Mati Turi

January 20, 1968, Tartu
Member of the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians since 2009

Mati Turi is a highly valued tenor both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage in Estonia and abroad. His repertoire includes a rich selection of opera roles, solo parts of numerous oratorial works, and vocal chamber music. He sings music from the Baroque to the works of contemporary composers.

Mati Turi studied choral conducting at the Heino Eller Tartu Music School, graduating in 1988. In 1996, he graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in conducting class of Ants Üleoja. He studied further singing with Ervin Kärvet and since 2005 with Jaakko Ryhänen. In the years 1992–2005, he was a chorus member and soloist of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Since 2005, he is a freelance singer.

Mati Turi is one of the leading Estonian oratorio soloists. He has sung Claudio Montveredi’s „Vespro della Beata Vergine“, Dieterich Buxtehude’s „Membra Jesu nostri“, Maurice Duruflé’s „Cum jubilo“, Antonio Vivaldi’s Mass and Vespers, Georg Friedrich Händel’s oratorios „The Messiah“, „Salomon“, „Jeptha“ and „Theodora“, Johann Sebastian Bach’s „St. Matthew Passion“, „St. Mark Passion“, „St. John Passion“ (Evangelist and tenor arias), Mass in B flat minor, „Christmas Oratorio“, „Easter Oratorio“, Magnificat and cantatas, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Requiem and oratorio „Davide penitente”, Joseph Haydn’s  „The Creation“, „Harmoniemsse“ and Masses, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and „Missa solemnis“, Giacomo Puccini’s „Messa di Gloria”, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, Camille Saint-Saëns’s „Christmas Oratorio”, Johannes Brahms’s „Rinaldo“ and  „Liebeslieder Waltzes“, Hector Berlioz’s „L'enfance du Christ“, Franz Schubert’s Masses, Max Bruch’s „Moses“, Felix Mendelssohn’s „Paulus“, Antonín Dvořák’s Requiem, Carl Orff’s „Carmina Burana“, Benjamin Britten’s „The Illuminations“, „The Serenade“, „The Rape of Lucretia“ and „Saint Nicholas“, Gustav Mahler’s „Das Lied von der Erde“, Artur Honegger’s „Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher“, Igor Stravinsky’s „Oedipus rex“, „Renard“ and Mass, Maurizio Kagel’s „St. Bach Passion“, Richard Strauss’s „German motet“, Fridrich Bruk’s „Artist Chagall“, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem. Among new music by Estonian composers, Turi has premiered as a soloist Cyrillus Kreek’s „Requiem“, Johan Tamverk’s „David and Goliath“, Enn Võrk’s „Look After“, Arvo Pärt’s „Passio“ and „Litany“, Veljo Tormis’s „Estonian Ballads“, „Meestelaulud“, the cantata „Kalevipoeg“ etc. In June 2018, Turi participated in the performance of Rudolf Tobias’s oratorio „Jonah“, the premiere of the author’s Estonian language version and original orchestration in Estonia.

Mati Turi’s international career as an opera singer began in 2004 with Prince role in Dvořák’s opera Rusalka at Alexander Theatre in Finland and gained ground after becoming a freelance singer in 2005. The following performances included Juhana (Kokkonen’s The Last Temptations) at Tampere Opera, Mephistopheles (Busoni’s Doctor Faustus) at Schleswig-Holstein festival, Alwa (Berg’s Lulu) at Kokkola Opera, Don José (Bizet’s Carmen), and Paul (Korngold’s Dead City) at Finnish National Opera. In 2011, Turi made his debut as a Wagner singer with the title role in Wagner’s opera Siegfried at the Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands. He has also sung Wagner roles at Longborough Festival Opera, Opera North (UK), and Theater Chemnitz in Germany.

Since 2007, Turi’s long-term ensemble partner has been pianist Martti Raide. They have mainly performed German (Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Arnold Schönberg, Anton Webern, Erich Wolfgang Korngold) and Estonian solo songs (Mart Saar, Artur Kapp, Eduard Tubin, Ester Mägi, Tõnu Kõrvits) but also Nordic, French and Russian vocal music. They have appeared in the U.S. Canada, Russia and Germany.

Turi has appeared with many renowned ensembles and orchestra, e.g. Corelli Consort, Il Gardellino and Ensemble Oxalys (Belgium), Ensemble Inégal (Czech), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Pärnu City Orchestra, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Lapland Chamber Orchestra (Finland), Malmö Symphony Orchestra (Sweden), Israel Chamber Orchestra, Australia Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Italy). He has cooperated with such conductors like Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Richard Farnes, Hannu Lintu, Nikolai Alexeev, Eric Ericson, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Antonello Manacorda, Leif Segerstam, Frank Beerman, Sigvards Kļava, Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, Eri Klas, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Olari Elts, Tõnu Kaljuste, Jüri Alperten, Anu Tali, Arvo Volmer, Paul Mägi and Lauri Sirp.

Mati Turi performs with pianist Martti Raide Marts Saar's solo songs on CD "Ussisõnad" (Martti Raide, Estonian Public Broadcasting, 2017).

Mati Turi has been awarded the Georg Ots Award (2018), the Estonian Annual Theatre Award in the field of music production for Tannhäuser in Richard Wagner’s opera Tannhäuser (2014, Estonian National Opera), the Annual Prize of the Endowment for Music of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2012, 2002) and has received the Cultural Endowment of Estonia Live and Shine grant (2015).

Mati Turi’s opera roles:
Carlo (Vicomte de Sirval) – Gaetano Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix (Theatre Vanemuine, 2021)
Count René of Luxembourg – Franz Lehár's The Count of Luxembourg (Estonian National Opera, 2020)
Ernesaks and Anto Raukas – Alfred MIM's opera Estonian History. A Nation Born on Shoch (Estonian National Opera, 2018)
Kalev – Rasmus Puur’s The Colours of Clouds (Estonian National Opera, 2017)
Erik – Richard Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (Opera North, Uk, 2015; Estonian National Opera)
Ismaele – Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco (Tampere Opera, 2015)
Prince Andrey Khovansky – Modest Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina (Oper Stuttgart, 2014)
Jonas Kempe – Eduard Tubin’s The Parson of Reigi (Theatre Vanemuine, 2014)
Goffredi – Georg Friedrich Händel’s Rinaldo (Estonian National Opera, 2013)
Parsifal – Richard Wagner’s Parsifal (Theater Chemnitz, Germany, 2013)
Tannhäuser – Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser (Estonian National Opera, 2013)
Phoebus, Autumn and Chinese man – Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen (Theatre Vanemuine, 2011)
Siegfried – Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen/Götterdämmerung (Nationale Reisopera, Enschede, The Netherlands, 2012)
Siegfried – Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen/Siegfried (Nationale Reisopera, Enschede, The Netherlands, 2011; Longborough Festival Opera, 2012; Opera North, England 2013)
Paul – Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Dead City (Finnish National Opera, 2010)
Don José – Georges Bizet’s Carmen (Kokkola Opera, 2010)
Alwa – Alban Berg’s Lulu (Kokkola Opera, 2009)
Mephistopheles – Ferruccio Busoni’s Doctor Faustus (Schleswig-Holstein, 2009)õ
Wallenberg 2 – Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Wallenberg (Estonian National Opera, 2007)
Arbace, High priest – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Idomeneo (concert performance at the Estonia Concert Hall, Tallinn, 2006)
Florestan – Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio (Nargen Opera, 2005)
Cassio – Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello (Estonian National Opera, 2005)
Juhana – Joonas Kokkonen’s The Last Temptations (Tampere Opera, 2005; Prague Spring International Music Festival, 2006)
Rinaldo – Joseph Haydn’s Armida (Nargen Opera, 2005)
Ecclitico – Joseph Haydn’s The World of the Moon (Nargen Opera, 2005)
Gernardo – Joseph Haydn’s The Desert Island (Nargen Opera, 2004)
Crazy woman – Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s opera project at Tallinn City Theatre, 2004)
Endel – Karl August Hermann’s Uku and Vanemuine and Raimo Kangro's Uku and Ecu (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra’s joint project at Rotermann Salt Storage, Tallinn, 1998)
Prince – Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka (Alexander Theatre, Finland, 2004)
Mao – John Adams’s Nixon in China (concert performance, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir’s and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra’s joint project, 1998)

Mati Turi´s homepage
 
© EMIC 2013
(updated on April 2017)

The texts on the EMIC's homepage are protected by the copyright law. They can be used for non-commercial purposes referring to the author (when specified) and source (Estonian Music Information Centre).