Biography

Finnish mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen completed her vocal studies at the Utrecht and Amsterdam conservatories under Eugenie Ditewig and Udo Reinemann with the highest distinction and is now one of the most sought-after Finnish female singing talents. She has garnered an impressive list of honours and achievements both as a mezzo soprano and earlier as a concert violinist.

Her warm mezzo voice and strong musicality are leading her from one success to another. Besides mastering the traditional mezzo soprano repertoire, she has also established herself as a champion of contemporary music having world premiered dozens of new works, many of them written and dedicated to her.

In 2023 she could be heard in Ligeti's Requiem with the Berlin Philharmonic under Matthias Pintscher and with the Duisburg Philharmonic under Sylvain Cambreling. Other projects in season 23/24 included a world premiere tour of the young rising star, American-Finnish composer Lara Poe's Songcycle in poems of L.Onerva with Sinfonia Lahti, Oulu Sinfonia and The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she sang the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s work “Orlando’s World” with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra under Matthias Pintscher and performed the work again in Paris as part of the Festival Présences in 2025.

Virpi Räisänen made her stage debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2009 in Luigi Nono's opera Al gran sole carico d'amore, with Ingo Metzmacher conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (Stage director: Katie Mitchell). She was re-invited to the 2010 edition of the festival for the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Dionysos, which was revived at both De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam and at the Staatsoper Berlin. 

In 2011, Virpi debuted at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with Gordan Nikolitch leading the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and has since followed a busy schedule as a world-wide sought after concert singer. She has performed lied repertoire throughout Europe, USA, Hong Kong, and Japan with such renowned orchestras as the Orchestre Philharmonique et le Choeur de Radio France with Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra with Sakari Oramo and Hannu Lintu, the Helsinki Philharmonic with John Storgårds, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Flemish Radio Choir and Orchestra, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and others.

In 2012, her debut lied recital album “The Legacy of Mahler” was released, followed by “Calmo” by Lugiano Berio with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2014. Both albums were released by Ondine and received high international acclaim.

During 2015 and 2016, she performed on the stages of La Scala di Milano (as a soloist with the Filarmonica della Scala with Gérard Grisey's L'icone paradoxale), De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Staatsoper Berlin, Finnish National Opera, Helsinki Music Centre, Moscow Conservatory, Berlin Akademie der Künste, Bergen Filharmonic, as well as in Sweden, Austria, USA, among others.

In the following years her projects included the role of Hanna Waltz in Olli Kortekangas’ new opera Veljeni vartija (“My brother's guard”), the main role of Riika in Aulis Sallinen's Punainen viiva (“Red Line”), a European tour as Volpino in Haydn's Lo Speziale under Jan Willem de Vriend, as well as a semi staged version of Britten's solo cantata Phaedra with The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. 

Her latest world premieres include vocal acrobatic L’arche by Michel Tabachnick with Insomnia Ensemble, Le miroir courbe by Lotta Wennäkoski with Tapiola Sinfonietta, Earth, Daughter of Spring (in sami language) by Outi Tarkiainen with Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Wayfare Symphony by Uljas Pulkkis with Oulu Sinfonia, as well as the opera Le bonnet de laine by Colin Roche and his string quartet Petites masses des cendres.

In addition, Finnish composer Kalevi Aho wrote the finale of his 16th Symphony for the voice of Virpi (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu) and his work Sateen jälkeen for Virpi and the Meta4 String Quartet. Virpi has also worked with composer Kaija Saariaho and her student Juha T. Koskinen whose new opera Lusia Rusintytär, written for Virpi, premiered at the Helsinki Festival 2015.

Virpi Räisänen has created the project VIULAJA (violin-mezzo) around her ability to sing and play the violin simultaneously.

Furthermore, she was the Artistic Director of the Oulunsalo Soi Chamber Music Festival in Finland from 2012-2018.

Virpi Räisänen has been awarded the TAITAJA-award and Finnish State Artist grant.


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Artist Website

www.virpiraisanen.com

Management

non-exclusive

Artist Manager
 
 
 
 Ingunn Sighvatsdóttir
Artist Manager
ingunn@orlob.net 
Mobil: +49-173-2 067 821

Repertoire

Repertoire Concert

Bach, J.S. Christmas Oratorio
  Hohe Messe
  Magnificat
  St. John Passion
  St. Matthew Passion
Beethoven Symphony no. 9
Carissimi Jephte
Duruflé                Requiem
Elgar Sea Pictures / Maria Magdala
Händel Theodora / Irene
Kohlenberg, Oliver Die weise Barke (UA)
Leinonen, Minna 2 Song (UA)
Ligeti Requiem
Mozart Große Messe
  Laudate Dominum
  Requiem
Pergolesi Stabat Mater
Rossini Stabat Mater
Saint-Saëns Oratorio de Noël
Stravinsky Oedipus Rex / Jocasta
Tippett A Child of Our Time
Vivaldi Cessate omai Cessate
  Salve Regina
Verdi Requiem
 

Repertoire Opera

Delibes Lakmé Mallika
Donizetti Viva la Mamma Pipetto
Fagerrud Straat-engel      Bedelaartjes
Gluck Orfeo et Euridice             Orfeo
Händel Alcina Ruggiero
  Floridante Elmira
  Giulio Cesare     Sesto
Hasse Leucippo Dafne
Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel          Witch
Kaipainen X-citement op.81 Girl
Martin Le vin herbé      Alto 4, Alto 6
Mozart Così fan tutte    Dorabella
  Die Zauberflöte 2. Dame
  La clemenza di Tito         Annio
    Sesto
  Le nozze di Figaro Cherubino
Nono Al gran sole carico d’amore Soprano 4
Offenbach Les contes d’Hoffmann                La Muse / Nicklausse
Poulenc Dialogues des Carmélites Mère Jeanne
Purcell Dido and Aeneas Dido
    Sorceress
Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie Phèdre
Rihm Dionysos (UA)  Mezzo-soprano
Thomas Mignon Frederick

Download repertoire as PDF file

Press

 

Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder / 30.08.2024/ concerti.de


"eindringliche, drastische KLangverbindungen[...]" 

News

Exciting new works in Berlin, Tokyo and Essen
Following the exciting world premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s new work “Orlando’s World” with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in the Suntory Hall in August, Virpi Räisänen can now be heard with another piece, which she just performed with the Berlin Philharmonic earlier this year. On November 1st, 2023 she will again sing the mezzo part in György Ligeti’s Requiem, this time with the Duisburger Philharmoniker under Sylvain Cambreling in Essen’s Philharmonie.

For more information about the concert:
www.theater-essen.de/...
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