Finnish mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänen, living in the Netherlands, graduated with highest honors from Utrecht Conservatory with Eugenie Ditewig and at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Udo Reinemann. After her studies she was coached by Margreet Honig. She also studied violin.
Orchestras
As a concert singer she has performed as a solosit with the Orchester Philharmonique et le Choeur du Radio France (Esa-Pekka Salonen), Radio Philharmonic Finland (Sakari Oramo and Hannu Lintu), Helsinki Philharmonic (John Storgårds), Tapiola Sinfonietta, Staatskapelle Berlin, Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, etc.
Virpi could be heard on stages such as La Scala, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Musashino Recital Hall (Tokyo), Helsinki Music Center, Salzburg, Vienna, etc.
Conductors
She has worked with conductors such as Ingo Metzmacher, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Storgards, Stefan Asbury, Masaaki Suzuki, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu and sang several world premieres such as L'arche by Michel tabaschnick, Le miroir courbe by Lotta Wennäkoski, Earth, daughter of Spring by Outi Tarkiainen etc, but also several works have been written for her such as the opera Lusia Rusintytär dor Juha T. Koskinen-- premiere Helsinki Festival 2015, Sateen jalkeen by Kalevi Aho as well as his Sixteenth Symphony by Finnish Radio Smphony Orchestre under Hannu Lintu (premier 2016).
Opera/festivals
Virpi Räisänen made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2009. She sang one of the four leading roles in Luigi Nono's opera Al gran sole carcico d'amore, performed by Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by the Wiener Philharmoniker. Ingo Metzmacher directed by Katie Michell. For 2010 she was again invited to the Salzburg Festival, for a role in Wolfgang Rihm's new opera, Dionysis, directed by Pierre Audi, which premiered in Salzburg in 2010 and was subsequently repeated in Amsterdam (DNO) in the framework of the Holland Festival and the Berliner Staatsoper. In 2013, she also played the role of Iseut aux Blanches Mains in Frank Martin's oepra Le vin herbé, also directed by Katie Mitchell. At the Dutch National Opera she has also sung in a production of Alban Berg's Lulu, and in the revival of the successful production of Dialogues des Carmélites (director: Robert Carsen). She sang the monologue opera The Rave by Hosokawa (Finnish National Opera) and the opera Lusia by composer Juha T. Koskinen espeically written for her at the Helsinki Festival (2015-16). She also frequently sang leading roles in operatic repertoire such as Handel's Floridante and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. She was a guest at festivals Aix-en-Provence, Handel Festival Halle, Savolinna Opera Festival and others.
Recitals
As a performer she often sings in her home country of Finland, other Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Latvia, Germany, Austria, France, Japan and the United States. Recently she gave concerts with the Brodsky Quartet, Arditti Quartet and..
Recordings
Virpi has a recording contract with ONDINE. Her debut CD Legacy of Mahler (2012) has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by the international press. Berio Calmo's CD with Radio Philharmonic Finland conducted in 2014, conducted by Hannu Lintu, was nominated for The Gramophone Award in 2015.
From 2012 to 2018 she was also the artistic director of the Oulunsalo Soi Chamber Music Festival in Finland.
www.virpiraisanen.com
August 2022