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Press

"Räisänen's strength lies in the dynamic flexibility of her voice and in her ability to express the nuances of music and drama."

-Kaleva-

 

"Astonishingly naturally Räisänen-Midth played and sang simultaneously, as if having an expressive dialogue between bright and dark sides of her personality. She has similar kind of lyrical and radiantly beautiful tone both in her singing voice and in her violin."

-Helsingin Sanomat-

 

"Virpi Räisänen-Midth has a reliable, balanced mezzo soprano voice. She is a great discovery for the double role of La Muse and Nicklausse."

-Helsingin Sanomat-

 

 

 

   
Biography

 

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Virpi Räisänen-Midth has garnered an impressive list of honors and achievements both as a mezzo-soprano as well as a concert violinist. After finishing her violin diploma and working as a soloist and a chamber musician she was awarded cum laude with highest remarks in voice from the Utrecht and Amsterdam Conservatoriums under Eugenie Ditewig and Udo Reinemann. She also took part in the opera class of Utrecht Conservatorium coached by opera director Monique Wagemakers. Currently she works with the renowned Dutch pedagogue Margreet Honig.

Virpi Räisänen-Midth made 2009 her debut in the Salzburger Festspiele in the role of Soprano 4 in Luigi Nono's opera Al gran sole carico d'amore, which received a great world wide critical acclaim. Nono-specialist Ingo Metzmacher was conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker and stage directing was by Katie Mitchel. Virpi has received a re-invitation to the 2010 Salzburger Festspiele for the role of Mezzosoprano soloist in the new opera of Wolfgang Rihm Dionysos, which will receive it's world premiere in Slazburg.

Having given the world premier of several dozen of new works, Virpi has established her name on venues of modern music. During Time of Music Festival, Viitasaari, Finland in 2007, one of the world's foremost festival of new music, Virpi had the honor of closing the festival, performing Ilmari Mäenpää's Trasparente (dedicated to her) where she sings and plays the violin simultaneously. With this piece she has continued overwhelming her public on several concert podiums throughout Europe. She also recently gave the world premiers of Minna Leinonen's 2 Song for Mezzo Soprano and Accordion and Oliver Kohlenberg's Die weisse Barke. In addition, Virpi collaborated with the Mondriaan Quartet to perform the world premier of Dimitris Andrikopoulos' Gacela de la Muerte Oscura in Amsterdam. In the Barockt 08 festival in Sweden she had great success performing old and contemporary music together with Camerata Nordica under Terje Tønnesen. In the October of New Music-festival in Finland 2008 she gave premiers to several new works mainly by Finnish composers.

In June 2009 Virpi performed Laci Boldemann's 4 Epitaphs as a soloist of the Ostrobothian Chamber Orchestra in the opening concert of this year's Korsholm Music Festival, one of the leading music festivals in Finland.

In June 2009 Virpi Räisänen-Midth sang the leading role of  Elmira in Händel's opera Floridante in the International Händel Festival, Halle. with Christopher Moulds conducting and Vincent Boussard stage directing. Other recent opera engagements include Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice and Nicklausse/La Muse in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann in Oulu, Finland (stage director Leena Salonen, conductor Dimitri Slobodeniouk), Pipetto in Donizetti's Viva la Mamma, which toured the Netherlands, Street Angel in Fagerrud's The Beggars and the world premier of Jouni Kaipainen's X-citement Op.81' (a musical theater play, written for Virpi Räisänen-Midth, Timo Kinnunen and The Screaming Men).

Virpi will appear in the role of Iseut aux Blanches Mains in Le Vin Herbé by Frank Martin in the new production of OT Toneel, Rotterdam during the spring and autumn 2010.

As a lied and chamber singer, Virpi has appeared on several occasions in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, as well as in other major concert venues in the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and Scandinavia. Further afield,she was featured with Vivaldi's Solo Cantata Cessate omai Cessate during the European Union Chamber Orchestra's Central American tour to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. She has also appeared actively as an oratorio soloist in Finland, Netherlands and Belgium.

Virpi Räisänen-Midth has established her own project called VIULAJA - violinmezzo where she combines both her instruments playing violin and singing simultaneously. This rare combination performed by one person has inspired many young and leading composers of our time writing for her. During autumn 2010 Virpi will publish her solo CD/DVD Trasparente with works for VIULAJA.

Virpi Räisänen-Midth's future engagements for the season 2010-2011 include a.o. concerts with Respighi Il Tramonto and Strozzi L'eraclito amoroso in Concertgebouw, Amsterdam as a soloist of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Ligeti Requiem in Paris Théâtre du Châtelet with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the French Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Amsterdam concert and tour in Japan with accordion artist Janne Rättyä, revival of Rihm Dionysos in Amsterdam DNO, etc.

 

 

 
 
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