Before beginning his singing studies at the Sibelius Academy in 2013, young Finnish bass, Markus Suihkonen (b. 1993), studied the cello for 15 years. At the Sibelius Academy, he has studied under professors Petteri Salomaa and Jaakko Ryhänen, as well as with Mika Kares, and attended master classes conducted by Martin Katz, Dorothy Irving, Helen Donath, and Soile Isokoski.

Suihkonen made his stage debut in the spring of 2014 as Colline in La bohème at the University of the Arts in Helsinki. In 2015, he won first prize at the national Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition for young singers and was awarded a scholarship from the Martti Talvela Foundation.

Further, he made his debut at the Finnish National Opera in the autumn of 2015 in two minor roles in Shostakovich’s The Nose. In 2016, he performed the role of Figaro in the Sibelius Academy’s production of The marriage of Figaro and the role of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni at the Alexander Theater. He also sung recitals at the Mariinsky Theater (with pianist Tuula Hällstöm) and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and performed with the Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir.

Furthermore, Suihkonen has performed with numerous Finnish chamber orchestras as a concert and oratorio soloist. Future projects include various concerts with different Finnish Philharmonic Orchestras as well as a role in Sallinen’s opera Kullervo at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2017.

In the season ²⁰¹⁷⁄₁₈ Markus Suihkonen is part of the young ensemble at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium. He will be singing the bass part in Mozart’s Requiem as well as parts such as Daniel in Donizetti’s Le duc d’Albe, Pistola in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Publio in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito.

The latter he will also be performing at the Royal Opéra de Wallonie in Liège.