Miina-Liisa Värelä
Soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä has risen to prominence through recent acclaimed performances including as Die Färberin in two new stagings of Die Frau ohne Schatten: at renowned Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with conductor Kirill Petrenko conducting Berliner Philharmoniker, and at Semperoper Dresden under Christian Thielemann. Hailed as one of the most promising sopranos in the dramatic field by Opernmagazin, Miina-Liisa Värelä “was pearly-voiced and intimate in a way one rarely hears in this role” in Wagner’s monumental Tristan und Isolde in which she has appeared with Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel and under Robin Ticciati at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at London’s BBC Proms.
Other recent successes on the opera stage include Värelä’s debut as Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio under Johannes Debus at Canadian Opera Company, the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos both at Gran Teatre del Liceu under Josep Pons, and at Finnish National Opera under Hannu Lintu as well as Ortrud in Wagner’s Lohengrin at Salzburg Landestheater and Oper Frankfurt. In Die Frau ohne Schatten, she has further appeared in productions at Oper Frankfurt, Bayerische Staatsoper, and at the Verbier Festival. At Finnish National Opera, she sang Sieglinde in the new production of Die Walküre and she portrayed the title role in Strauss’ Elektra at Landestheater Linz. Equally comfortable in the roles of the Italian repertoire, recent debuts as both Tosca at The Savonlinna Festival, conducted by Lorenzo Passerini, and as Turandot at Finnish National Opera under Hannu Lintu, were met with universal acclaim.
Miina-Liisa Värelä’s 2024/25 season includes her debut at Bayreuther Festpiele as Ortud in a new production of Lohengrin under Christian Thielemann, and her return to the stage of Finnish National Opera as Anna in a new production of Aulis Sallinen’s Ratsumies under Hannu Lintu. In concert version, she performs as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Jaap van Zweden, as Leonore at Tampere Hall under Susanne Mälkki, and as Isolde with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Tarmo Peltokoski. On the concert stage, she will join conductors Dalia Stasevska with Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius’ Kullervo, Tarmo Peltokoski and Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich’s Symphony No.14 and Andris Poga and Liepāja Symphony Orchestra in Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.
Frequently invited to the concert stage, Värelä has in recent seasons joined Aziz Shokhakimov and Seattle Symphony Orchestra in Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Klaus Mäkelä and hr-Sinfonieorchester in Shostakovich’s Symphony No.14, Hans Graf and Odense Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Otto Tausk and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Verdi’s Messa di Requiem and Hannu Lintu and Finnish National Opera in Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène as part of the Helsinki Festival. Earlier highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with Ingo Metzmacher and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry with piano accompaniment also for Finnish Radio and with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Andris Poga, Sieglinde in Act 1 of Die Walküre, recorded for TV broadcast.
A native of Finland, Värelä is a graduate of Helsinki’s renowned Sibelius Academy and has taken prizes in numerous competitions including at Lappeenranta and Belvedere.
Engagements in Bayreuth
| Year | Opera | Part |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Lohengrin | Ortrud |
