Mika Kares
Mr.Kares made his professional debut at the Ilmajoki Music Festival, where he played the Sheriff in Leevi Madetoja's opera Osthrobothians in May 2005. Subsequently, his career expanded very rapidly in Germany. In his first two seasons there, he acquired a large repertoire including Timur(Turandot), Colline(La Bohème), Angelotti(Tosca), Sarastro(Die Zauberflöte), and Bartolo(Le Nozze di Figaro). He also performed his first Der Ring des Nibelungen and debuted as Fafner(Das Rheingold), Hunding(Die Walküre) and Fafner(Siegfried).
In the 2007/2008 season, he went on contract at Karlsruhe, Germany, where he further expanded his repertoire to include several new roles: Il Commendatore in Le Nozze di Figaro, Vodnik in Rusalka, and Johann in Werther. He also repeated the roles of King Philip in Don Carlo, Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Fafner in Siegfried, Ein Eremit in Der Freischütz, Timur in Turandot, Masetto in Don Giovanni...
Mr.Kares then made his debut at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in the title role of Boito's Mefistofele in the summer of 2008. He received an Artist of the Year prize there and sang his own concert in Savonlinna in July 2008.He also sang in September 2008 the Rossini's Stabat mater in Vatican, Rome.
For the 2008/2009 season in Karlsruhe Mr.Kares sang Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Ein Eremit Samiel in Der Freischütz; King Philip in Don Carlos; Lodovico in Otello; Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro; Radamisto in King Farasmane; Hunding in Die Walküre; and Fafner in Das Rheingold. In 2009 as well as 2010 he has been heard as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Savonlinna. 2010 Mika Kares performed Grenvil in La Traviata in Valencia, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia.
Mika Kares holds a Wagner scholarship in 2010 and was awarded "Der Goldene Fächer"as the best singer of the Baden State Opera 2009.
Guest appearences have taken him to Hong Kong, Beijing, Rome and Valencia where he has worked with such great conductors as Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta, among others.
Recent engagements include Acis & Galathea at the Salzburg Mozart Week, Tosca and Fidelio in Palau de les Arts in Valencia, and the title role in Attila at the Seattle Opera.