Candelaria, Rimkevitch selected for Young Singers’ Programme

Sopranos Iris Candelaria and Elisaveta Rimkevitch have been selected for the Young Singers’ Programme, launched in autumn 2022 by the Finnish National Opera and the Louise and Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation, said Finnish National Opera in a press release on Friday.

Both the singers have been offered a fixed-term trainee soloist contract for the 2023-2024 season at the Finnish National Opera, where they will be featured in Main Stage productions.

Their specific roles will be announced in conjunction with the Finnish National Opera's repertoire for the upcoming season, which will be released at the end of March.

The programme drew significant attention in Finland and abroad. A total of 372 singers, including 70 from Finland, submitted applications for the programme, with the largest number of candidates coming from the United States.

The selection was made based on applications and an audition held in December 2022. Candidates were expected to have completed several years of professional level singing studies as well as to have experience in performing.

“Being a successful opera singer requires skills, which one can only learn from experienced, world-class professionals. The Young Singers' Programme of the Finnish National Opera will be an excellent opportunity to mentor, encourage and inspire young musicians in all the aspects of performing arts. I’m very excited to take part in this project!” said Hannu Lintu, Chief Conductor of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.

“We’d like to extend our congratulations to the Finnish National Opera for selecting such talented singers from an outstanding pool of applications. We are thrilled that, thanks to the selection, the Young Singers’ Programme is now ready to begin,” said Georg Ehrnrooth, the Chairman of the Board of the Louise & Göran Ehrnrooth Foundation.

Soprano Iris Candelaria graduated with a Master of Music degree from the opera programme of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki in summer 2022, with Annika Ollikari.

Candelaria made her debut at the Finnish National Opera as Queen of the Night in W.A Mozart’s The Magic Flute and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival as the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida. She won joint first prize in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition in January 2023.

Soprano Elisaveta Rimkevitch completed her Master of Music degree in classical vocal studies at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki in summer 2021 with Annika Ollikari. The board of the Pro Musica Foundation chose her as the young musician of the year in 2017. She was a finalist in the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition in 2017 and 2019 and the Kangasniemi Singing Contest in 2018. Rimkevitch also come in joint third place in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition in 2023.