TUOMAS KATAJALATenor


Photo Heikki Tuuli
News
An interview in Rondo Classic magazine.
Started as an Artistic Director at Organ Night and Aria Festival.

The live recording of Beethoven´s 9th Symphony at Malmö Live Concert Hall by Ondine with Malmö´s Symphony Orchestra & conductor Robert Trevino.
Finnish tenor 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 London Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Tamino. Since then he has visited at Theatre an der Wien, Staatsoper Berlin, Grand Théâtre de Provence Aix en Provence, Staatsoper Hamburg, Seattle Opera, The Israeli Opera Tel Aviv and as a concert soloist Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Roma and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. He has performed over 100 oratorio, orchestra and lied pieces from baroque to contemporary music.
Watch the streaming of the season opening live concert of Britten´s Nocturne Op. 60 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Helsinki Music Centre, cond. Hannu Lintu.
Nocturne: 22.00-55.00
Events
April 2022
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
Bach´s St. John´s Passion / Evangelist
Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir
Conductor Florian Helgath
March 2022
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Alfred Schnittke´s Faust Kantate
Orchestra e Coro dell´Accademia
Conductor Antonio Pappano
December & January & February 2021/2022
Strasbourg Opéra National du Rhin
Braunfels`s Die Vögel / Hoffegut
a new production & FRENCH PREMIERE
September & October & November 2021
Bolshoi Theatre Moscow
Mozart´s Don Giovanni / Don Ottavio
(a new production)
Conductor Tugan Sokhiev
April & May 2021
Opéra de Lyon, France
Weber´s Der Freischütz / Max
(a new production)
Cancelled
February & March 2021
London Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Wagner´s Der Fliegende Holländer Steuermann & Erik
Cancelled
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
Recent and upcoming 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
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

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
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

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
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

Accademia Nazionale 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
Loge
David
Don Ottavio
Loge