Soile Marja Isokoski (born 14 February 1957) is a Finnish lyric soprano, active in opera, concert works and lieder.
Life and career
Isokoski was born in Posio, Finland. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (a cantor-organist diploma, a singing teacher's degree and a singing diploma) and made her concert debut there in 1986.[1]
Isokoski won the Lappeenranta song competition in Finland (1987), the Elly Ameling Competition in the Netherlands (1988), and the Tokyo International Singing Competition (1990). In 1987 she was a finalist in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
She worked first as a church musician in Northern Finland. In 1987 she was engaged as a soloist with the Finnish National Opera and stayed there until 1994. Her first appearance there was as Mimi in Puccini's La bohème in 1987.
She made her début at the Metropolitan Opera as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro in 2002. The New York Times wrote on 28 January 2002: "Ms. Isokoski... touched on the Countess' sense of abandonment by the Count without diminishing her regal bearing or the graceful humor she must contribute to the second act. And her dark, burnished soprano should make her a good addition to the Met roster."[2]
Isokoski's song repertoire is extensive. She has given recitals with her regular accompanist Marita Viitasalo-Pohjola [fi] all over the world, including in New York, Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale, Vienna, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Rome, Athens, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tokyo.
Hillila, Ruth-Esther and Hong, Barbara Blanchard. 1997. Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland, p. 171. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN978-0-313-27728-3
International Who's Who in Classical Music 2003, Europa Publications. ISBN1-85743-174-X L180
