Biography
Finnish tenor Tuomas Katajala is one of the most versatile and sought-after Scandinavian tenors and has achieved noticeable success not just as an opera singer, but as a concert singer as well. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki as well as in Rome and Amsterdam and has a longstanding and close relationship with the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki and the Savonlinna Opera Festival, where he made his stage debut as Tamino/Die Zauberflöte. Following this, he was accepted into the master class at the Accademia Rossiniana and undertook the role of Libenskopf in Il Viaggio a Reims under the baton of Alberto Zedda at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro.Past seasons’ opera highlights include, among others, Tamino/Die Zauberflöte at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Opéra de Lille and in Tampere, Almaviva/Il barbiere di Siviglia at Komische Oper Berlin, Ferrando/Così fan tutte at Seattle Opera, Steuermann/Der fliegende Holländer in Helsinki and in a concert performance with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni at Finnish National Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, as well as Belmonte/Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Savonlinna Opera Festival.
In 2019, he made his debut as Max in Der Freischütz on the occasion of a concert tour with concerts in Vienna, Brussels, Caen, Luxemburg, Aix-en-Provence and at Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. This engagement marked a change in repertoire and was followed by debuts as Loge/Rheingold at the Finnish National Opera, Idomeneo in Tel Aviv and, most recently, Hoffegut/Die Vögel in Strasbourg.
Katajala’s vast concert- and oratorio repertoire includes the key works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Mahler and Britten, which he performed at renowned concert halls and festivals in the USA (i.a. Avery Fisher Hall in New York), France (Salle Pleyel in Paris), Germany (Laeiszhalle Hamburg), Portugal (Gulbenkian), Scandinavia, Spain, the UK (Glyndebourne Festival), and Japan.
Tuomas Katajala worked with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Kent Nagano, Klaus Mäkelä, Pablo Heras-Casado, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Susanna Mälkki, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Hannu Lintu, and Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
In the season 2022/23 Tuomas will be on stage as Tamino/Zauberflöte at the Finnish National Opera as well as in Savonlinna, and as Max/Der Freischütz at Theater an der Wien, among others.
In addition, he can be heard in Beethoven's Symphony no 9 with the Wiener Symphoniker under Klaus Mäkelä, in Britten's "Serenade for tenor and horn" with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, in the title roles of Parsifal and Oedipus Rex, both with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, and as Loge in a concert performance of Das Rheingold in Singapore.
Projects in season 2023/24 include role debuts as Lohengrin at Savonlinna Opera Festival and as Erik/Der fliegende Holländer in Beijing, as well as a new production of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites/Chevalier de la Force at the Finnish National Opera.
His concert engagements in this season count the opening concert of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano at the Scala (Mahler’s Lied von der Erde), Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu, as well as further concerts in Italy, Portugal and Finland.
Artist Website
www.tuomaskatajala.comManagement
General ManagementArtist Manager
![](data/image/jacket/bom-shil-ingunn-y.png)
Ingunn Sighvatsdóttir
Artist Manager
ingunn@orlob.net
Mobil: +49-173-2 067 821
Repertoire
Repertoire Concert
Bach, C.P.E. | St. Matthew Passion / Evangelist & Tenor |
Bach, J.S. | B minor mass |
Cantatas: BWV 1, 12, 20, 22, 23, 55, 60, 93, 96, 131, 140, 181, 191, 211 | |
Christmas Oratorio | |
Magnificat | |
St. John Passion / Evangelist & Tenor | |
St. Matthew Passion / Evangelist & Tenor | |
Beethoven | Missa solemnis |
Symphony no 9 | |
Berlioz | Te Deum |
Britten | Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, op. 31 |
Brahms | Die schöne Magelone op. 33 |
Liebeslieder-Walzer op. 52 | |
Dvorak | Stabat Mater |
Franck | Mass in A major |
Gounod | San Francesco d´Assisi |
Gossec | Requiem |
Haatanen | Christmas Oratorio |
Haydn | Requiem |
Stabat Mater | |
The Creation | |
The Seasons | |
The Seven Last Words of Christ | |
Hidas | Requiem |
Händel | Israel in Egypt |
Jephtha | |
Messiah | |
Utrecht Te Deum | |
Janacek | Glagolitic Mass (Slavonic Mass) |
Kortekangas | Pyhiinvaelluskantaatti |
Kostiainen | Triduum Paschale |
Liszt | Missa Solemnis |
Psalm 13 | |
Lloyd-Webber | Requiem |
Maasalo | Christmas Oratorio |
Madetoja | Okon Fuoko (ballet) Väinämöisen kylvö |
Mahler | Das Lied von der Erde |
Mendelssohn | Elijah |
Lobgesang | |
Paulus | |
Mozart | C minor mass |
Cantata "”Die Maurerfreuden”" | |
Davide penitente | |
Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento | |
Requiem | |
Mäenpää | Vihreä Virta (Song cycle) |
Orff | Carmina Burana |
Penderecki | Polish Requiem |
Pänkäläinen | St. Luke Passion |
Pärt | Stabat Mater |
Rachmaninoff | Vigilia |
Rossini | Petite messe solennelle |
Stabat Mater | |
Rutter | Psalmfest |
Saint-Saëns | Oratorio de Noël |
Sallinen | A Windy Winter in Provence |
Barabbas Dialogues / The youth op. 84 | |
Schumann | Dichterliebe op.48 |
Spanische Liebeslieder op. 138 | |
Schubert | Die schöne Müllerin op. 25 |
Intende Voci | |
Mass in A flat major | |
Mass in E flat major | |
Mass in G major | |
Winterreise op. 89 | |
Schostakowitsch | Suite on Finnish Themes |
Sibelius | Rakastava -sarja |
Strawinsky | Pulcinella |
Tammelin | Requiem |
Verdi | Requiem |
Repertoire Opera
Beethoven | Fidelio | Jaquino |
Berg | Lulu | Alwa |
Wozzeck | Andres | |
Braunfels | Die Vögel | Hoffegut |
Britten | Albert Herring | Albert Herring |
Owen Wingrave | Lechmere | |
Donizetti | Don Pasquale | Ernesto |
L'elisir d'amore | Nemorino | |
Lucia di lammermoor | Edgardo | |
von Flotow | Martha | Lyonel |
Glass | The Fall of the House of Usher | Roderick Usher |
Halevy | La Juive | Leopold |
Händel | Acis and Galatea | Acis |
Radamisto | Tiridate | |
Lehár | The Merry Widow | Camille de Rosillon |
Linkola | Robin Hood | Puna-Will |
Meyerbeer | Le prophète | Jean de Leyde |
Mozart | Così fan tutte | Ferrando |
Der Schauspieldirektor | Monsieur Vogelsang | |
Die Entführung aus dem Serail | Belmonte | |
Die Zauberflöte | Tamino | |
Don Giovanni | Don Ottavio | |
Idomeneo | Idomeneo | |
La clemenza di Tito | Tito | |
Zaide | Gomatz | |
Puccini | Gianni Schicchi | Rinuccio |
La fanciulla del West | Harry | |
Reinvere, Jüri | Purge | Hans |
Rossini | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Conte Almaviva |
Il viaggio a Reims | Belfiore | |
Conte di Libenskof | ||
La Cenerentola | Don Ramiro | |
Saariaho | Adriana Mater | Yonas |
Strauss, J. | Die Fledermaus | Alfred |
Strauss, R. | Arabella | Matteo |
Daphne | 2. Schäfer | |
Der Rosenkavalier | Ein Sänger | |
Die schweigsame Frau | Henry Morosus | |
Stravinsky | The Rake's Progress | Tom Rakewell |
Tchaikovsky | Eugene Onegin | Lensky |
Ullmann | Der Kaiser von Atlantis | Ein Soldat |
Harlekin | ||
Verdi | Falstaff | Fenton |
La traviata | Alfredo | |
Rigoletto | Duca | |
Wagner | Das Rheingold | Loge |
Der fliegende Holländer | Steuermann | |
Die Meistersinger v. Nürnberg | David | |
Tristan und Isolde | Ein Hirte | |
Junger Seemann | ||
Zimmermann | Die Soldaten | Desportes |
News
![](data/image/jacket/TuomasKatajala-news23-en.jpg)
Long-awaited debut on home turf!
Following great successes with recent role debuts in the German fach, such as Max/Der Freischütz, Loge/Das Rheingold, Hoffegut/Die Vögel and the title role of Parsifal, Tuomas Katajala will now be making his awaited debut as Lohengrin!In a new production by Roman Hovenbitzer and under the baton of Stephan Zilias, Katajala will perform the title role in Wagner's masterpiece at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland alongside renowned colleagues including Karita Mattila (Ortrud), Sinéad Campbell Wallace (Elsa) and Lucio Gallo (Telramund).
Performance dates: 05/09/12/15/18 July 2024
For more information about the production, including a video trailer:
www.operafestival.fi/en ...
From July 5th, for the first time ever, Tuomas Katajala can be seen and heard as Lohengrin in Roman Hovenbitzer's new production under the baton of Stephan Zilias.
All performance dates: 05/09/12/15/18 July 2024
From July 6th, the audience can then experience Rodula Gaitanou's staging of Verdi's Nabucco, featuring Mika Kares as Zaccaria and Johan Krogius with his debut as Ismaele. The production is conducted by Ville Matvejeff and James Sherlock.
All performance dates: 06/08/11/16/19/22/24/26 July 2024
Likewise, the casts of Don Giovanni, starting on July 10th, feature some familiar names!
The role of Commendatore is sung by Mika Kares, Don Ottavio by Johan Krogius, Donna Anna by Marjukka Tepponen, Donna Elvira by Sonja Herranen, and Zerlina by Iris Candelaria. The production by Paul-Émile Fourny is conducted by Andrea Sanguineti.
All performance dates: 10/13/17/20/23/25 July 2024
More information about Lohengrin:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
More information about Nabucco:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
More information about Don Giovanni:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
![](data/image/jacket/JohanKrogius-news2-en.jpg)
BOM artists announced at Savonlinna Opera Festival!
To our great delight, this year's Savonlinna Opera Festival again features several BOM artists in central roles!From July 5th, for the first time ever, Tuomas Katajala can be seen and heard as Lohengrin in Roman Hovenbitzer's new production under the baton of Stephan Zilias.
All performance dates: 05/09/12/15/18 July 2024
From July 6th, the audience can then experience Rodula Gaitanou's staging of Verdi's Nabucco, featuring Mika Kares as Zaccaria and Johan Krogius with his debut as Ismaele. The production is conducted by Ville Matvejeff and James Sherlock.
All performance dates: 06/08/11/16/19/22/24/26 July 2024
Likewise, the casts of Don Giovanni, starting on July 10th, feature some familiar names!
The role of Commendatore is sung by Mika Kares, Don Ottavio by Johan Krogius, Donna Anna by Marjukka Tepponen, Donna Elvira by Sonja Herranen, and Zerlina by Iris Candelaria. The production by Paul-Émile Fourny is conducted by Andrea Sanguineti.
All performance dates: 10/13/17/20/23/25 July 2024
More information about Lohengrin:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
More information about Nabucco:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
More information about Don Giovanni:
www.operafestival.fi/en/ ...
Media
Images![](data/image/jacket/TuomasKatajala_7.jpg)
Photo:Heikki Tuuli
![](data/image/jacket/TuomasKatajala_8.jpg)
Photo: Heikki Tuuli
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Photo: Heikki Tuuli
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Photo: Heikki Tuuli
![](data/image/jacket/TuomasKatajala_3.jpg)
Photo: Elina Katajala
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Photo: Elina Katajala
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Photo: Elina Katajala
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Photo: Elina Katajala
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Audio
Bach's "St. John Passion" on Good Friday from the Kallio Church in Helsinki
Video
Beethoven's Symphony No 9 with the Oslo Philharmonic and under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä ( Solo: 54:00)
Beethoven's "Missa solemnis" under Hannu Lintu at the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Solo & Ensemble 35:15 - 39:15)
Mahler Symphony No 8 under Hannu Lintu in Helsinki
Press
Lohengrin / Savonlinna Opera Festival /
23.07.24 / Frankfurter Allgemeine
"In Tuomas Katajala findet sich ein Titelheld, der sich mit einer Mühelosigkeit über das Orchester hinwegsetzt, dass man kaum glauben mag, es handele sich um ein Rollendebüt."
Das Lied von der Erde / Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano / 16.09.23 / artesnews.it
"[...]Tuomas Katajala non ha problemi a far emergere la sua radiosa vocalità, tingendo di umorismo anche i passaggi in cui canta dei dolori della vita e della certezza della morte"
Oedipus Rex / Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano / 08.05.23 / connessiallopera.it
"Katajala emerge per una voce squillante, omogenea e morbida nell'emissione, voluminosa e dal metallo lucente, ben proiettata e di seducente pasta chiara e malleabile. Si apprezzano, altresì, l'efficacia e la cura nel porgere la parola, la limpidezza nella dizione, la facilità all'acuto, l'eleganza interpretativa, qualità messe in mostra sin dall'aria d'apertura "Liberi, vos liberabo a peste"."
Britten: Serenade for tenor, horn and strings / Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / 14.10.22 / resmusica.com
"une interprétation parfaitement convaincante où l'on admire les qualités vocales de Tuomas Katajala que l'on découvre à Paris (timbre, puissance, diction)"
Die Vögel / Opéra National du Rhin / 26.01.22 / opern.news
"Mit Tuomas Katajala war auch diese Partie ideal besetzt, sein heldenhafter Tenor kommt mit schwerem Metall und einer geradezu liedhaften Wortdeutlichkeit."
Die Vögel / Opéra National du Rhin / 24.01.22 / sceneweb.fr
"Bright-timbred and reliably projecting Tuomas Katajala displays his solid heldentenor qualities"
Die Vögel / Opéra National du Rhin / 21.01.22 / olyrix.com
"In the role of Hoffegut, Tuomas Katajala projects a clear and bright voice, with a full-bodied timbre, with a vivid and light vibrato, in a very lyric phrasing carried by a powerful breath."
Die Vögel / Opéra National du Rhin / 19.01.22 / anaclase.com
"The voice of the day is the one of Tuomas Katajala, a bright and very sharp tenor voice whose art of phrasing and musicality in every instant win all the votes."
Covid fan tutte / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / Oktober 2020 / airmail.news
"the singing you won't forget comes from Tuomas Katajala, a frisky tenor whose joyous timbre, vibrant projection, and unforced elegance of line are like sunshine on a cloudy day. If there's a Mozart tenor at large who can touch Katajala nowadays, he's not on our radar."
Don Giovanni (Stream) / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / 10.06.20 / forumopera.com
"La clarté de l’émission et de l’articulation, la voix longue, virile, au timbre charnu le hissent au plus haut niveau."
Das Rheingold / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / 17.09.19 / onlinemerker.com
"war ein überaus präsenter Loge mit roten Haaren und einem facettenreichen Tenor, mit dem er gerade für diese spezielle Rolle ideal besetzt war"
Das Rheingold / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / 12.09.19 / olyrix.com
"le Loge de Tuomas Katajala oscille de facon crédible entre un jeu excité et une expression tantôt mélancolique, tantôt susurrante, toujours avec un ténor clair et chaleureux"
Das Rheingold / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / 08.09.19 / operatraveller.com
"His youthful tenor, with a distinctive fast vibrato, gave much pleasure"
Das Rheingold / Finnish National Opera Helsinki / 03.09.19 / seenandheard-international.com
"Seemingly effortless beauty of tone and expressive acting characterised his performance"
Die Zauberflöte / Opéra de Lille / 06.05.19 / olyrix.com
"montre une force courageuse dans la voix, qui se trouve incarnée par un timbre brillant aux aigus d'airain"
Der Freischütz / Grand Théâtre de Provence (Aix-en-Provence) / 09.03.19 / fredailleurs.blogspot.com
"projette parfaitement sa voix veloutée sans fléchir dans les aigus, avec une ligne de chante très soignée"
Der Freischütz / Grand Théâtre de Provence (Aix-en-Provence) / 09.03.19 / destimed.fr
"un parfait Max"
Der Freischütz / Théâtre de Caen / 04.03.19 / olyrix.com
"Sa voix articulée et déclamée, au timbre moelleux présente des aigus aisés et bien projetés"
Der fliegende Holländer (konzertant) / Auditorium Parco della Musica Rom / 04.04.18 / mtglirica.com
"è stato la seconda splendida sorpresa della serata"
Der fliegende Holländer (konzertant) / Auditorium Parco della Musica Rom / 02.04.18 / connessiallopera.it
"efficace nell'interpretazione grazie a una voce dal timbro chiaro"
Cosi fan tutte / Seattle Opera / 15.01.18 / seattletimes.com
"adroit, athletic actors with unique vocal strengths"
Die Zauberflöte / Royal Opera House / 14.10.17 / olyrix.com
"grâce à l’agilité de sa technique et à la chaleur de son timbre"
Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Savonlinna Opera Festival / 07.07.17 / bachtrack.com
"a strong higher register"