Mika Kares is one of the most sought-after basses internationally today. Distinguished by the beauty of his vocal sound and impressive stage presence, he appears at the world’s most prestigious opera houses and concert halls. His broad repertoire encompasses not only Mozart and all the major Verdi and Wagner roles, but also significant works from the Slavic, Russian and Finnish traditions. Following his recent successes on Europe’s greatest stages and at the Bayreuther Festspiele, he is celebrated as the leading Wagner bass of our time.
After a summer back on the Green Hill in Bayreuth, where he was seen in 2026 in the RING as Fasolt, Hunding and Hagen, as well as Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, he returns in the 2026/27 season to the Opéra Bastille for the final part of Calixto Bieito’s RING, Götterdämmerung, in his signature role of Hagen, followed by two complete cycles (Fafner/Fafner/Hagen). He will then appear as Hagen at London’s Royal Opera House in the final part of Barrie Kosky’s RING. In spring, he will embark with the Opernhaus Zürich as Fasolt/Hunding/Hagen on a concert tour of the RING, with performances at the Philharmonie de Paris and New York’s Carnegie Hall.
As a regular guest at houses such as the Wiener Staatsoper, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Opéra National de Paris, the Berliner Staatsoper, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Chicago Lyric Opera and at the festivals in Bayreuth and Salzburg, Kares has worked with conductors including Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, Teodor Currentzis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Fabio Luisi, Marc Minkowski, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Franz Welser-Möst, Sebastian Weigle, François-Xavier Roth, Klaus Mäkelä, Kent Nagano, Kirill Petrenko, Pablo Heras-Casado, Marco Armiliato, Francois-Xavier Roth, Vladimir Jurowski, Thomas Guggeis and Tarmo Peltokoski.
His roles include Boris Godunov, Vodník in Rusalka, Ivan in Chowanschtschina, Gremin in Eugen Onegin, the Inquisitor in Der feurige Engel, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Jacopo Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, Filippo II in Don Carlo, Ramfis in Aida, Balthazar in La Favorite, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Hagen, Hunding, Fasolt and Fafner in the RING, Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, King Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Heinrich der Vogler in Lohengrin, Landgraf Hermann in Tannhäuser, Gurnemanz in Parsifal, as well as the Finnish leading roles of Antti in The Horseman (A. Sallinen) and Paavo in The Last Temptations (J. Kokkonen).
Mika Kares is also a highly sought-after concert singer. His extensive concert repertoire includes key works such as Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa solemnis, Verdi’s Messa di Requiem, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, as well as Shostakovich’s Symphonies Nos. 13 and 14.
Concert highlights of recent seasons included concert performances of Tchaikovsky’s Jolanthe as King René with Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker, Strauss’ Capriccio as La Roche with Christian Thielemann and Adriana Lecouvreur as the Prince of Bouillon with Anna Netrebko and Marco Armiliato, all at the Salzburger Festspiele; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the hr-Sinfonieorchester and at the BBC Proms under the direction of Sakari Oramo; Verdi’s Requiem with the Gewandhausorchester under Franz Welser-Möst; Mozart’s Requiem with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Riccardo Muti and with the Wiener Philharmoniker; Shostakovich’s Fourteenth Symphony under Klaus Mäkelä with the Oslo Philharmonic and the hr-Sinfonieorchester; Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu; as well as a concert performance of Herzog Blaubarts Burg with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Susanna Mälkki, which was released as a CD by BIS Records and nominated for a Grammy in 2021.
Further distinctions include the BBC Music Magazine’s Opera Award 2017 for the recording of Don Giovanni with Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna; the nomination for Best Opera Recording at the International Classical Music Awards 2019 for Boris Godunow with Kent Nagano and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; the nomination at the International Opera Awards 2014 for the recording ‘Der fliegende Holländer/Le Vaisseau fantome (Wagner/Dietsch)’ with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre; as well as nominations for Male Singer of the Year at the International Opera Awards in 2023 and 2025.
Mika Kares studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and was a member of the ensemble at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe from 2005-2010.