaTommi Hakala is a Finnish operatic baritone and winner of the 2003 BBC Singer of the World Competition in Cardiff. He was born in Riihimäki, Finland.-Sources:*BBC News, , 30 June 2003*BBC Singer of the World Competition,...
- Prix Caecilia 2009, Hindemith: Das Marienleben
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Helsinki 2011
Sources
- Hillila, Ruth-Esther and Hong, Barbara Blanchard. 1997. Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland, p. 171. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3
- International Who's Who in Classical Music 2003, Europa Publications. ISBN 1 85743 174X L180
- Opera, June 2006
- Who's Who in Finland 2007, Otava 2006. ISBN 951-1-20606-0
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford University Press 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-920383-3
- Finnish Music Information Centre
External links
- Intermusica: Soile Isokoski biography
- Ondine Records: Soile Isokoski, soprano
- [ Allmusic.com: Soile Isokoski biography]
- The Times article, October 27, 2006 “The heart and Soile of Finland
- Soile Isokoski: A digital interview with the great Finnish soprano by Göran Forsling
- The Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition 2009. Jury Soile Isokoski
- Interview: Soprano Soile Isokoski returns to Covent Garden for Rosenkavalier MusicalCriticism.com 25 November 2009