SAARA RAUVALA

Biography

Saara Rauvala is a young up-and-coming soprano from Salo, Finland who possesses “a brilliant, beautiful voice with an agility and freshness throughout the entire range.” She has received praise for her bright, warm voice and beautiful expressive performance.  In season 2020-21 Rauvala was about to make her house debut in the Finnish Nationalopera as Barbarina which was postponed due to pandemic. In the spring 2021 she performed Menotti’s “The Telephone” at the Malmö Opera as her diploma at the Malmö Opera Academy where she has been a young artist in 2018-2021. As a part of her studies, she has sung the roles of The Princess in Benjamin Staern’s opera Snödrottningen at Malmö Opera and toured southern Sweden with 30 performances of a show celebrating Malmö Opera’s 75th anniversary. In 2019 she sang Poulenc’s monologue opera “La voix humaine” in Helsinki Music Centre and in the autumn 2018 she was the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Stockholm Concert Orchestra.

In the spring of 2018, Rauvala graduated with a Bachelors of the Arts in Opera from the University College of Opera in Stockholm, where she studied with Robert Hyman and Ulrika Tenstam. During her time in Stockholm, she also studied privately with Professor Dorothy Irving. By the time she had finished her studies in Stockholm, she had performed the roles of Monica (G.C. Menotti: The Medium), Miss Wordsworth (B. Britten: Albert Herring) and done her debut at The Royal Swedish Opera as Papagena (W.A. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte).  In addition, she sang the leading role in the Vadstena Academy 2016 summer production “Kär och Galen” in Giovanni Paisiello’s opera Nina. The following year she sang Pamina in Lyric Opera Studio Weimar’s production (W.A. Mozart: Die Zauberflöte). In the summer 2018 she sang Antonia in Opera Studio Aino’s concert performance of J. Offenbach’s The tales of Hoffmann at the Helsinki Conservatory. Her debut in musical theater was in 2011 with the roll of Liesl from The Sound of Music at Teatteri Provinssi in Salo, Finland. Among opera, Rauvala has a varied repertoire of lieder and chamber music, which includes composers such as Berg, Sibelius, Madetoja, Melartin, Kuula, Grieg, Schubert, Wolf, Strauss, and Debussy.

Rauvala is currently studying under the tutelage of soprano Pauliina Sairanen and Ritva-Liisa Korhonen. She has even taken part in masterclasses with Karita Mattila, Soile Isokoski, Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, Rilla Kyykkä and Mikko Franck.

In the summer 2018 she was awarded third place in the Kangasniemi singing competition. She has received scholarships from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien, 25 June 1988 foundation, and Vadstena Academy. In 2016 she received a cultural prize from Salon Seudun Sanomat.

Photo Gallery

Den största behållningen av Nina är utan tvekan Saara Rauvala, som sjunger Ninas parti alldeles strålande vackert med daggfriskt fräsch och över hela registret smidig sopran.
Lennart Bromander. Aftonbladet 26.7.2016