Virpi Räisänen, one of Finland's internationally renowned mezzo-sopranos, made her debut in 2009 at the Salzburg Festival in Luigi Nono's opera "Al gran sole carico d’amore" as a soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic. Since then, Räisänen has been highly sought after as a soloist by numerous leading orchestras and chamber music ensembles across Europe, USA and Asia. She is particularly known for her musical versatility in interpreting both classical and contemporary music. Räisänen has performed as a soloist a.o. at the Filarmonica della Scala in La Scala, Milan, the French Radio Orchestra and Choir, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. She has also been a soloist with Finland’s leading orchestras on several occasions. Räisänen made her debut as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic in February 2023 in three concerts conducted by Matthias Pintscher with whom she worked also for the world premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando’s World as soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchetsra in Suntory Hall 2023. She has had several engagements with the Berlin State Opera and Dutch National Opera, and she has performed at the Finnish National Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Aix-En-Provence Opera Festival, and the Ruhrtriennale, among others. www.virpiraisanen.com