Mika Kares
Bass
Mika Kares comes from Finland and studied at the Sibelius-Academy and with prof. Roland Hermann. He was a member of the solo ensemble of the Baden State Opera from 2005 to end of the season 2010. Mr. Kares has made a name for himself as Wagner, Verdi and Händel singer in particular. 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. Engagements for the future 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.
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 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).
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, Vodník 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, Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Ein Eremit in Der Freischütz, Timur in Turandot, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Verdi's Requiem. 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.
For the 2008/2009 season, Mr. Kares sang the following roles while at Karlsruhe: 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. He also performed Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Savonlinna.
Other roles in his repertoire include Ramfis and Il Re in Aida, and Massimiliano Moor in I Masnadieri. Mika Kares holds a Wagner scholarship in 2010, was awarded "Der Goldene Fächer" as the best singer of the Baden State Opera 2009, and was Savonlinna Opera Festival's Artist of the Year 2008.