Jorma Hynninen
Encyclopedia
Jorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish
baritone
who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.
Hynninen was born on April 3, 1941 in Leppävirta
, Finland. He studied from 1966 to 1970 at the Sibelius Academy
in Helsinki
and also took lessons from Luigi Ricci
in Rome and Kurt Overhoff
in Salzburg
. In 1969 he won first prize the Lappeenranta Solo Voice Competition and made his opera debut with the Finnish National Opera
as Silvio in Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci
.
Hynninen sang his first public concert in 1970 in Helsinki and made his debut the same year with the Finnish National Opera, where he became a permanent member until 1990. In 1971 he took first prize in the Scandinavian Singing Competition in Helsinki and in 1996 won the Cannes Classical Award.
On the opera stage, his notable roles have included Count Almaviva in Mozart's
Le nozze de Figaro
, Tchaikovsky's
Eugene Onegin
, and Pelléas in Debussy's
Pelléas and Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande, the role in which he made his debut at the Paris Opera, and which he sang frequently at the Hamburg State Opera
.
Hynninen first came to notice in the United States in 1980 with his debut at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall. In 1984 he made his Metropolitan debut as Rodrigo in Don Carlos
. In 1987 he was hailed as a "perfect Wolfram" in the Met's Tannhäuser
. His international career includes performances at the Vienna Opera, Milan's La Scala, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as well as Hamburg, Barcelona, Geneva and Berlin.
He has also served as Artistic Director of the Finnish National Opera from 1984 to 1990 and later became artistic director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival
in Finland. Since 1996, he has been Professor of Voice at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In addition, between 1980 and 1991 he was Artistic Director of the Joensuu Song Festival.
Hynninen has combined his operatic career with regular appearances in the concert hall with the world's leading orchestras and maestros such as Seiji Ozawa
, Kurt Masur
, and Esa-Pekka Salonen
and in recital in the major cities of Europe and North America.
He has supported the music of his native Finland as well. He performed the title role in the world premiere of Aleksis Kivi
by Einojuhani Rautavaara
at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. He participated in the world premiere of an operatic trilogy of Aika ja uni (The Age of Dreams) by three Finnish composers: Herman Rechberger (b. 1947), Olli Kortekangas
(b. 1955), and Kalevi Aho
(b. 1949) on the stage of Olavinlinna Castle
on July 15, 2000. He also sang in the premiere of Sallinen's Kuningas Lear
in 2000 (Gloucester).
Hynninen's discography includes more than a hundred titles. He has recorded Finnish opera extensively along with works from the international repertoire, lieder collections, and religious music.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.
Hynninen was born on April 3, 1941 in Leppävirta
Leppävirta
Leppävirta is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...
, Finland. He studied from 1966 to 1970 at the Sibelius Academy
Sibelius Academy
The Sibelius Academy is a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and also took lessons from Luigi Ricci
Luigi Ricci
Luigi Ricci , was an Italian composer, particularly of operas.He was the elder brother of Federico Ricci, with whom he collaborated on several works.- Life :...
in Rome and Kurt Overhoff
Kurt Overhoff
Kurt Overhoff was an Austrian conductor and composer.He started as the assistant of Wilhelm Furtwängler and then became the musical director in Heidelberg . He was heavily involved with the Richard Wagner family and so founded the Bayreuth Symphony Orchestra...
in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
. In 1969 he won first prize the Lappeenranta Solo Voice Competition and made his opera debut with the Finnish National Opera
Finnish National Opera
The Finnish National Opera in Helsinki is the leading opera company in Finland. Its home base is the Opera House on Töölönlahti bay in Töölö which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through Senate Properties...
as Silvio in Leoncavallo's
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
.
Hynninen sang his first public concert in 1970 in Helsinki and made his debut the same year with the Finnish National Opera, where he became a permanent member until 1990. In 1971 he took first prize in the Scandinavian Singing Competition in Helsinki and in 1996 won the Cannes Classical Award.
On the opera stage, his notable roles have included Count Almaviva in Mozart's
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
Le nozze de Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Tchaikovsky's
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, and Pelléas in Debussy's
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
Pelléas and Mélisande
Pelléas and Mélisande
Pelléas and Mélisande is a Symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck about the forbidden, doomed love of the title characters. It was first performed in 1893....
Pelléas et Mélisande, the role in which he made his debut at the Paris Opera, and which he sang frequently at the Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
.
Hynninen first came to notice in the United States in 1980 with his debut at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall. In 1984 he made his Metropolitan debut as Rodrigo in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
. In 1987 he was hailed as a "perfect Wolfram" in the Met's Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
. His international career includes performances at the Vienna Opera, Milan's La Scala, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as well as Hamburg, Barcelona, Geneva and Berlin.
He has also served as Artistic Director of the Finnish National Opera from 1984 to 1990 and later became artistic director of the Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna Opera Festival is held annually in the city of Savonlinna in Finland. The Festival takes place at the medieval Olavinlinna , built in 1475...
in Finland. Since 1996, he has been Professor of Voice at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In addition, between 1980 and 1991 he was Artistic Director of the Joensuu Song Festival.
Hynninen has combined his operatic career with regular appearances in the concert hall with the world's leading orchestras and maestros such as Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
, and Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and Conductor Laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.-Early career:...
and in recital in the major cities of Europe and North America.
He has supported the music of his native Finland as well. He performed the title role in the world premiere of Aleksis Kivi
Aleksis Kivi
Aleksis Kivi , born Alexis Stenvall, was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, Seven Brothers...
by Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara
Einojuhani Rautavaara is a Finnish composer of contemporary classical music, and is one of the most notable Finnish composers after Jean Sibelius.-Life:...
at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. He participated in the world premiere of an operatic trilogy of Aika ja uni (The Age of Dreams) by three Finnish composers: Herman Rechberger (b. 1947), Olli Kortekangas
Olli Kortekangas
Olli Kortekangas is a Finnish composer, born on May 16, 1955 in Turku. He currently resides in Espoo, Finland.His early career in music began in Espoon Musiikkiopisto and the youth choir Candomino. His academic studies in music began at the Sibelius Academy as a pupil of Eero Hämeenniemi and...
(b. 1955), and Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho
Kalevi Aho is a Finnish composer.- Career :Born in Forssa, he studied composition at the Sibelius Academy under Einojuhani Rautavaara, receiving a diploma in 1971. He continued his studies for a year in Berlin with Boris Blacher...
(b. 1949) on the stage of Olavinlinna Castle
Olavinlinna
Olavinlinna is a 15th century three-tower castle located in Savonlinna, Finland. It is the northernmost medieval stone fortress still standing.- Construction :...
on July 15, 2000. He also sang in the premiere of Sallinen's Kuningas Lear
Kuningas Lear
Kuningas Lear is an opera in three acts by Aulis Sallinen, with a libretto by the composer, based on the play by William Shakespeare and premiered in 2000; it was Sallinen’s sixth opera.- Background :...
in 2000 (Gloucester).
Hynninen's discography includes more than a hundred titles. He has recorded Finnish opera extensively along with works from the international repertoire, lieder collections, and religious music.
Select discography
- Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, with Klaus Tennstedt (EMI)
- Dallapiccola: Il prigionieroIl prigionieroIl prigioniero is an opera in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI on 1 December 1949...
(The Prisoner), with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Sony) - Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, with Riccardo Muti (EMI)
- Beethoven / Mozart / Wagner / Mussorgsky: Opera Scenes (Naxos)
- Contemporary Finnish Music (Naxos)
- Finnish Vocal Music (Naxos)
- Nummi: 5 Song Cycles BIS-(Naxos)
- Sallinen: Chamber Music (Naxos)
- Schubert: Winterreise, Op. 89, (Naxos)
- Sibelius: The Essential (Naxos)
- Sibelius: Kullervo, Op. 7 (Naxos)
- Sibelius: The Maiden in the Tower and Karelia Suite (Naxos)
- Sibelius: Orchestral Songs (Naxos)
- Sibelius: Sibelius Edition, Vol. 3 – Voice and Orchestra (Naxos)
- Rautavaara: VincentVincent (opera)Vincent is an opera in three acts by Einojuhani Rautavaara first performed in 1990. The libretto was by the composer, and consists of scenes from the life of the artist Vincent van Gogh, told in retrospect....
, with Fuat Mansurov and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Ondine) - Sallinen: Kullervo, with Ulf Söderblom and the Finnish National Opera and Chorus (Ondine)
- Sallinen: The Red LineThe Red LineThe Red Line is an opera in two acts with music by Aulis Sallinen to a libretto by the composer, which premiered on 30 November 1978 at the Finnish National Opera....
, with Okko Kamu and the Finnish National Opera and Chorus - Sibelius: Kullervo, with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra (Sony)
Sources
- New York Times: "Opera Festival Chiefs Who Can Sing, Too", July 15, 1993, accessed Jan. 1, 2010
- New York Times: "Nurturing Operatic Talent With a Kind Of Tough Love", July 28, 2002], accessed Jan. 1, 2010
- New York Times: "Finnish Opera Offers Sallinen's 'Red Line'", April 29, 1983, accessed Jan. 1, 2010
- New York Times: "Rasputin, From Top to Bottom", September 14, 2003, accessed Jan. 1, 2010
- New York Times: "From Finland, an International Baritone", Sept. 30, 1984, accessed Jan. 1, 2010