Mattila, Karita (Marj atta)
Mattila, Karita (Marj atta)
Mattila, Karita (Marjatta) , Finnish soprano; b. Somero, Sept. 5, 1960. She was a pupil of Liisa Linko-Malmio and Kim Borg at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and of Vera Rozsa in London. In 1982 she made her operatic debut as Mozart’s Countess at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki. After winning the Singer of the World Competition in Cardiff in 1983, she appeared as a soloist with many of the world’s major orchs. In 1983 she sang Fiordiligi at the Munich Festival and also made her U.S. debut as Donna Elvira in Washington, D.C.; in 1986 she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Fiordiligi. In 1989 she appeared as Ilia in Idomeneo at the San Francisco Opera. On Oct. 24, 1990, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Donna Elvira, and returned there in 1993 as Eva. She also sang at the Salzburg Festival in the latter year. In 1995 she sang Lisa in The Queen of Spades at the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1996 returned to San Francisco as Elsa. After singing that role and Chrysothemis at Covent Garden in 1997, she was engaged as Jenůfa in Hamburg in 1998. In 1999 she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Emilia Grimaldi. In addition to her Mozart roles, she also became well known as a Wagnerian.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire