Mika Kares
Bass
The young Finnish Bass Mika Kares (born in 1978) began his professional career at the age of 26 in Baden State Theater (Badisches Staatstheater), Karlsruhe. Before that he studied with Professor Sirkku Wahlroos-Kaitila in Sibelius-Academy, Helsinki. He is at the moment a private student of Professor Roland Hermann in Karlsruhe.
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 has acquired a large repertoire, including the following roles: 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 in the following roles for it: Fafner (Das Rheingold), Hunding (Die Walküre) and Fafner (Siegfried).
Now on contract at Karlsruhe, Germany, he has further expanded his repertoire to include several new roles: Il Commendatore (Le Nozze di Figaro), Vodník (Rusalka), and Johann (Werther). Upcoming at Karlsruhe in the 2007-2008 season, he will be premiering as King Philip in Don Carlo, Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Ein Eremit in Der Freischütz, and Verdi's Requiem; and he will be repeating the roles of Timur and Masetto there as well. Mr. Kares will then make his debut at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in the title role of Boito's Mefistofele in the summer of 2008. He recently received an Artist of the Year prize and will sing his own concert in the same opera festival next July.