Finnish National Opera / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg / David
"His tenor colleague Tuomas Katajala is an excellent David with lyric glow and
elegant acting."
Göran Forsling, seen and heard international
"Das traditionell beifallsfreudige Premierenpublikum verteilte seine Sympathien am Schluss durchaus differenziert und ließ den Interpreten des David und Sachs den größten Applaus zukommen – aus meiner Sicht vollkommen zu Recht. Es ist meines Erachtens von Vorteil, die Partie des Lehrbuben nicht mit einem Buffo, sondern einem lyrischen Tenor zu besetzen, und TUOMAS KATAJALA entledigte sich dieser Aufgabe mit einer Bayreuth würdigen Qualität.... Es machte Spaß, einem derart stimmschönen und bei aller Weichheit des Timbres mit metallischen Höhen aufwartenden David zuzuhören – beste Voraussetzungen für „höhere Weihen“ an größeren Bühnen."
Sune Manninen, der neue merker
Seattle Opera / Cosi fan tutte / Ferrando
"..Their boyfriends, Tuomas Katajala (in the tenor role of Ferrando) and baritone Craig Verm (as Guglielmo), proved equally adroit, athletic actors with unique vocal strengths: Katajala’s lyricism and Verm’s warm baritone were a pleasure to hear. Harry Fehr, who staged the revival, had them dashing about the stage, doing push-ups, posturing and in more or less constant motion."
Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times
"Although Tuomas Katajala has a warm caramel tenor that was especially lovely in his paean to his love, Un’ aura amorosa, his voice also showed a steely backbone when his Ferrando was enraged."
Maggie Larrick, QueenAnne News
Reviews
London Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / The Magic Flute / Tamino
"Tuomas Katajala, at the awakening of his character, extend this euphony thanks to the agility of his technic and the warmth of his tone quality. Hero on a full quest or enchanter musician, he imposes also his stage presence when Tamino is forced to shut up. His duos with Pamina, the soprano Janai Brugger, are precisely done, their vocal lines always regular."
Céline Wadoux, Olyrix.com
Accademia Nationale di Santa Cecilia /
Der fliegende Holländer / Steuermann
"Tuomas Katajala (Steuermann) è stato la seconda splendida sorpresa della serata. Voce freschissima, giovane, si conferma uno dei migliori possibili nel ruolo, in virtù di una voce incline alla liricità ma potente e virile che gli consente di regalarci una encomiabile prestazione da vero liederista ricordandoci come la canzone del giovane nostromo sia una delle tante intrusioni nel Lied nel teatro wagneriano."
Pierluigi Guadagni, mtglirica.com
"Eccellente invece la prova di Tuomas Katajala nei panni del timoniere: accurato nella dizione, ottimo in tutti i registri e particolarmente in quello acuto, efficace nell’interpretazione grazie a una voce dal timbro chiaro, ma dalla consistenza pastosa."
Emiliano Metalli connessiallopera.it
European Tour with Paris Insula Orchestra Aix-en-Provence, Grand Théâtre /
Der Freischütz / Max
"Max, Agathe's fiancé and unfortunate shooter, is sung by the Finnish tenor Tuomas Katajala. He carries out this romantic role with ease and succeeds in incarnating this antihero. His articulated and declamatory voice has a soft timbre and easy, well-projected high-pitch notes. He thus portrays an alternately scared and influenceable character."
Véronique Boudier, olyrix.com
”This is a tenor I hadn't known before. Category Mozart singer, but with a lot of body in the timbre, for sure also a wonderful Tamino or Ottavio. Tuomas Katajala perfectly projects his velvety voice without weakening in the high-pitch notes. He possesses a very elegant singing line, and his interpretation of the pusillanimous antihero is very convincing. A very beautiful Max, whom I really hope to hear again.”
Frederic Bodin, fredailleurs.fr
Finnish National Opera / Das Rheingold / Loge
”From the role debuts the most impressive one is Tuomas Katajala's Loge. With his expressive tenor voice he shows the demigod's intelligence, guile and insurgency.”
Harri Kuusisaari, rondoclassic/rondolehti.fi
"Possibly the best singing of all was delivered by Tuomas Katajala as the red-haired Loge. Seemingly effortless beauty of tone and expressive acting characterised his performance."
Göran Forsling / Seenandheard.com
"...while Tuomas Katajala's Loge wavers in a credible way between excitement and melancholy or whispering, always with a clear and warm tenor voice."
Andreas Wahlberg / Olyrix.com
”Den som dock främst sticker ut är tenoren Tuomas Katajala som Loge. Även om man kan tänka sig
att rollens dubbelhet i sig öppnar upp för en mer spännande prestation, har Katajala också en röst,
även om han kanske inte äger den mest klassiska Wagner-stämman, och ett agerande som gör hans
prestation till den mest minnesvärda"
Bodil Hasselgren / Capriccio.se
© 2019 Tuomas Katajala
Tuomas Katajala is one of the most versatile and sought after Scandinavian tenors and makes remarkable career equally in the opera, oratorio, concert and lied genres. In autumn 2017 Katajala made his house debut at Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Tamino. In the season 2017/18 he sang, among others, Almaviva / Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Komische Oper Berlin, Ferrando / Cosi fan tutte at the Seattle Opera and Steuermann / Der Fliegende Holländer in Helsinki as well as in a concertante performance with the Accademia Nationale di Santa Cecilia and under the baton of Mikko Franck in Rome and also Tamino´s role at Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden.
In last season 2018/19 Katajala sang, among others, an European tour of Der Freischütz / Max at Aix-en-Provence Grande Théâtre, Theatre an der Wien, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Brüssel and Théâtre de Caen and Tamino / The Magic Flute at Opéra de Lille.
Engagements in the current season and upcoming years include, among others, Loge / Das Rheingold, RING (new production) at Finnish National Opera with Esa-Pekka Salonen, an European tour of Der Freischütz / Max at Grande Théâtre de Luxembourg and concert and recording of Beethoven´s 9th Symphony with Malmö Symphony Orchestra at Malmö Live Concert hall, Mahler´s Das Lied von der Erde at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and title role of Mozart`s Idomeneo (new production) at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv,
director Kasper Holten.
Next season 2020/21 Katajala returns to the London Royal Opera House Covent Garden.
Events
Watch streamings
L.V. Beethoven`s Symphony No. 9 with Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä
L.V. Beethoven`s Missa Solemnis with Finnish
Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu
G. Mahler`s Symhony No. 8 with Finnish
Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu
09.04. J.S. Bach St. John´s Passion
Gulbenkian, Grande Auditorio
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Michel Corboz, conductor
Tuomas Katajala, evangelist
10.04. J.S. Bach St. John´s Passion
Chamber Music Version (12 performers)
Kallio Church, Helsinki
Tuomas Katajala, evangelist & aria
01.05. HKO May Day Matinees
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
Markus Lehtinen, conductor
Tuomas Katajala, tenor
Helena Juntunen, Sopran
Watch the streaming of Wagner`s Das Rheingold,
Loge Tuomas Katajala.
New Ring at Finnish National Opera, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Listen to the recording of Das Rheingold at FNO,
Loge Tuomas Katajala
Watch the LIVE streaming
of Bach´s St. John´s Passion
Chamber Music version from Helsinki Kallio Church 10.4.
Evangelist Tuomas Katajala
 W.A. Mozart / The Magic FluteOpéra de Lille, Conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Director Romeo Castellucci, Tamino Tuomas Katajala, 30th of April and 2., 5., 7., 9., 11., 14., 16. and 18. of May 2019 |  R. Wagner / Das Rheingold / RINGFINNISH NATIONAL OPERA Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, Director Anna Kelo, Loge Tuomas Katajala. 30.8 and 3., 7., 10., 14., 18. of September 2019 |  L.V. Beethoven / Mass in C majorTampere Hall, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor Vasili Sinaiski, Tenor Tuomas Katajala, 27th of September 2019 |
|---|---|---|
 C.M. von Weber / Der FreischützEUROPEAN TOUR Insula Orchestra Conductor Laurence Equilbey, Directors Clément Debailleul and Raphael Navarro, Max Tuomas Katajala. Théâtre de Caen 1. and 3. of March, Aix-en-Provence / Grand Theatre 7. and 8. of March, Theatre an der Wien 22.3., Bruxelles, Bozar 17.3., Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele 14. and 16. of July, Grand Théâtre de Luxemburg 6. and 8. of October 2019 |  L.V. Beethoven / Symphony No. 9Malmö Live Concert Hall, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Robert Trevino, Tenor Tuomas Katajala, Concert and recording, 19th of October 2019 |  J. Haydn / The CreationHelsinki DOM, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Cantores Minores Boy Choir, Conductor Hannu Norjanen, Tenor Tuomas Katajala, 1st of November 2019 |
 G. Mahler / Das Lied von der ErdeTeatro Lirico di Cagliari, Orchestra Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Conductor Lü Jia, Contralto Monica Bacelli, Tenor Tuomas Katajala, 22nd and 23rd of November 2019 |  W.A. Mozart / IdomeneoTHE ISRAELI OPERA, TEL AVIV, Conductor Michele Gamba, Director Kasper Holten, Idomeneo Tuomas Katajala. 20., 21., 23., 24., 25., 27., 28., 29., 31. of January 2020 |  W.A. Mozart / Don GiovanniFINNISH NATIONAL OPERA Conductor Patrick Fournillier, Director Jussi Nikkilä, Don Ottavio Tuomas Katajala. 6., 11., 13., 17., 19., 21., 25., 27., 31. of March and 2. of April 2020 |
 J.S. Bach / St. John`s PassionGULBENKIAN / Grand Auditorium Lisbon, Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir, Conductor Michel Corboz, Evangelist Tuomas Katajala. 8th and 9th of April 2020 |
Recent and upcoming events