Carla Huhtanen Headshot

Carla Huhtanen

Get Carla Huhtanen Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Carla Huhtanen BIO


Canadian-born Carla Huhtanen is praised by audiences and by her peers for her “vivid, fine-toned, accurately placed coloratura” (Independent) and her “gorgeous toned soprano of immense vocal flexibility” (Globe and Mail). Recent performances include Konstanze in The Abduction from the Seraglio with Opera Columbus, Il ritorno di Ulisse with Opera Atelier, Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) with the Sudbury Symphony and a Bernstein Tribute with the RTÉ Orchestra (Dublin) with John Wilson.
Carla debuted in Italy at Gran Teatro la Fenice as Daisy Park in Gershwin’s Lady, Be Good! and returned to La Fenice as Athenaïs in Cherubini’s Anacréon. In the UK, she was Lisetta in Garsington Opera’s La Gazzetta (Rossini) and returned as Serpetta in their production of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, a performance repeated at the Barbican Centre’s Mostly Mozart series. Active in France, she has sung the title role of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen for festival mars en baroque (Provence tour) and Angelica in Händel’s Orlando for Théatre Gyptis (Marseille), at festival musique au coeur (Antibes) and festival de Chartres. A reprise performance of Lady, Be Good! took her to Lisbon’s Teatro Sao Carlos and she was featured soloist in a Leonard Bernstein Tribute with the Israel Philharmonic. Other highlights include Cunegonde in Candide with the BBC Concert Orchestra and at the Valletta Festival in Malta. She was soloist with the Royal Philharmonic and the Welsh National Opera Orchestra with Carl Davis for a concert tour of the UK and Germany.
A favourite at Toronto's Opera Atelier, she has sung leading roles in Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Der Freischütz, The Magic Flute, the Monteverdi operas, and toured both Lully's Armide and Persée to the Royal Theatre at Versailles. She returns to OA in 2019/20 for Don Giovanni and Händel's La Resurrezione.
As a leading interpreter of modern and contemporary music, Carla performs regularly with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, Music on Main (Vancouver) and Tapestry Opera. She recently toured with the Toronto Symphony in le soleil des eaux by Pierre Boulez, in which “her soprano spoke clearly throughout her range and lent itself beautifully to Boulez’s ebbs and flows, bursting out of the orchestra’s colorful splashes and acting as a shimmering extension of upward-reaching choral waves...” (bachtrack.com). With Tapestry, Carla appeared in Tables:Turned, The Shadow and Rocking Horse Winner (Dora Award nominee performance), and with Soundstreams, in Cage/Saariaho, Reich, Tan Dun and Unsuk Chin concerts. She works closely with composers to develop and premiere new Canadian works, and also sings the music of Crumb, Scelsi, Leroux, Dusapin, Adès and Knussen.
Other concert performances include Mass in B Minor, Messiah, Carmina Burana, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Five Images after Sappho with the Kitchener-Waterloo and Kingston Symphony Orchestras and Pulitzer Prize-winning Paul Moravec’s The Blizzard Voices with Opera Omaha. Carla's love for chamber music has led to fruitful collaborations with Tafelmusik, the Gryphon Trio, Standing Wave, and the Art of Time Ensemble.
Chandos records recently released a Vaughan-Williams compendium CD featuring Carla – it has been nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Carla Huhtanen STAGE CREDITS

[West End]
West End Concert, 2005
Cunegonde


Carla Huhtanen Videos

Carla Huhtanen News


Opera Atelier Celebrates Spring With Fully-Staged Premiere of Handel's THE RESURRECTION


Opera Atelier has announced the much anticipated finale of its 2022/23 season Handel's The Resurrection, on stage April 6 and 8 at 7:30pm and April 9 at 2:30pm at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.

Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS, Handel's THE RESURRECTION & More Announced for Opera Atelier's 2022/23 Season


Opera Atelier’s Founding Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski C.M. and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M. today announced the company’s powerful 2022/23 season with a live subscription series titled Passion Returns. 

Soundstreams Returns to the Stage With A LOVE SONG TO TORONTO


Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director, Soundstreams, today announced details about the company's inaugural onstage production since March 2020 'A Love Song To Toronto'. Presented on the eve of an historic Soundstreams tour taking Canadian music to Germany and the U.K., 'A Love Song to Toronto' is a celebration of renowned Canadian composer Claude Vivier's works. This in-person event will be performed live at St. Andrew's Church, Toronto on April 28th, 2022.

Soundstreams to Return To The Stage With A LOVE SONG TO TORONTO


Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director, Soundstreams, today announced details about the company's inaugural onstage production since March 2020 'A Love Song To Toronto'.

Soundstreams Announces Details About the World Premiere of LOVE SONGS


Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director, Soundstreams, today announced additional details about the company’s world premiere production of Love Songs, as part of the company’s 2021/22 season.

Soundstreams Announces 2021/22 Season: Renewal & Rebirth


Lawrence Cherney, Founding Artistic Director, Soundstreams, today announced the company’s 2021/22 season, Renewal & RebirthRenewal & Rebirth, with five world premieres set to showcase the work of outstanding Canadian and international composers through innovative and multi-genre musical experiences. 

Opera Atelier Announces 2021/22 Season


Opera Atelier has announced a thrilling 2021 Fall Season with the film premiere of Angel - fully-staged and filmed at St. Lawrence Hall, in strict compliance with provincial health and safety regulations - streaming Thursday, October 28, 2021 at 7pm ET (available until November 12, 2021).

Opera Atelier Presents Handel's THE RESURRECTION, Streaming May 27


Opera Atelier announces the anticipated new date for the online presentation of Handel's The Resurrection - fully-staged and filmed at St. Lawrence Hall, in strict compliance with provincial health and safety regulations - streaming May 27, 2021 at 7pm ET (Available until June 10, 2021).

Opera Atelier Announces Reimagined 35th Anniversary Season - A SEASON OF VISIONS & DREAMS


Opera Atelier has announced its new, reimagined 35th Anniversary Season with two fully-staged and livestreamed productions at Koerner Hall at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning.

Opera Atelier Closes 2019/20 Season With Handel's THE RESURRECTION


Opera Atelier announces the much anticipated finale of its 2019/20 Season with Handel's The Resurrection, on stage from April 11a?"19, 2020 at Koerner Hall, TELUS Centre. The Resurrection marks the Canadian premiere of Handel's first acknowledged masterpiece in a fully staged production. Opera Atelier's lavish production will feature an innovative, multi-level set by Gerard Gauci, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Elisa Citterio, Music Director) under the baton of David Fallis, and choreography by Founding Co-Artistic Director Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M. performed by Artists of Atelier Ballet. The all-star Canadian cast includes Soprano Carla Huhtanen, Soprano Meghan Lindsay, Mezzo Soprano Allyson McHardy, Tenor Isaiah Bell, and Bass Stephen Hegedus.

BWW Review: DON GIOVANNI Gets a Topically Modern and Classically Lavish Production


In this revival of Opera Atelier's 2011 DON GIOVANNI, questions of morality combat comedy in perfect harmony. Under director Marshall Pynkoski, this retelling of the tale of the Don examines his lifestyle as a full-time seducer and contrasts it against the ideals of the women he's loved and left (and their men).

DON GIOVANNI Launches Opera Atelier's 2019/20 Season


Opera Atelier's 2019/20 Season opens with their ground-breaking period production of Don Giovanni from October 31a?"November 9, 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. This is the first time Opera Atelier's acclaimed production has been remounted for Toronto audiences since its 2011 premiere. Don Giovanni features Douglas Williams as Don Giovanni, Colin Ainsworth as Don Ottavio, Gustav Andreassen as the Commendatore, Mireille Asselin as Zerlina, Stephen Hegedus as Leporello, Carla Huhtanen as Donna Elvira, Olivier Laquerre as Masetto, and Meghan Lindsay as Donna Anna. 

Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works Featuring The Toronto Symphony Orchestra Receives JUNO Award


As announced today by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) during the 48th annual JUNO Awards ceremony, the recording of Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) received a JUNO Award in the Best Classical Album: Large Ensemble category.

TSO Receives JUNO Nomination For Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works


The recording of Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade to Music; Flos Campi featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) received a nomination for a JUNO Award in the Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble category.

Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works Featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Receives GRAMMY Nomination


The recording of Vaughan Williams: Piano Concerto; Oboe Concerto; Serenade to Music; Flos Campi featuring the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) received a nomination for a 61st annual GRAMMY® Award in the Best Classical Compendium category.

Chandos Releases Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works By The TSO & Peter Oundjian


The month of June at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a long tribute to Peter Oundjian, who completes his tenure as Music Director of the TSO at the end of the 2017/18 season. One of the many highlights this month includes today's release of the TSO's new recording. Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works (CHAN5201), on the prestigious Chandos label, is available in stores across North America, as well as on iTunes and Apple Music, as of today. The recording is also available for streaming on Spotify.

November 2017 at the TSO: Measha Brueggergosman, Louis Lortie, and Angela Hewitt Grace the TSO stage


From the moving and powerful Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation to the family fun of Wall-to-Wall Percussion, November at the TSO explores the gamut of human emotions. Additional musical offerings include the rich music of Vaughan Williams and Mahler, the pure interpretations of Angela Hewitt, and Stravinsky's rousing Firebird suite.

COME FROM AWAY and MATILDA Receive 14 Dora Award Nominations - See All The Nominees!


At a press conference held May 30 in the lobby of the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 235 nominations for the 38th Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards, which recognize excellence in the performing arts in Toronto.

Soundstreams in partnership with 21C Music Festival presentTHE MUSIC OF UNSUK CHIN


Soundstreams, in partnership with The Royal Conservatory of Music 21C Music Festival, is thrilled to present The Music of Unsuk Chin on May 28th at Koerner Hall. The concert will feature opera, musical parody, jazz, and a virtuoso chamber orchestra under the baton of award-winning conductor Guillaume Bourgogne.

Toronto Symphony to Tour Israel and Europe


After a couple of preview concerts at home on May 3 and 4, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and its Music Director, Peter Oundjian, embark on a momentous Tour of Israel & Europe. The Canadian orchestra—touring Israel for the very first time—performs in Jerusalem at Sherover Hall, Jerusalem Theatre, Israel's largest centre for art and culture; and at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, home to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Next, the Orchestra travels to Vienna, Regensburg, Essen, and Prague, as part of the famous Prague Spring International Music Festival, which is celebrating its 72nd year. Over the course of the seven-concert, five-city tour, distinguished Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov, celebrated Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki, and dazzling Canadian soprano Carla Huhtanen will join the TSO as featured soloists.

Carla Huhtanen FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many Broadway shows has Carla Huhtanen been in?

Carla Huhtanen has not appeared on Broadway.

How many West End shows has Carla Huhtanen been in?

Carla Huhtanen has appeared on London's West End in 1 shows.

What was Carla Huhtanen's first West End show?

Carla Huhtanen's first West End show was Candide which opened in 2005

Get Carla Huhtanen Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos