Miina-Liisa Värelä

Oper

Soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä has firmly established her presence on the operatic landscape through a number of recent highly acclaimed debuts including as Senta/”Der fliegende Holländer” (Finnish National Opera), as Färberin/”Die Frau one Schatten” (Landestheater Linz), as Brünnhilde in performances of the condensed “Ring an einem Abend” on tour in Germany and as Ariadne auf Naxos (Helsinki’s Alexander Theater). As Sieglinde in the Odense Symfoniorkester’s staged Ring Cycle under Alexander Vedernikov, Värelä was hailed as an exciting emerging talent and she most recently made a sensational debut as Strauss’s Elektra in her return to Landestheater Linz. Other roles already in repertoire include Elsa/”Lohengrin”, Leonora/”Il trovatore”, Emilia Marty/”The Makropulos Case” and Jenůfa.

In concert, Miina-Liisa Värelä has performed Schoenberg’s “Gurre-Lieder” in Aarhus, Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Ingo Metzmacher, Mahler’s Symphony No.4 with Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and Hannu Lintu, as well as Shostakovich’s Symphony No.14 with Oulu Philharmonic Orchestra

Highlights of Miina-Liisa Värelä’s 2019/2020 season her return to Finnish National Opera, firstly in Katie Mitchell’s production of “Ariadne auf Naxos” under Hannu Lintu and subsequently as Sieglinde (“Die Walküre”) in a new Ring Cycle conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. On the concert platform Miina-Liisa joins Odense Symphony Orchestra under Hans Graf for Strauss’ “Vier letzte Lieder”. Recently she stepped in for the role of the Färberin in “Die Frau ohne Schatten” at the Verbier Festival under Valery Gergiev.

A native of Finland, Värelä is a graduate of Helsinki’s renowned Sibelius Academy, has taken prizes in numerous competitions including at Lappeenranta and Belvedere, and currently resides in Berlin.

Productions 2019/2020