Minna-Leena Lahti

Minna-Leena Lahti is a Finnish operatic soprano, who specialises in weird, ambivalent, hard-to-cast characters, that sing both high and low. She is an excellent actress, her voice is versatile and has good durchklang, sitting between the Fachs of a dramatic coloratura soprano and a lirico spinto. She is well liked among contemporary composers for her musical intellect and talent. Lahti sings for singing is the best form of being a human, and thrives to create chances for others to sing too.

Lahti graduated from Sibelius Academy as Master of Music, Opera Performance, in 2019.

Lahti's operatic repertoire features roles such as Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Micaëla (Carmen), and Lucy (The Telephone), among others. In contemporary works, she has portrayed characters including Neito (Barabbas Dialogues), Adriana (La testa d’Adriana), Young Armi (Armi), Alkyone (Isfåglarna), the News Anchor (Sävellyssanomat), Minna Craucher and Loviisa Turakka (Hiljaiset perivät maan), and Säde Kaarela (Vieras laji). In spring 2025, Lahti will perform the role of the First Woman in Joonas Kokkonen's opera Viimeiset kiusaukset.

Lahti has collaborated with organizations and festivals such as the Finnish National Opera, Vaasa City Theatre, Central Ostrobothnian Chamber Opera, Kymi Sinfonietta, Opera Skaala, Ensemble Nylandia, Seinäjoki City Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Talviharmonikka, Ilmajoki Music Festival, and the Lohtaja Church Music Festival.

This highly expressive singer has also been successful in competitions. She won a shared third prize in the Kangasniemi Singing Competition in 2019 and reached the finals of the Nordic Singing Competition Havets röst in 2018. In September 2020 she took part in Grandi Voci competition in Austria. In 2021 Lahti won the national Toivo Kuula singing competition.

Lahti is the chair of the Chamber Opera Association of Central Ostrobothnia and she was also one of the founders of Verso Ensemble.

Her next goal is to find a crack on Europes door and to sing and to sing and to sing, what ever the odds or the circumstances.

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"Minna-Leena Lahti, whose soprano is getting ready for bigger stages, was heard in the role of THE YOUNG ARMI with a saucy and sparkling voice."

Liisamaija Hautsalo, Helsingin Sanomat 9.6.2023

"The lyrical drama soprano of Minna-Leena Lahti, winner of the National Toivo Kuula singing competition in 2021, is a future resource on many opera stages, so expressively the program of the concert progressed."

Kaija Huida, Satakunnan Kansa 28.8.2022.

”The most strong character was Minna-Leena Lahti as Vitellia, striving to be empress. The coloratures of her lucid, twinkling and concise voice were sparkling, and the greed for power got Vitellia to shout dramatically.”
Hannu-Ilari Lampila, Helsingin Sanomat 17.4.2018

”The role is vocally highly demanding, singing both high and low. Minna-Leena Lahti made a sparkling and impressive interpretation of the part.”
Jan Granberg, Hufvudstadsbladet 15.4.2018