Soile Isokoski

Soile Isokoski (born February 14, 1957) is a Finnish lyric soprano. She is an opera singer as well as a concert and Lieder singer.

She graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (a cantor-organist diploma, a singing teacher's degree and a singing diploma) and made her concert debut there in 1986.

Isokoski won the Lappeenranta song competition in Finland (1987), the Elly Ameling Competition in the Netherlands (1988) and the Tokyo International Singing Competition (1990). In 1987 she won 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World competition in Cardiff.

She worked first as a church musician in Northern Finland. In 1987 she was engaged as a soloist with the Finnish National Opera and stayed there until 1994. Her first appearance there was as "Mimi" in Puccini´s La Bohème in 1987.

Soile Isokoski has sung at all the leading opera houses in Europe (e.g. the Vienna State Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastille, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin State Opera, Semperoper, the Hamburg State Opera, the Cologne Opera).

She made her début at the Metropolitan Opera as the "Countess" in The Marriage of Figaro in 2002. The New York Times wrote January 28, 2002: “Ms. Isokoski... touched on the Countess' sense of abandonment by the Count without diminishing her regal bearing or the graceful humor she must contribute to the second act. And her dark, burnished soprano should make her a good addition to the Met roster."

She has also appeared at many festivals such as Salzburg Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Chorégies d'Orange, The Proms in London, Tanglewood Music Festival and Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Soile Isokoski's lied repertoire is extensive. She has given recitals with her regular accompanist Marita Viitasalo worldwide including New York, Washington, Fort Lauderdale, Vienna, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Athens, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Tokyo.

Isokoski has appeared with many renowned conductors including John Eliot Gardiner, Neeme Järvi, Seiji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Andrew Davis, Zubin Mehta, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Yehudi Menuhin, Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, James Levine, Daniele Gatti, Marek Janowski, Okko Kamu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leif Segerstam, Sakari Oramo and Osmo Vänskä.

Roles

* Così fan tutte: "Fiordiligi" (Mozart)
* Don Giovanni: "Donna Elvira" (Mozart)
* The marriage of Figaro: "Countess " (Mozart)
* The Magic Flute: "Pamina " (Mozart)
* Otello: "Desdemona" (Verdi)
* Falstaff: "Alice Ford" (Verdi)
* Simon Boccanegra: "Amelia" (Verdi)
* Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg : "Eva" (Wagner)
* Lohengrin: "Elsa" (Wagner)
* Der Freischütz: "Agathe" (Carl Maria von Weber)
* The Bartered Bride: "Marenka " (Bedřich Smetana)
* Der Rosenkavalier: "Marschallin" (Richard Strauss)
* Capriccio: "Countess" (Richard Strauss)
* Ariadne auf Naxos: "Ariadne" (Richard Strauss)
* Daphne: "Daphne" (Richard Strauss)
* Les contes d'Hoffmann: "Antonia" (Offenbach)
* Faust: "Marguerite" (Gounod)
* La Juive: "Rachel" (Halévy)
* La Bohème: "Mimi" (Puccini)
* Turandot: "Liù" (Puccini)
* Carmen: "Micaëla" (Bizet)
* Eugene Onegin: "Tatjana" (Tchaikovsky)
* Peter Grimes: "Ellen Orford" (Britten)

Recordings

* Scene d'amore: Scenes and arias by Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, Verdi Ondine 2008
* Christmas Carols with YL Male Voice Choir Ondine 2006
* Songs by Sibelius, Strauss and Berg Wigmore Hall Live A BBC Recording 2006
* Sibelius: Luonnotar Orchestral Songs Ondine 2006
* Hymns in Finnish Ondine 2005
* Mozart: Arias Ondine 2004
* Finnish sacred Songs Ondine 2003
* Artist Portrait Schubert, Schumann, Grieg, Sibelius Warner Classics 2002
* Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch with Bo Skovhus Ondine 2002
* R. Strauss: Orchestral Songs Ondine 2002
* Finnish Songs Ondine 2000
* My World of Songs, Schubert, Schumann, Sibelius, Grieg & al. Finlandia 1999
* Schumann : Liederkreis Op. 39, Frauenliebe und –leben Finlandia 1995
* Schubert: Lieder Finlandia 1994
* Christmas Carols Finlandia Records 1989----
*Sibelius: Kullervo Ondine 2008
*13. Festliche Operngala für die Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung Sony BMG 2007
*Wiener Opernfest 2005 Orfeo 2005
*Mahler: Symphony No. 8 EMI 2005
*Nielsen: Complete Symphonies Deutsche Grammophon 2005
*Graun: Der Tod Jesu Querstand 2004
*Pacius: Die Loreley BIS 2003
*Halévy: La Juive RCA 2002
*Zemlinsky: Lyrische Symphonie EMI 2002
*Live from the Kuhmo Festival, A Century of Finnish Chamber Music Ondine 2002
*Zemlinsky: Sämtliche Orchesterlieder EMI 2000
*Sibelius: Conferment and Coronation Cantatas etc. Ondine 2000
*Beethoven: Symphonie No 9 Teldec 2000
*Beethoven: Fidelio 2000
*Mendelssohn: "Lobgesang" Eine Symphonie Cantate No. 2 Opus III 2000
*Schubert: Missa Solemnis, Stabat Mater, Salve Regina Ondine 1999
*Mozart: Don Giovanni Deutsche Grammophon 1998
*Zemlinsky:: Der Zwerg EMI 1997
*Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op.45 Opus III 1997
*Schubert: Die Verschworenen Opus III 1997
*Mahler: Symphonie 2 in C minor Fonit Cetra Records 1997
*Sibelius: Finlandia / Luonnotar etc. Deutsche Grammophon 1996
*Kokkonen: Requiem BIS 1996
*Schubert: Messe Es-dur D 959 Berlin Classics 1996
*Fux: La deposizione dalla croce Novalis 1995
*Gothoni: Der Ochs und sein Hirte Ondine 1995
*Sibelius: Kullervo Op 7 Chandos 1995
*Mendelssohn: Paulus, op. 36 Opus III 1995
*Mozart: Cosi fan tutte Accent 1993
*Mahler: Symphonie 4 Symphonie für Sopran und Orcheste 1993
*Mendelssohn: Elias, op. 70 Harmonia Mundi 1993
*Rautavaara: Cantos, Die Liebenden etc. Finlandia 1989

Awards and recognitions

* 1st prize in the Lappeenranta song competition 1987
* 2nd prize in the BBC Singer of the World competition 1987
* 1st prize in the Elly Ameling Competition 1988
* 1st prize in the Tokyo International Singing Competition 1990
* The Pro Finlandia medal in honour of her notable contribution to Finnish music 2002
* Gramophone Editors's Choice Award, Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss (Ondine) 2002
* The State Prize for Music 2005
* MIDEM Classical Award, Sibelius: Luonnotar Orchestral Songs (Ondine) 2007
* BBC Music Magazine Award, Disc of the Year and Vocal Award, Sibelius: Luonnotar Orchestral Songs (Ondine) 2007
* The Sibelius Medal of the Sibelius Society of Finland 2007
* The title of Kammersängerin in Vienna 2008

ources

* Who's Who in Finland 2007, Otava 2006 ISBN 951-1-20606-0
* Opera, June 2006
* [http://www.fimic.fi Finnish Music Information Centre]

External links

* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=367&c=2 www.imgartists.com: Soile Isokoski biography]
* [http://www.ondine.net/index.php?lid=en&cid=3.2&oid=130 Ondine Records: Soile Isokoski, soprano]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:31163~T1 Allmusic.com: Soile Isokoski biography]
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26166&LAN=ENG Virtual Finland: Soile Isokoski, soprano]
* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14932-2422923,00.html The Times article, October 27, 2006 “The heart and Soile of Finland]
* [http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2006/Jul-Dec06/isokoski.htm Soile Isokoski: A digital interview with the great Finnish soprano by Göran Forsling]