Helena Juntunen
Soprano
“Juntunen met the challenge that Savonlinna has given her in Faust. Her childlike, and at the same time
feminine Marguerite is totally different in its freshness than previous Marguerites we have had here. She has an exceptional way of expression that suits the role.”
– Hufvudstadsbladet, Helsinki
One of the most successful young Finnish artists of today, soprano Helena Juntunen opened the 2007-2008 season as Pamina in Geneva and Helsinki, La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro in Nice, her role debut as Mimi in Helsinki, and a return to the Minnesota Orchestra for Beethoven's Symphony No 9. Future engagements include her return to Malaga for the Vier Letzte Lieder and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, the title role in Veli-Matti Puumala's opera Anna Liisa at the Helsinki Festival, her debut in Gothenburg as Mimi, her role debut as Marie/Marietta in Die tote Stadt in Nancy, her debut with the VARA at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in Sibelius' The Tempest, and debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and L'Ensemble intercontemporain of Paris.
Miss Juntenen wsa heard in the 2006-2007 season in Vienna as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Theater an der Wien, followed by the same role in Luxembourg, Jenny in Mahagonny in Nancy and Luxembourg, her debut at the London Proms performing Sibelius Tone Poems, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in subscription concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra. Miss Juntunen enjoyed a busy 2005-2006 season with a revival of Pamina at La Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, followed by the same role in Nancy, Zdenka in Arabella in Helsinki, Marie in Wozzeck in Nice, and Pamina for the Aix-en-Provence Festival and the Wiener Festwochen. In the same season Miss Juntunen made her Salzburg Festival debut in Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, was in Malaga, Spain for Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915, and made her Minnesota Orchestra debut in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
In 2004-05 Miss Juntunen débuted the role of Sophie in DerRosenkavalier at the Finnish National Opera, followed by her début at Brussels’ Théâtre de la Monnaie as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and a return to the Savonlinna Festival as Liù in Turandot. The 2003-03 season was one of débuts for Miss Juntunen, beginning with her Italian début at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa as Madama Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims, followed by her Antwerp début as Zdenka in Arabella, and her Dresden Staatsoper début as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. In October of 2003 she made her New York Recital début at Carnegie Hall’s Weil Recital Hall in a program of Lieder and song in German, French, Finnish, Swedish, and Italian. She also made her American stage début as Marguerite in Faust with the Connecticut Grand Opera. Earlier in the same season Miss Juntunen appeared with the National Orchestra of Belgium in Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, among other works under the baton of Mikko Franck and returned to the Savonlinna Festival as Liù in a new production of Puccini's Turandot.
At the 2002 Savonlinna Festival in Finland, Miss Juntunen generated great critical acclaim in her début as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust. She has appeared at the Finnish National Opera since the 1999-2000 season, most recently as Zdenka in Strauss' Arabella and Madame Cortese in Rossini's Viaggio a Reims. She has also worked as soloist with internationally renowned conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Mikko Franck, and Osmo Vanka. Miss Juntunen’s repertoire also encompasses the roles of Gilda in Rigoletto, Adina in L'elisir d'amore, both Mimì and Musetta in La bohème, Siebel in Gounod's Faust, and Miss Wordsworth in Britten’s Albert Herring, which she has performed in theaters throughout Finland.
Miss Juntunen’s discography to date includes the roles of Hilda in Rauttavvarra's Aleksis Kivi and Irene in The House of Sun by the same composer. She has also recorded a solo CD of Finnish Songs by Leevi Madetoja, all of which have been released by the Ondine label.
The recipient of numerous awards and prizes, Miss Juntunen was awarded First Prize in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition 2002, the Tampere Opera Grand Prix in 2001 and the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition in 2000. Helena Juntunen is an alumna of the Sibelius Academy, and studied Lieder with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hartmut Holl, Mitsuko Shirai and Ilmo Ranta.