Tarja Turunen – ANKH TV

Tarja @ Luna Park Ride

Live in Buenos Aires 2011

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.

Turunen began her musical training at an early age, initially studying piano before focusing on voice. She later pursued formal classical education at the Sibelius Academy in Finland and the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe in Germany, specializing in classical lied, opera technique, and vocal interpretation. Her academic background strongly shaped her disciplined vocal approach, clarity of diction, and sustained operatic projection, even in amplified metal settings.

In 1996, she co-founded Nightwish alongside keyboardist and main composer Tuomas Holopainen and guitarist Emppu Vuorinen. As the band’s original lead vocalist, Tarja became the sonic hallmark of Nightwish’s early and classic era, appearing on influential albums such as Angels Fall First (1997), Oceanborn (1998), Wishmaster (2000), Century Child (2002), and Once (2004). These records played a decisive role in popularizing symphonic metal worldwide, blending orchestral arrangements, fantasy-driven lyrics, and operatic vocals with power and heavy metal instrumentation.

After her departure from Nightwish in 2005, Tarja launched a successful solo career, allowing her to explore a broader musical identity. Her solo work spans symphonic metal, heavy metal, orchestral rock, classical crossover, and pure classical music. Albums such as My Winter Storm (2007), What Lies Beneath (2010), Colours in the Dark (2013), The Shadow Self (2016), and In the Raw (2019) showcased a more personal, darker, and heavier sound, often incorporating modern metal elements and introspective themes.

In parallel, Tarja has maintained a strong presence in the classical and crossover world, releasing projects like Ave Maria – En Plein Air, Beauty & the Beat (with drummer Mike Terrana), and several Christmas albums that reinterpret traditional repertoire through orchestral and choral arrangements. Her classical performances highlight her technical precision, dynamic control, and reverence for traditional vocal forms.

Throughout her career, Tarja has collaborated with a wide range of renowned artists and bands, including Doro Pesch, Within Temptation, Scorpions, Lacrimosa, Schiller, Alissa White-Gluz, and many others. She is also known for extensive international touring, performing with full orchestras, metal bands, and hybrid ensembles across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

Beyond her musical output, Tarja is recognized as a trailblazer for women in metal, influencing countless singers and helping normalize operatic and classically trained female vocals in heavy music. Her career stands as a rare example of sustained artistic relevance across both the metal and classical worlds, balancing technical rigor with emotional intensity and creative independence.

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