Tarja Turunen, the Finnish metal vocalist, has redefined the genre by blending operatic elements with heavy metal, breaking gender barriers and transforming live performances into theatrical spectacles.
Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli, born 17 August 1977, known professionally as Tarja Turunen or simply Tarja, is a Finnish heavy metal singer songwriter. She is a lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves. Turunen studied singing at Sibelius Academy and Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. She is a professional classical lied singer, and the former lead vocalist of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which she founded with Tuomas Holopainen and Emppu Vuorinen in 1996.
