Karita Mattila

Finnish soprano Karita Mattila made her Royal Opera debut in 1986 as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and has since sung Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Agathe (Der Freischütz), Musetta (La bohème), Elisabeth de Valois (Don Carlos), Elsa (Lohengrin), Liza (The Queen of Spades), Chrysothemis (Elektra), the title roles in Jenůfa and Arabella, Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), Leonore (Fidelio), Marie (Wozzeck) and Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos).

Mattila studied singing at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and came to international attention when she won the 1983 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. She began her career specializing in Mozart roles and has since expanded her repertory to include roles by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Puccini and Janáček, with engagements including Liza and Kostelnička (Jenůfa) for the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Jenůfa for Bavarian State Opera and Emilia Marty (The Makropulos Affair) in Helsinki.

Mattila is an active concert singer and recitalist, performing regularly throughout Europe with leading orchestras and accompanists at venues including Carnegie Hall and the Ravinia Festival, in repertory including Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Schoenberg’s Erwartung and contemporary Finnish songs. Her many recordings include an acclaimed disc of Jenůfa recorded at the Royal Opera House, CDs of arias and orchestral songs, many opera DVDs and two Grammy Award-winning recordings. Her awards include Musical America’s Musician of the Year and a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. She is a Chevalier des arts et des letters.