Ever since Finnish barihunk Waltteri Torikka won MTVs talent showTähdet tähdet, he's had quite a whirlwind of a life, with requests for new booking, being named "Finland's Sexiest Man" by the
readers of the women's magazine Eeva (Eve), releasing a new album Sydän (Heart), being dubbed the "Ricky Martin of Finland" and being stopped on the street as the new music celebrity of his country.
Now he's the feature of a brief 5-part documentary series, which you can watch HERE. New episodes will be available Tuesday and Thursday.
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What better day to introduce Finnish barihunk Aarne Pelkonen than on his birthday (July 11th). The winner of the 2015 Sibelius Singing Competition studied at the Sibelius Academy. He also is a 1st Prize winner for male voice at the
Lappeenranta National Singing Competition in 2013. Together with pianist
Juho Alakärppä he was a prizewinner in Das Lied – International Song
Competition in Berlin in 2011 and at the International Student Lied-Duo
Competition in Enschede in the Netherlands.
Aarne Pelkonen sings Tule kanssani, Herra Jeesus:
Pelkonen is an avid lied and oratorio singer who has
performed at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Helsinki Music Centre,
Vienna Musikverein, International Kaija Saariaho Festival in Helsinki,
Oulu Music Festival, and with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra,
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finnish Baroque orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic
Orchestra. Pelkonen’s recordings include Brahms’ songs for the Finnish
Broadcast.
Aarne Pelkonen has joined the Oldenburg Opera in Germany through 2017, where he will perform Elviro in Handel's Serse, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and San in Trouble in Tahiti. In August he'll join Karita Mattila and Florian Boesch in the cast of Berg's Wozzeck at the Helsinki Music Center with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Finnish barihunk Waltteri Torikka has advanced to the final round of the singing pop competition Tähdet, tähdet on MTV against Laura Voutilainen.
The two will compete head-to-head on Sunday to see who takes away the top prize. With Broadway musicals being the theme this week, Voutilainen sang "Memory" from Cats and "All That Jazz" from Chicago, while Torikka sang "Stars" from Les Miserables and "If I were a rich man" from Fiddler on the Roof. The judges have praised him for his versatility and he has become a fan favorite with viewers.
Barihunk Waltteri Torikka is competing on a voice competition called Tähdet, Tähdet (Stars, Stars) on Finnish MTV and this week's challenge is Heavy Metal. So he took some time out with David Coverdale from White Snake to work on his rocker technique. You can watch the video HERE.
Over the weeks he's had to perform a number of different genres, including country, punk, tango, Latin pop and even some opera. He's currently one of the finalists in the competition. You can enjoy his performances below.
Country version of "Ring of Fire":
Punk rock song "Hei hei mitä kuuluu" (Hey, hey, what's up?):
The Finnish Tango "Satumaa" (Fairyland):
Singing "Livin' La Vida Loca":
He even sang an Ozzy Osbourne-esque version of Scarpia!:
You can hear Waltteri Torikka live this month on tour with the Concert Band of the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces. He's the featured soloist on their Finlandia Tour, which plays April 10th in Mikkeli, April 11th in Tampere, April 13th at the Hyvinkää Church and April 14 in Lahti.
The New Generation Opera Ensemble is experimenting with High-Definition streaming video of their current production of Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Helsinki Festival. The production features Finnish barihunk Waltteri Torikka in the title role, who we introduced to readers two years ago.
If you're not sure that you want to invest the €9,90 to watch the performance the site lets you watch the first ten minutes for free before deciding. There are two performances remaining on August 22 and 24 at 7 PM EEST (12 PM EST/9 AM PST). Click HERE to watch the live stream.
Waltteri Torikka and Timo Riihonen
New Generation Opera Ensemble is tinkering with new technologies with the goal of bringing opera to more people. Their advisory board includes some of the biggest Finnish names in classical music and opera, including Jorma Hynninen, Soile Isokoski, Markus Lehtinen, Karita Mattila, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaija Saariaho, Aulis Sallinen and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Torikka won the Finnish national “Lappeenrannan laulukilpailut” song competition in 2010 and received the “HSBC Laureates” prize at the prestigious Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2009. Torikka recently wrapped up a stint as an apprentice artist at the Finnish National Opera. You can follow the 27-year-old barihunk on Twitter at @WaltteriTorikka.
Our latest reader submission is the Finnish baritone Tom Krause, who was a leading baritones for four decades across the globe. He originally planned on becoming a psychiatrist, and received his medical degree from Helsinki University. However, he opted for a career in opera, beginning his studies in Helsinki, and later at the Vienna Music Academy and in Berlin.
Since his debut in Berlin in 1957, Tom Krause has established himself as a leading baritone with a vast repertoire, ranging from Bach to Messiaen. He was with the Deutsche Oper Berlin for three years and was a member of the Hamburg State Opera for decades beginning in 1962, where he performed in a number of world premieres. He went on to perform in most of the major houses in Europe, including La Scala, Vienna, London, Berlin, Munich, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rome. He performed leading roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, La Concrentola, Parisfal, Elektra, Cosi fan Tutte, The Queen of Spades, Katya Kabanova, and Saint Francois d’Assise.
In 1963, he made his American debut in America at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1967 as Count Almaviva.
Tom Krause appears on numerous recordings of both opera and lieder, including works by Brahms, Schumann, Moussorgksy, Schubert and Sibelius).
He is currently teaching in Hamburg and is member of numerous Voice Competitions through the world.
Our latest reader submission is Finnish baritone Waltteri Torikka, who is wrapping up a run as Don Giovanni at the Royal Danish Opera Academy today. Torikka won the Finnish national “Lappeenrannan laulukilpailut” song competition in 2010 and received the “HSBC Laureates” prize at the prestigious Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2009.
Torikka has performed with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Salzburg. In 2009, he made his debut at the Finnish National Opera as Herastuomari in Leevi Madetoja's “The Ostrobothnians.” Other roles he has performed include “Il Re di Scozia” in Handel's “Ariodante,” Vorotov in Ville Raasakka's “Kohtalokkaat Oppitunnit” and Masetto in Mozart's “Don Giovanni.” Next year, he is scheduled to appear at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Torikka is apprentice artist in the Finnish National Opera 2012-13.
