Finnish Soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä studied at the Sibelius-Academy where she received her diploma in 2012 with excellent marks.
She started the season 2018/19 with a big success as Senta in Wagner´s Der fliegende Holländer at the Finnish National Opera Helsinki. In January 2019 she had a celebrated debut in the title role of R. Strauss´ Elektra at the Landestheater Linz. In the February and March she can be heard first time as Brünnhilde in the concerts of "Ring an einem Abend" in Munich and Stutgartt.
Further plans include among others debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper München and Glyndebourne.
In the beginning of the new season 2017-2018 she made a very successful debut as Färberin (Die Frau one Schatten) in Linz with Markus Poschner. Other engagements of season included Gurre-Lieder in Aarhus and the role of Sieglinde (Die Walküre) in Odense.
In the season 2016-2017 she returned to Finnish National Opera to sing Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and also to cover the role of Chrysotemis in Elektra. She also jumped in as Ariadne in Opera Box´s production of Ariadne auf Naxos in Alexander´s Theater, Helsinki. In the spring she made her house debut in Theater Lübeck where she sang Senta in a new production of Der Fliegende Holländer directed by Aniara Amos. The season ended with Verdi´s Requiem (version for soloists and organ) in the Lemi Music Festival and in Sastamala, Finland.
In the spring 2016 she made two Wagner-debuts. First as Senta (Der Fliegende Holländer) in Theater Bremen with Markus Poschner and second as Sieglinde (Die Walküre) in Odense with Alexander Vedernikov. In the fall 2015 she sung her first Rosalinde in the new production of Die Fledermaus in the Finnish National Opera with Alfred Eschwé.
Her other roles have been Elsa/Lohengrin in Vilnius (2013-2015), the role of "Lumi the Seal" in T-J Kyllönen's opera The Seal at Savonlinna Opera Festival, Ortlinde/Die Walküre, Leonora/Il trovatore at the Lahti Opera, First Lady/Die Zauberflöte at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and cover of Emilia Marty/The Makropulos Affair and Jenufa at the Finnish National Opera.
She has sung also Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 with Oulu Philharmonic Orchestra and Luke Dollman and as soloist with Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Miina-Liisa Värelä was the young debutant of the Helsinki Festival 2011, during which she performed as the soloist of Mahler's 2nd Symphony with Ingo Metzmacher and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. As an active concert and lied singer Värela has appeared at Korsholm and Kangasniemi Music Festival, as a soloist with Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and Opernwerkstadt. In 2012 she appeared in Mahler’s 4th Symphony with Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and Hannu Lintu, at Savonlinna Opera Festival gala-concerts with Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and at a concert with Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.
She won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Contest in July 2011. In the summer of 2009 she was awarded with the 1st price at Kangasniemi Singing Competition. In 2010 she was a finalist and special prize winner of the Lappeenranta Singing Competition. In 2010 she was awarded at the International Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna with Verena Keller scholarship.
