Maiju Vaahtoluoto, Finnish contralto singer, opera

Maiju Vaahtoluoto is a mezzo-soprano from Savonlinna, Finland, who delights audiences with her effervescent stage temperament and her warm, rich, deep voice. Despite her young age, she has already been successful on the opera and concert stage and in singing competitions. She enjoys immersing herself completely in her roles, whether playing a witch, a queen or a nurse.

Maiju made a succesful role debut as Ulrica in Verdi´s Un Ballo in Maschera at Oldenburg State Theatre, Germany, in the season 2019/2020. In the same theatre she also sang 1. Norn from Götterdämmerung(Wagner). For the 2018/2019 season Maiju joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble as a scholarship holder, where she sung a total of 12 roles. At the Deutsche Oper she sung roles such as Maddalena(Verdi: Rigoletto), Mary(Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer), Filipjewna(Tchaikovsky: Jevgeni Onegin), Third Lady(Mozart: Die Zauberflöte) and Mother´s voice(Offenbach: Les Contes d´Hoffmann).

At the Finnish National Opera Maiju has performed as Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte and as Lehrbube in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg(Wagner). Other opera roles in Finland include Kate Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream(Britten) with the Sibelius Academy Opera and the Knusperhexe in Hänsel und Gretel(Humperdinck) with ESMO ry. Maiju has been part of two word premieres, in Kalevi Aho's Frida y Diego as Natalia Sedova with the Sibelius Academy Opera and in children´s opera Nacht bis Acht by François Sarhan as Maurice at the Deutsche Oper.

Maiju has worked with many leading conductors of our time, including Alexander Vedernikov, Enrique Mazzola, Axel Kober and Hendrik Vestmann. She has collaborated with many well known stage directors, lately with Rodula Gaitanou and Tobias Kratzer. Zemlinsky´s Der Zwerg, directed by Kratzer, got a Grammy-nomination in 2021 with its DVD-recording by Naxos. Maiju was one of the soloists in this successful production.

Maiju is also an active performer of lied and church music. She has performed as soloist in oratorios such as Bach's St. John Passion, Mendelssohn's Elias and Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. She has worked with many Finnish orchestras, including the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and Savonlinna Orchestra. In the spring 2018 she sang as an orchestra soloist at Kyoto International Music Students Festival, Japan, where she also sang the role of Carmen in the chamber arrangement of Bizet´s Carmen.

As a lied singer, she works frequently with many leading Finnish pianists, most recently with Kristian Attila and Minttu Siitonen. She is always thrilled to have the opportunity to perform lied repertoire.

Maiju Vaahtoluoto won 1st prize at the Kangasniemi Singing Competition in 2016. The following year, she attended the international Hans Gabor Belvedere- singing competition in Moscow 2017 and reached the semifinals. In 2015 she was a finalist at the Timo Mustakallio Competition in Savonlinna.

Maiju received her Master's degree from the Sibelius Academy vocal music department in 2017. She also has a Bachelor’s degree in vocal pedagogy from the Centria University of Applied Sciences in Kokkola, where she undertook specialised studies in Opera Performance.

At an early age, Maiju began her musical studies in her hometown of Savonlinna, and in a specialised arts high school in the same town, Maiju participated in many different kinds of opera and musical productions. Boosted by this inspiring atmosphere, she commenced her path towards becoming a professional singer.

Maiju's singing teachers have included Dale Fundling, Sirkka Haavisto, Ritva-Liisa Korhonen and Johanna Rusanen-Kartano. She has participated in masterclasses with many leading artists including Karita Mattila, Helen Donath, Mikko Franck, Dorothy Irving, and Anne Sofie von Otter.

Maiju’s studies and development are supported by many Finnish cultural foundations.