Tarja Turunen

At 47 years old, Tarja Turunen has this physical status:

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen-Cabuli (born 17 August 1977), also known as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer-songwriter.

Turunen studied at Sibelius Academy and Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe and has a vocal range of three octaves.

She is a classical lied singer and the former lead vocalist of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which she formed with Tuomas Holopainen and Emppu Vuorinen in 1996.

Turunen's "operatic" lead vocals quickly gained critical and commercial success, thanks to their combination of hard and fast guitar riffs and their ferocious lead vocals.

Many other metal bands and performers were inspired by their symphonic metal style, which was soon dubbed "opera metal." Turunen was forced to leave the band on October 21st, 2005 (just after the band's End of an Age concert) for personal reasons.

Henkäys ikuisuuudesta's debut on Christmas album in 2006 launched her solo career.

Turunen started the Storm World Tour in 2007 with My Winter Storm, an album containing various styles including symphonic metal, and Snowstorm.

In 2010, Turunen unveiled What Lies Beneath, her third album.

She appeared in metal festivals, including the Graspop Metal Meeting and the Wacken Open Air, before embarking on the What Lies Beneath World Tour, which lasted until April 2012.

During this tour, Act I became her first live DVD in Rosario, Argentina, on March 30 and 31.

Act I was released in August 2012.

Turunen started the Colours in the Dark World Tour in October 2013 to promote her new album Colours in the Dark.

Her second live DVD was shot during the Beauty and the Beat performances and was released in May. Tarja Turunen released Ave Maria – En Plein Air, her first classical studio album, in September 2015.

The Shadow Self, a prequel EP that was released in August 2016, was titled The Shadow Self on June 3.

In August 30, 2019, her new album In the Raw was released.

Personal life

Turunen married Marcelo Cabuli, anArgentine businessman, on December 31, 2002; their wedding took place in Buenos Aires with their daughter who was born in 2012. Tarja said in an interview that in 2016 they had to return to Europe due to her touring schedule and that their daughter's start-up in the coming year. She currently lives in the south of Spain. She revealed in October 2021 that she had a stroke three years ago during a U.S. tour.

Tarja speaks fluently in Finnish, English, Spanish, and German.

Source

Life and career

Tarja Turunen was born in Puhos, Finland's little village. She has an older brother, Timo, and Toni, a younger brother. Ritva Sisko Marjatta (Hakkarainen) served in the town administration, and Teuvo Turunen, her father, is a carpenter, is a carpenter. When she sang "Enkeli taivaan" (the Finnish version of "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come") in the Kitee church hall at age three, her talent for music was first noted. She joined the church choir and began taking vocal lessons. She began playing piano at age six.

Turunen performed as a singer for several projects at a comprehensive school. Kirsti Nortia-Holopainen (Tuomas Holopainen's mother) "Tarja was in a class with some very vocal students." And then she had to do a lot. I think she sang at every school function ever." "If you gave Tarja just one note, she'll get it right away," she told her music teacher, Plamen Dimov. You'd have to practice three, four, or five times with the others." She had a rough time at school when some girls mocked her because they admired her voice. Dimov initiated outside-school programs to solve the problem. Turunen made her first major appearance as a soloist at a church concert in front of a thousand viewers at fifteen. She studied at the Senior Secondary School of Art and Music in Savonlinna in 1993.

Turunen performed many hits by Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, as well as soul music by Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin for many years. Later, she listened to songs from classical crossover singer Sarah Brightman, particularly "The Phantom of the Opera," and decided to concentrate on that style of music. She travelled to Kuopio to study at the Sibelius Academy at eighteen.

Tuomas Holopainen, a former classmate, invited Turunen to join his new acoustic mood music project in December 1996, and she accepted straight away. Turunen's voice had become more natural than he remembered from their school days, thanks to her classical singing lessons. Emppu Vuorinen used an electric guitar rather than an acoustic guitar during the band's performances because she felt that it was a more natural accompaniment to her voice. The band members had gradually understood that Turunen's voice had become too stoic for acoustic mood music, and they came to the conclusion that the music had to be epic too. Hence, Holopainen formed Nightwish as a metal band.

In September 1997, Nightwish released their second demo with "more bombastic, dramatic" songs. Holopainen used this data to convince Spinefarm Records to release Angels Fall First, the band's debut album. The popularity of the first album came as a surprise to the label. Nightwish began their tour The First Tour of the Angels as the album debuted in the top 40 of Finland's charts. Turunen performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival for the first time this year, performing Wagner and Verdi songs.

Turunen was unable to concentrate sufficiently on her schoolwork and her academic studies were suspended due to her service to the band. Nightwish's second album, Oceanborn, was released in 1998. This album skipped back to ancient folk and ambient music and instead concentrated on fast, melodic keyboards, and guitar lines, as well as Turunen's lyrical voice. Turunen appeared solo in Waltari's rock-themed ballet Evankeliumi (also known as Evangelicum) in several sold-out performances at the Finnish National Opera in addition to the Oceanborn Europe Tour (1999). Nightwish, Wishmaster World Tour, toured Europe and South America in 2000 and 2001. Turunen met Marcelo Cabuli, an Argentine businessman who married in 2003 while on the Wishmaster World Tour.

Turunen first registered at the German Musik University Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe in 2000 to obtain a professional qualification as a soloist with a further specialization in art song. Turunen wanted to go to Karlsruhe due to a lack of attention from the Finnish university for a classical singer due to her participation in a metal band. She performed vocals for Nightwish's 2002 album Century Child and Beto Vázquez Infinity, among other things. Holopainen wrote the scripts and sent Turunen the lyrics and a demo recording of the pre-recorded instrumental tracks by mail, as with the other albums. Turunen conceived her vocal lines and the choral passages based on the demo.

Turunen went to South America in 2002, appearing in the classic Lied concert Noche Escandinava (Scandinavian Night) to sold-out audiences. Nightwish took a break and Turunen returned to Karlsruhe to finish her studies after an exhausting world tour in aid of Century Child (the World Tour of the Century). Once the hiatus Nightwish released the album Once, it was released in May 2004. In July 2004, the album has sold platinum in Finland and Germany, and was Europe's best-selling record. During 2004 and 2005, the band appeared on the road supporting Once Upon a Tour.

Turunen's first solo single, titled "Yhden enkelin unelma") (One Angel's Dream), received gold in her native country of Finland, and was released for Christmas 2004. It's reentry to position one in the Finnish Charts at Christmas 2005. She produced the duet "Leaving You for Me" in spring 2005, a Martin Kesici-led project, as well as a video.

Sami Vänskä was fired in September 2001, the first change in Nightwish's line up was that he could no longer work with him. Holopainen and Turunen's husband and boss Marcelo Cabuli's relationship deteriorated over the years. This also affected Holopainen and Turunen's relationship. Turunen told the band members that she wanted to leave the band but that she would release one more album and appear in the forthcoming tour, which is planned for 2006/2007. Turunen had already agreed not to make her decision public or release her first solo album after her husband's new studio album, Nightwish. Holopainen and the remaining band members informed Turunen in an open letter that she did not want to work with her anymore, accusing her of diva-like behavior and greed after the conclusion of the Once Upon a Tour on October 21, 2005 (which was announced on YouTube as End of an Age).

Turunen's character was the object of close media coverage after the break and, owing to the open letter's allegations, the public broadcaster picked Turunen's name. Turunen responded via an open letter on her website and in several interviews in which she shared her viewpoint. Holopainen revealed the split in an open letter after nine years of being together for nine years. Marcelo Cabuli sent a letter on the website in February 2006 in response to the continuing media curiosity. He asked that anyone who had questions should contact him. Cabuli wrote a long answer to many of the questions he had received in June 2006. He answered questions relating to the trepidation charge by announcing that the band had agreed on the division of earnings as part of a deal signed at the start of Nightwish. Every band member received a cut of 20% of the band's earnings as a result of the terms of the deal. Marcelo Cabuli said that Turunen had never fought for additional songwriter royalties, unlike others.

Despite the circumstances surrounding the break, Holopainen's admiration of Turunen as an artist remained. He explained that he did not look for a similarly qualified singer to replace Turunen because he believes she is extraordinarily talented in her field and therefore irreplaceable. Turunen said in a chat that she is extremely proud of her time with Nightwish. The remaining band members are highly gifted, and she hopes for them and their new lead singer Anette Olzon.

Turunen held several classical concerts in Finland, Germany, Spain, and Romania at the end of 2005. The only events planned for 2006 were scheduled for her, since she was supposed to perform on another Nightwish album, several concerts, and the debut of her Christmas album Henkäys ikuisuudu (officially translated as Breath from Heaven). Turunen performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in July 2006, this time as the principal act; she appeared alongside Finnish tenor Raimo Sirkiä, who was accompanied by the Kuopio Symphonic Orchestra. Turunen performed classical arias including Puccini's "O mio babbino caro," "Libiamo calici" by Verdi, and several other Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, including "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Phantom of the Opera"—among other tracks. She appeared in November at the Tapiola Choir's "Tomorrow's Child" charity concert as a benefit for the UNICEF Children's Fund. Turunen performed a big concert at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland, on December 6, 2006; the Finnish channel YLE TV2 had it broadcast live to 450,000 viewers. She was selected as the Best Soloist of 2006 by the Finnish Emma Award. Turunen recorded vocals for the track "In the Picture" on the Nuclear Blast All-stars album Into the Sun in the following year.

In August 2006, she began working on My Winter Storm, her next solo album, as the beginning of her main solo project. It was the first time Turunen had written songs. She was aided by several well-known songwriters. James Dooley, a film music composer, wrote the choir and orchestral arrangements. In November 2007, Turunen released My Winter Storm, an album containing various styles, including symphonic metal with classical "operatic" lead vocals. The album debuted on the Finnish charts, gained a gold medal in Russia and gold in Germany, and went platinum in Finland double platinum in Russia and gold in Germany.

She was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer and an Emma for best Finnish artist. Turunen began on the Storm World Tour on November 25, 2007, in the hopes of promoting My Winter Storm. She appeared in 95 concerts in Europe, North, and South America, and she ended her tour at the O2 Academy Islington in London in October 2009. The EP The Seer was first published in the United Kingdom in December 2008, in addition to the new extended version of My Winter Storm, which was released in January 2009.

She also contributed to the Finnish charity Christmas album Maailman kauneulut (Finnish for "The World's Most Beautiful Christmas Songs"), which was released in November 2009. In December 2009, she performed her vocal part for the song "The Good Die Young," a duet with Klaus Meine that is included on the final Scorpions album Sting in the Tail.

Turunen's third album, What Lies Beneath, was released in 2009 and 2010; it was released in September 2010. In an out of the box setting, metal was mixed with classical "operatic" elements. She began performing in many festivals, including the Wacken Open Air and the Graspop Metal Meeting, as well as the Masters of Rock, where she was accompanied by a complete orchestra. The tour is expected to run until April 2012. Alice Cooper was also on the German leg of his Theatre of Death Tour in 2010. She appeared again at the Savonlinna Opera Festival on July 17, 2011 with José Cura and Kuopio Symphony Orchestra accompanying her.

Turunen gained the accolade "Europe's best crossover artist" in March 2012 with over 100,000 votes.

Turunen revealed the title of her 4th solo album, Colours in the Dark, in May 2013. The song "Never Enough" was released as a preview on May 31. Turunen will appear as guest vocalist on the title track and video of Within Temptation's EP Paradise's EP Paradise later this year.

Turunen revealed on her blog that she would soon return to the studio and record vocals for a few songs for her Outlanders project with Torsten Stenzel & Walter Giardino.

The DVD Beauty and the Beat was released in May 2014, bringing live footage from three concerts as part of the Beauty and the Beat World Tour. Tarja appears on the DVD with a symphonic orchestra, choir, and Mike Terrana on drums. Anton Dvok's "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka and Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir") as well as a live version of the 1998 Nightwish song "Swanheart" from the 1998 Nightwish album Oceanborn features Anton Dvok's "Song to the Moon." Left in the Dark, an EP containing alternate interpretations from Tarja's album Colours in the Dark, as well as a studio version of "Into the Sun," were released in July.

Tarja performed two new songs from her forthcoming album, "No Bitter End" and "Goldfinger," which is a retort of the James Bond film's title song.

Tarja has announced that she will debut a new album in the summer of 2016. "She has been working really hard with Tim Palmer to produce the heaviest sound so far" on her fourth rock album, she says. The album will be released in the same veins as her previous albums, but with a fresh attitude and growth. On her official YouTube channel, a teaser with a snippet of two songs was posted. Tarja also revealed the first letter of the album name to be T on February 17, 2016.

Tarja revealed the release of "The Brightest Void, the "prequel" to The Shadow Self, on June 7; The Shadow Self's The Brightest Void has the lyrics "No Bitter End"; the duet with Within Temptation "What About Us?) is the first of "The Blind Soul"; the album "What About Us?" Many front pages, as well as several others.

On August 5, 2016, the Shadow Self was released. The track "Innocence" was the lead single on the album.

Tarja's second classical and Christmas album came out on November 17, 2017. Tarja Turunen's first graphic novel, From Spirits and Ghosts, is also available on the album (Novel for a Dark Christmas). The 40-page book is about Peter Rogers' dark Christmas scripted by Peter Rogers, with Conor Boyle's accompanying artwork.

On July 27, 2018, Tarja unveiled Act II, a live album and DVD recording from the show's return to Milan on November 29, 2016.

Tarja was first published In the Raw on August 30, 2019. Tarja Turunen appeared on this album with other Heavy Metal singers, including Björn Strid, Tommy Karevik, and Cristina Scabbia, thus also playing in the album's vocal collaborations with them.

Tarja revealed the publication of a book in October 2021 called Singing in My Blood, in which the book would tell the story of her life in music.

Tarja began Outlanders, a ten-year project that blends her vocals with electro beats, as well as featuring guest artists such as Yes guitarist Trevor Rabin and jazz guitarist Al Di Meola. Tarja revealed in an interview on August 20, 2022, that not only was she recording on two albums for 2023, but that a new album will be released at the end of 2022.

Source