Biography
Sari Nordqvist began her studies in singing at the Palmgren Conservatory in Pori, Finland. She then continued her professional studies at the Tampere Conservatory, Finland. Having completed the degree programme in the performing arts, she graduated with a Master's Degree in Music from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. She studied under Raija Kemppainen, Reijo Toivokoski, Aili Purtonen and Seppo Ruohonen.
Since 1994 Sari Nordqvist has performed opera roles with the Pori, Turku, Tampere and Oulu Operas, in the productions of Opera Graal and Opera Cava and in the Finnish National Opera.
The following could be mentioned, among others, Clytemnestre (Iphigénie en Aulide), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera), Marilyn Klinghoffer (The Death of Klinghoffer), Siegrune (Die Walküre), Margret (Wozzeck), Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia), Second Woman (Die Zauberflöte), and Mercedes and Carmen (Carmen). Nordqvist's repertoire includes several alto and mezzosoprano roles in orchestral works and in lied. She has also made several recordings.
Sari Nordqvist received second prize in the Kangasniemi Singing Competition in 1997 and in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition in 2002. She was awarded a scholarship by the Wagner Society of Finland in 2001, and she was named Opera Soloist of the Year by the Finnish Opera Association for her performance in the role of Ulrica in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera in 1998. In 2005 Nordqvist's roles are the Third Woman in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Herodias in Strauss's Salome, Countess de Coigny in Giordano's Andrea Chenier and Annina in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.