Before beginning his singing studies at the Sibelius Academy, young Finnish bass, Markus Suihkonen (b. 1993), studied the cello for 15 years. At the Sibelius Academy, he has studied under professors Petteri Salomaa and Jaakko Ryhänen, as well as with Mika Kares, and attended master classes conducted by Martin Katz, Dorothy Irving, Helen Donath, and Soile Isokoski. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Sibelius Academy in 2017.

 

In 2015, Markus Suihkonen won the Timo Mustakallio Singing Competition and was awarded a scholarship from the Martti Talvela Foundation.

 

Further, Suihkonen made his debut at the Finnish National Opera in the autumn 2015 in two minor roles in Shostakovich's The Nose. In 2016, among several opera projects, he sung the recitals at the Mariinsky Theater and at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Furthermore, Suihkonen has performed with Finnish orchestras as a concert and an oratorio soloist as well in Sallinen's opera Kullervo at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2017.

 

In the season 2017/18 Markus Suihkonen was part of the Young Ensemble at the Vlaamse Opera in Antwerp, Belgium. He sang the bass part in Mozart's Requiem as well as roles such as Daniel in Donizetti's 'Le duc d'Albe', Pistola in Verdi's 'Falstaff', and Publio in Mozart's 'La clemenza di Tito'.

 

Suihkonen is currently a member of the Opera Studio in 'Bayerische Staatsoper' in Munich. During the season 2018/19 he sang there roles such as King René in Tchaikovsky's 'Iolanta' and Lesbo in Handel's 'Agrippinna'. In the spring 2019 he also performed Publio in Mozart's 'La clemenza di Tito' at the Royal Opéra de Wallonie in Liège.

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The season 2019/20 will inculde new roles in Bayerische Staatsoper like Angelotti in Puccini's 'Tosca', and Sid in 'La Fanciulla del West'. Suihkonen will also return to the Finnish National Opera in the spring 2020 as Leporello in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni'. He will also sing as a concert soloist with orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.