Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir is one of the festival’s artistic building blocks, and time after time, music critics from all over the world have praised the chorus for its brilliant sound, effective singing, and powerful stage appearance.
The size of the choir varies annually according to the operas to be performed. This season’s composition is about 86 singers. The members of the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir are signed for one-year-contracts based on auditions, which are organized every year on September.
The choir rehearsals, which consist of 7 intensive weekends in Helsinki, take place in-between October and May. The festival season in Savonlinna is six weeks long, from the middle of June to the end of July, including the stage rehearsal period and the actual performances.
Nowadays, the choir consists of mainly professionals and music students, who are training to be professional singers, studying in music institutes in Finland or in other countries of Europe. For many of them, the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir has been a good springboard for their career.
The choir is led by Chorus Master Jan Schweiger.
Opera Festival Choir 2025
SOPRAANO
Mariia Bertus
Anna Ginström
Marja Haapaniemi
Iida Hirvola
Yolanda Harding
Heidi Iisalo
Johanna Isokoski
Laure Kips
Sanna Korpi
Agata Kowalik
Niina Laitinen
Merit Kraav
Freja Lindroos
Riikka Pelo
Júlia Pérez Arquillo
Alla Popova
Vilja-Maria Riutamaa
Iirisilona Segerstam
Aleksiina Turtiainen
Stella Tähtinen
ALTTO
Siân Davies
Karoliina Hautala
Ellena Hicks
Zhenya Hovsepyan
Kana Kobayashi
Anne Korpelainen
Suvi Larjamo
Essi Lind-Vallinoja
Hannah Morley
Irina Nuutinen
Tuula Paavola
Elisabet Petsalo
Amanda Sandström
Taika Tenhunen
Leni Välimäki
Ann-Marie Walsh
Satu Yli-Suutala
Pilvi Äikäs
TENORI
Guðmundur Davíðsson
Vitaly Dudkin
Niilo Erkkilä
Joonas-Ville Hietaniemi
Albin Jansson
Eetu Joukainen
Hans Kanniainen
Aivar Kaseste
Mart Kroon
Andrew Lahti-Nuuttila
Rory Lynch
Aarne Mansikka
Jukka Onttonen
Joonatan Pylkkönen
Aki Saarela
Gabriel Seawright
Otso Sipilä
Robin Turunen
Andrew Woodmansey
BASSO
Sampsa Heiniö
Dong-Hoon Han
Ari Hosio
Martin Iivarinen
Joona Juntunen
Henri Jussila
Marko Korpela
Okko Lakka
Theodore Murphy-Jelley
Gabriel Olsson
Samuel Parkkinen
Riku Pelo
Tuomas Pääkkönen
Olli Ristolainen
William Semple
Marcel Slakonja
Veikko Vallinoja
Katagan Zhumagulov
