The Finnish bass-baritone, Jorma Hynninen, studied from 1966 to 1970 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and also took lessons from Luigi Ricci in Rome and Kurt Overhoff in Salzburg. In 1969 he won first prize in a local singing competition in Lappeenranta and in 1971 first prize in the Scandinavian Singing Competition held in Helsinki.
Jorma Hynninen sang at his first public concert in 1970 in Helsinki and made his debut the same year with the Finnish National Opera Company, to which he still belongs as a permanent member. His most notable roles are Count Almaviva in W.A. Mozart’s Le nozze de Figaro and Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. In this latter role he has in recent years also frequently sung at the Hamburg State Opera House. He has also served as Artistic Director for the Finnish National Opera and presently at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland.
Gramophone recordings, radio broadcasts, TV appearances and extensive concert tours abroad have now made Jorma Hynninen's name known far beyond the boarders of his native homeland. His international career includes performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Vienna Opera, Milan's La Scala, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, as well as Paris, Hamburg, Barcelona, Geneva and Berlin.
Jorma Hynninen has combined his operatic career with regular appearances in the concert hall with the world’s leading orchestras and maestros such as Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Mazur, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. His recital appearances include the major cities of Europe and North America.
Jorma Hynninen is also an acclaimed voice teacher. Among his pupils and/or singers who have attended his master-classes: Philipp Kaven (Baritone). |