Finnish-Canadian soprano Eilana Lappalainen is quickly becoming one of the world’s most-sought after interpreters of Strauss’s Salome and has performed the role in New York, Seattle, Trieste, Nashville, Warsaw, Montreal, Ottawa, Mannheim, Dessau, Kentucky, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and twice on tour in Japan. The July, 2002 Opera News review of Seattle’s Salome production states “Lappalainen’s extraordinary physical lightness and agility, her diverse vocal palette and her grasp of the character’s complexity were deeply moving. Her dance of the seven veils is simply the best I’ve ever seen.”

In other engagements the soprano has sung roles at La Scala; San Francisco Opera; Deutshe Oper Berlin; Hamburgische Staatsoper; Finnish National Opera; Bellas Artes Mexico City; New Israeli Opera; Aalto Theater Essen; as well as in Cinncinati, Portland, Opera Ontario, Minnesota, Virginia, Columbus, Arizona, Bremen, Wiesbaden, Halle, Wurzberg, Bielefeld and Linz. Ms Lappalainen credits her artistic foundation and acting training to companies Opera San Jose (where as the first principal resident artist she sang 30 leading roles) and Anhaltisches Theater Dessau (where she sang 25 leading roles).

On the concert stage, Ms Lappalainen has sung Salome; the Verdi Requiem; Strauss’s Four Last Songs; as well as works by Mahler and Berg. She has sung recitals and Verdi galas in Japan, New York City, Alabama, Finland, California, Greece and throughout Germany. In 2006 she made her Weill Recital Hall debut, her Michigan Opera Theater debut as Salome, and her Palermo debut in the concert version of Mascagni’s Zanetto. In 2007, she sang the Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall.

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