Lilli Paasikivi
Encyclopedia
The Finnish
mezzo-soprano
Lilli Paasikivi is principal soloist of the Finnish National Opera
.
Her roles have included Marguerite (in Opera North
's La damnation de Faust ) and Octavian (in Der Rosenkavalier
). She has also performed as Fricka in Das Rheingold
with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle
. In 2007, she performed as Ariel
in Sibelius
's incidental music to The Tempest
at the Royal Albert Hall
, London
, in the 42nd BBC Prom
. In April 2008, she performed Ernest Chausson
's Poème de l'amour et de la mer
with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
. In November 2008, she sang Elgar's Sea Pictures
and The Dream of Gerontius
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
under Vladimir Ashkenazy
.
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...
mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Lilli Paasikivi is principal soloist of 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...
.
Her roles have included Marguerite (in Opera North
Opera North
Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and the Theatre Royal, Newcastle...
's La damnation de Faust ) and Octavian (in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
). She has also performed as Fricka in Das Rheingold
Das Rheingold
is the first of the four operas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . It was originally written as an introduction to the tripartite Ring, but the cycle is now generally regarded as consisting of four individual operas.Das Rheingold received its premiere at the National Theatre...
with the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
. In 2007, she performed as Ariel
Ariel (The Tempest)
Ariel is a spirit who appears in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Ariel is bound to serve the magician Prospero, who rescued him from the tree in which he was imprisoned by Sycorax, the witch who previously inhabited the island. Prospero greets disobedience with a reminder that he saved...
in Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
's incidental music to The Tempest
The Tempest (Sibelius)
Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Op. 109, was written by Jean Sibelius in 1925-26, at about the same time as he wrote his tone poem Tapiola. The music is said to display an astounding richness of imagination and inventive capacity, and is one of Sibelius's greatest achievements...
at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in the 42nd BBC Prom
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
. In April 2008, she performed Ernest Chausson
Ernest Chausson
Amédée-Ernest Chausson was a French romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish.-Life:Ernest Chausson was born in Paris into a prosperous bourgeois family...
's Poème de l'amour et de la mer
Poème de l'amour et de la mer
The Poème de l'amour et de la mer , op. 19, is a song cycle for voice and orchestra by Ernest Chausson. It was composed over an extended period between 1882 and 1892 and dedicated to Henri Duparc...
with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
. In November 2008, she sang Elgar's Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures
Sea Pictures, Op. 37 is a song cycle by Sir Edward Elgar consisting of five songs written by various poets. It was set for contralto and orchestra, though a distinct version for piano was often performed by Elgar...
and The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory...
with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
under Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
.
Partial discography
- SibeliusJean SibeliusJean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, KullervoKullervoIn the Finnish Kalevala, Kullervo was the ill-fated son of Kalervo. He is the only irredeemably tragic character in Finnish mythology.-Rune 31 - Kullervo, son of Evil:...
, Op. 7 with Osmo VänskäOsmo VänskäOsmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982...
conducting the Lahti Symphony OrchestraLahti Symphony OrchestraThe Lahti Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. It was founded in 1910 and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949. In Finland the orchestra performs in the Sibelius Hall, while it also performs abroad in concert halls and festivals...
with the Helsinki University ChorusYL Male Voice ChoirYL Male Voice Choir was founded by P.J. Hannikainen in 1883 to become the choir of the Helsinki University. It is also the oldest Finnish-language choir. Nowadays the choir is not completely tied to the university, but all applicants are expected to have passed the matriculation exam or study at...
with Raimo Laukka - Sibelius, incidental music to Belshazzar's FeastBelshazzar's Feast (Sibelius)In 1906, Jean Sibelius wrote incidental music to Belshazzar's Feast , a play by his Finnish countryman, the journalist, poet and playwright Hjalmar Fredrik Eugen Procopé . The ten numbers were written for orchestra, with singers also being required in some numbers. The score was published as Op. 51...
, with the Lahti Symphony OrchestraLahti Symphony OrchestraThe Lahti Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. It was founded in 1910 and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949. In Finland the orchestra performs in the Sibelius Hall, while it also performs abroad in concert halls and festivals...
under Osmo VänskäOsmo VänskäOsmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982... - Sibelius, incidental music to The TempestThe Tempest (Sibelius)Incidental Music to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Op. 109, was written by Jean Sibelius in 1925-26, at about the same time as he wrote his tone poem Tapiola. The music is said to display an astounding richness of imagination and inventive capacity, and is one of Sibelius's greatest achievements...
with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä - Sibelius, The Maiden in the Tower with the Estonian Symphony Orchestra under Paavo JärviPaavo JärviPaavo Järvi is an Estonian-American conductor, and current Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris.Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to conductor Neeme Järvi and Liilia Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also musicians...
- StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Le sacre du printempsThe Rite of SpringThe Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
and MavraMavraMavra is a one-act opera buffa composed by Igor Stravinsky, and one of the earliest works of Stravinsky's 'neo-classical' period. The libretto of the opera, by Boris Kochno, is based on Aleksandr Pushkin's The Little House in Kolomna. Mavra is about 25 minutes long, and features two arias, a...
with the Gothenburg Symphony under Benjamin ZanderBenjamin ZanderBenjamin Zander is an American conductor from the United Kingdom.-External links:* *-Interviews:* * * *... - Gustav MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, Symphony No. 3 and No. 2 with the Cincinnati Symphony OrchestraCincinnati Symphony OrchestraAs the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
and London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
under Paavo JärviPaavo JärviPaavo Järvi is an Estonian-American conductor, and current Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris.Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to conductor Neeme Järvi and Liilia Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also musicians... - Alma Mahler, Complete Songs with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jorma PanulaJorma PanulaJorma Panula is a Finnish conductor, composer, and professor of conducting.Panula is a graduate of the Sibelius Academy, where he studied the organ, church music and conducting...
- Einojuhani RautavaaraEinojuhani RautavaaraEinojuhani Rautavaara is a Finnish composer of contemporary classical music, and is one of the most notable Finnish composers after Jean Sibelius.-Life:...
, Rasputin, recorded with Finnish National Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Mikko FranckMikko FranckMikko Franck is a Finnish conductor. He began to play the violin at the age of 5. By age 7, he reportedly preferred orchestral scores to all other reading matter. His first favorite score was Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 which he used to conduct while listening to a recording on earphones...
, together with Jorma HynninenJorma HynninenJorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration....
(Baritone), Jyrki Anttila (Tenor), Riikka Rantanen (Mezzo Soprano), Ritva-Liisa Korhonen (Soprano), Jyrki Korhonen (Bass), Gabriel Suovanen (Baritone), Matti Salminen (Bass), and Lassi Virtanen (Tenor) - Kunniaa veisatkaa joulukonsertti (with other artists)
- Joulu tullut on (Finnish Christmas songs), with conductor Ulf Söderblom and the Jyväkskylä Sinfonia
- Äidiltä Lapselle, with Pentti Kotiranta (piano)