Karita Mattila

Karita Mattila (pronounced KAH-ree-tah MAHT-ee-lah [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D05E1DF1530F931A1575AC0A9649C8B63&scp=1&sq=karita%20mattila%20pronounced&st=cse "MUSIC; From Headstrong Heroines to Sly Vixens"] , Matthew Gurewitsch, "The New York Times", 22 September 2002.] ) is a leading opera soprano. She was born Karita Marjatta Mattila on September 5 1960 in Somero, Finland.

Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Vienna State Opera, Berlin Philharmoniker and Großes Festspielhaus in Salzburg.

Career

In 1983, Mattila won the first Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. During that same year, she graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where she studied with Liisa Linko-Malmio. After graduation, she continued her studies with Vera Rozsa in London.

In 1985, Mattila made her Covent Garden debut with the Royal Opera as Pamina in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte".

On March 22, 1990, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's "Don Giovanni".

In 2003, Mattila was awarded one of France’s highest cultural honours, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.

In 2004, Mattila made her debut in "Salome" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Her subsequent Káťa Kabanová inspired the New York press to write: "When the history of the Metropolitan Opera around the time of the millennium is written, Karita Mattila will deserve her own chapter."

In 2005, Mattila was named "Musician of the Year 2005" by "Musical America" which described her "the most electrifying singing actress of our day, the kind of performer who renews an aging art form and drives the public into frenzies."

In 2007, Mattila was named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the top 20 sopranos of the recorded era.

On September 23, 2008, Matilla reprised her role of Salome at the Metropolitan Opera.

Recent roles and operas

* Tosca, "Tosca"
* Manon, "Manon Lescaut"
* Salome, "Salome"
* Arabella, "Arabella"
* Leonore, "Fidelio"
* Amelia, "Un ballo in maschera"
* Elisabeth, "Don Carlos"
* Amelia, "Simon Boccanegra"
* Desdemona, "Otello"
* Elsa, "Lohengrin"
* Eva, "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"
* Chrysothemis, "Elektra"
* Jenůfa, "Jenůfa"
* Káťa Kabanová, "Káťa Kabanová"
* Donna Anna, "Don Giovanni"
* Lisa, "The Queen of Spades"
* Tatyana, "Eugene Onegin"

Recordings

* Arias & Scenes (Erato)
* German Romantic Arias (Erato)
* Strauss: Orchestral Songs; Four Last Songs (DG)
* Strauss: Orchestral Songs (Sony)
* Strauss: Hölderlin Lieder (Sony)
* Excellence - The Artistry of Karita Mattila (Ondine)
* Sibelius Songs (Ondine)
* Grieg and Sibelius Songs (Erato)
* Karita Live! (Ondine)
* From the Heart of Finland (Ondine)
* Wild Rose (Ondine)
* Modern Portrait (Warner/Finlandia)
* Marriner: Lollipops (Philips)----Complete operas:
* "Manon Lescaut" (EMI)
* "Don Carlos" (EMI)
* "Fidelio" (DG)
* "Die Meistersinger" (Decca, DG)
* "Simon Boccanegra" (TDK)
* "Jenůfa" (Erato)
* "Le nozze di Figaro" (Sony)
* "Così fan tutte" (Philips)
* "Don Giovanni" (Philips)
* "Fierrabras" (DG)
* "Der Freischütz" (Philips)
* "Scenes from Goethe's Faust" (Schumann) (Sony)----Symphonic works:
* Shostakovich: Symphony no. 14 (EMI)
* Schoenberg: "Gurrelieder" (EMI)
* Bernstein: Symphony no. 3 (Erato)
* Mozart: "Requiem" (DG)
* Beethoven: Symphony no. 9 (DG)
* Sibelius: "Kullervo" (BIS)
* Mendelssohn: Symphony no. 2 (DG)----Popular:
* Fever (Ondine)
* Best of Evergreens (Ondine)
* Karita's Christmas (Ondine)

References

External links

* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=88&c=2 IMG Artists: Biography]
* [http://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=3.2&oid=92 Ondine Records: Biography and discography]
* [http://lakarita.bravehost.com/ Karita Mattila Forum]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E4D71731F934A25750C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all Met Opera Review | "'Salome' Unveils Emotions (and a Soprano)," Anthony Tommasini, "New York Times", March 17, 2004]
* [http://www.therestisnoise.com/2004/04/salome_1.html "Mysteries of Love: Karita Mattila's Salome," Alex Ross, "The New Yorker", April 5, 2004]
* [http://www.classicalvoice.org/articles/nu_mattila122003cv.htm Interview with "Classical Voice"]
* [http://mostlyopera.blogspot.com/2008/06/karita-mattila.html Karita Mattila's career, roles, CDs and DVDs on Mostly Opera]