Biography
The bass Johann Tilli was born in 1967 in Kerimäki, Finland. He studied singing at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In 1990 he was engaged by Hamburg’s Staatsoper, where he worked for six years. Between 1996 and 1998 he was a member of Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf; since 1998 he has sung at Staatsoper Dresden. He has appeared as a guest at a number of prestigious opera houses both in Germany and throughout Europe (Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Staatsoper Hamburg, Frankfurt, Staastoper München, Teatro Real Madrid and the Finnish State Opera in Helsinki). Johann Tilli has also performed at festivals in Savonlinna and Bayreuth. His extensive repertoire encompasses all the major bass roles, among them: Ferrando and Rocco (Fidelio), Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the Inquisitor (Don Carlos) and, of course, Wagnerian characters - Hunding (Die Walküre), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg).