Soprano Sirkka Lamminen, Photo by Heikki Tuuli

Biography

Soprano Sirkka Lamminen (née Lampimäki) is a brilliant performer of both classical and contemporary vocal music. Her vocal virtuosity, acting abilities and musicality are praised by critics and audiences.

Sirkka Lamminen is also a sought-after teacher, lecturer and speaker. She is a lecturer of voice at the University of Arts Helsinki. She has given master classes, presentations and lecture concerts and visited radio shows to discuss classical music and culture.

Sirkka Lamminen is the artistic director and a member of the jury of the Toivo Kuula Singing Competition, which is held in the city of Alavus in West Finland. She makes regular appearances in operas and concerts in Finland, Estonia, Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland.



Sirkka Lamminen has performed over 40 operatic roles and she has an extensive song repertoire. Sirkka Lamminen's roles include, for example, Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Blonde and Konstanze in the opera Abduction from the Seraglio, the title role in Zaide, Micaela in Carmen by Bizet, Magda in La Rondine by Puccini, Rosina in Rossini's Barber of Seville, Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Donna Elvira in G. Gazzaniga's opera Don Giovanni and Romilda in Händel's Serse (Xerxes). Sirkka Lamminen has performed as an opera soloist at the Finnish National Opera, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opernhaus Zürich, Stadttheater Bern, Opera di Roma, Opéra de Bauge, Kammeroper am Rathaus and Estonian National Opera.

Sirkka Lamminen is not only familiar to opera audiences, but has also achieved popularity as a concert soloist. Sirkka Lamminen has given Lieder recitals and she has appeared with many orchestras and choirs singing repertoire such as Requiem (Verdi), Creation (Haydn), Savannah la Mar (Aarre Merikanto), Saint John Passion and Saint Matthew Passion (J. S. Bach), Mass in C minor, Requiem and Exsultate jubilate (W. A. Mozart), Floof (Esa-Pekka Salonen), Carmina Burana (Orff), Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brahms), Requiem (Fauré), Triduum Pashale (Pekka Kostiainen), Stabat Mater (Poulenc), Vigilia (Einojuhani Rautavaara), Die Schöpfung and Theresiemesse (J. Haydn) and Vier Letzte Lieder (R.Strauss).

Her extensive lied and church music repertoire has taken her to performances in Europe, Russia and USA. Sirkka Lamminen's debut at Alice Tully Hall received jubilant reception from the critic of the New York Times Mr. Allan Kozinn and from the audience of the Finnish Voices Festival 2010 where she was performing together with Gilbert Kalish, Kari Kriikku, New Helsinki Quartet, Elina Vähälä, Fred Sherry, Jakob Koranyi invited by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Sirkka Lamminen's spirited and virtuosic interpretation of the role of Chief Inspector Giovanna was highly acclaimed at world premiere of the opera La Fenice by Kimmo Hakola in 2012 at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. In recent years she has collaborated with Defunensemle, which is one of the most important contemporary music groups in Finland. The performance of M.A. Numminen's avant-garde songs 2018 with baritone Riku Pelo and Defunensemble received enthusiastic reception from the audience. Sirkka Lamminen has premiered several contemporary vocal works including Miika Hyytiäinen's pastiche opera Madame Herz und Herr M., Manfred Gräsbeck's Festive Cantata, Opera Rakkaimpani by Seppo Pohjola and Opera Sulka by Tapani Länsiö.

Sirkka Lamminen has collaborated with such conductors as Jüri Alperten, Peter Bauer, Per Borin, Michael Christie, Srba Dinić, Luke Dollman, Adam Fisher, Mikko Franck, Anna-Maria Helsing, Philip Hesketh, Huba Hóllokoi, Alberto Hold-Garrido, Eri Klas, Hannu Koivula, Veli-Antti Koivuranta, Kurt Kopecky, Markus Lehtinen, Hannu Lintu, Ville Matvejeff, Mikk Murdvee, Erik Nielsen, Hannu Norjanen, Jorma Panula, Pertti Pekkanen, Ari Rasilainen, Nello Santi, Nils Schweckendiek, Leif Segerstam, Jani Sivén, Anu Tali, Kari Tikka, Rita Varonen, Arvo Volmer, Alexander Walker, Franz Welser-Möst and Ralf Weikert.

Sirkka Lamminen has won prizes in several singing competitions:

1.prize in Kangasniemi National Singing Competition, 3.prize in Vox Unica International Singing Competition in Perniö, 2.prize in Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, 3.prize in Lappeenranta National Singing Competition, Special Prize of the Sibelius Familys Estate in the first International Sibelius Singing Competition. Semifinalist at the International Hansa Gabor Belvedere Singing Comperition in Wienna and The Queen Sonja International Music Competition in Oslo.


Sirkka Lamminen has been awarded grants by The Arts Council of Finland, the Finnish Cultural Foundation's Head Fund and the Fund of South Ostro Bothnia, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Pro Opera Foundation Helsinki and Pro Opera Foundation Tampere, Selim Eskelin Foundation, Arvo Autio Foundation and Alfred Kordelin Foundation. In 2007 Sirkka Lamminen was awarded with a Cultural Prize by the city of Alavus.

Sirkka Lamminen has graduated as a Master of Music 2004 from Sibelius Academy where she studied under Professor Seppo Ruohonen. Earlier she studied singing at the Conservatory of Central Finland with Hannele Valtasaari and at the University of Jyväskylä with Kaija Hjelt. Her basic training took place at the South Ostrobothnian Music School where she studied singing with Leena Kosola. Sirkka Lamminen has also studied violin and piano. Sirkka Lamminen studied further at the International Opera Studio in Zürich. During her studies at the International Opera Studio Zürich she participated master classes of distinguished opera singers such as Edita Gruberova, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Thomas Hampson. She has also studied with Horst Günter, Damian Whiteley, Mitsuko Shirai and Yi Ping Lee. She has undertaken further studies in master classes with such singers as Matti Salminen, Edda Moser, Udo Reinemann, Tom Krause and Renata Scotto and with vocal coaches Rilla Kyykkä, Erkki Korhonen, Jeffrey Goldberg and Ken Noda among others. She has also studied abroad with Roland Hermann and Norma Enns.