Markus Suihkonen
Following in the tradition of the great Finnish basses, Markus Suihkonen has established himself as one of the leading young singers of his generation. His warm, full-bodied bass and natural musicality mark him out as a compelling artist with a promising future.
In the 2026/27 season, Suihkonen makes his debut at the Norske Opera Oslo in the new production of La bohème as Colline, before taking on the same role in a new production at the Finnish National Opera Helsinki, where he will also sing Giorgio Talbot in the new production of Maria Stuarda.
Recent highlights on the opera stage include his 2025 debut at the Bayreuther Festspiele as the Fourth Nobleman of Brabant in Lohengrin (under Christian Thielemann), as well as the Landgrave in the children’s opera Tannhäuser; his debut at the Glyndebourne Autumn Season in a new production of La bohème as Colline; and the new production of Don Carlos as the Monk at Tampere Opera.
From 2020 to 2025, Markus Suihkonen was a member of the ensemble of Staatstheater Hannover, where he sang roles including Ramfis in Aida, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Lodovico in Otello, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Colline in La bohème, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Angelotti in Tosca, Caronte in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Lorenzo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
He has also performed Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Publio in La Clemenza di Tito at the Royal Opéra de Wallonie in Liège, Caronte in L’Orfeo at the Dresdner Semperoper, and Leporello in Don Giovanni under Patrick Fournillier at the Finnish National Opera Helsinki. He has sung Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust as well as Schumann’s Faust-Szenen as Mephisto, Evil Spirit and Pater Profundus with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu in Helsinki; Titurel in Parsifal in a concert performance with the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Adam Fischer; Sallinen’s opera Kullervo in Savonlinna; Verdi’s Requiem in Dublin; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra; and Mozart’s Requiem with Klaus Mäkelä conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
After a season with the Junge Ensemble of the Vlaamse Opera, where he appeared, among other roles, as Pistola in Falstaff (directed by Christoph Waltz), the Second Knight of the Grail and Titurel in Parsifal, and Publio in La Clemenza di Tito, Markus Suihkonen was a member of the Opera Studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper München from 2018 to 2020. There, he sang roles including King René in Jolanta, the Herald in Otello under Kirill Petrenko, and Lesbo in Agrippina under Ivor Bolton (directed by Barrie Kosky), as well as numerous concerts.
In 2015, at just 22 years of age, he won first prize at the national Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition for young singers and received a scholarship from the Martti Talvela Foundation.
Before beginning his vocal studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 2013, the young bass had studied cello for 15 years. At the Sibelius Academy, he studied with, among others, Professors Petteri Salomaa and Jaakko Ryhänen, as well as with Mika Kares, and attended masterclasses with Martin Katz, Dorothy Irving, Helen Donath and Soile Isokoski.