One of Finland’s foremost international singers, Anu Komsi’s versatility, technical skill and wide-ranging repertoire have earned her critical acclaim worldwide. Throughout her eminent career, she has worked with distinguished directors such as Pierre Audi, Barrie Kosky, Christoph Loy, Juho Kuosmanen and Lydia Steier, and leading conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Sakari Oramo, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, Franz Welser-Möst, Peter Eötvös, Hannu Lintu, Andris Nelsons, Nicholas Collon, Santtu-Matias Rouvali and Dalia Stasevska.
2022/23 season highlights include Komsi’s return to Finnish National Opera as Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte (which she also performs later in the season for Savonlinna Opera) and Mother-in-Law Innocence, Lindberg’s Accused with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, the world premiere of Jukka Tiensuu’s Double Concerto for Violin and Soprano with Minna Pensola and Tapiola Sinfonietta, Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and performances of Saariaho’s Saarikoski Songs with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo. She also appears in concert with Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic.
Komsi has worked with many of the major opera companies and festivals around the world, including Opéra National de Paris, Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals and La Scala Milan, and important orchestras such as Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic to name a few. Prominent engagements from the last seasons include Eva in Stockhausen’s Donnerstag aus Licht for Theater Basel (Komsi is still the only singer to have performed the role through its entire 6‑hour duration); Catherine in Meyerbeer’s L’étoile du Nord for Kokkola Opera; Soprano in Sir George Benjamin’s Into The Little Hill, which she has sung on over fifty occasions across Europe and the US, most recently with Ensemble Modern at venues including Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Wigmore Hall; Sibelius’ Luonnotar with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Wing on Wing with the NDR Elbphilharmonie under Alan Gilbert; her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut with the orchestral version of Saariaho’s Saarikoski Songs under Andris Nelsons; and Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, which has been in Komsi’s repertoire for over thirty years, most recently performed at Kissinger Sommer Festival and CNDM Madrid. She has made many recordings, including Langaard’s Symphony No.2 (Wiener Philharmoniker/Sakari Oramo) and Saariaho’s Leino Songs (Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Sakari Oramo), which both garnered a Gramophone Award.
