Turun Sanomat Tarja marzec 2007

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Turun Sanomat

Tarja Turunen doesn't believe in success without suspense
Open secrets: On an opera stage you're naked with your voice

Soprano singer Tarja Turunen broke a lamp in school with her voice. Now she's doing her first solo album. Husband Marcelo Cabuli can sing in the car.

Tarja Turunen started her music studies at age six. Twelve years later Nightwish was founded. While Turunen performed with the band for almost half a million people all over, she studied classical singing in Sibelius Academy and Karlsruhe music university in Germany. In the spring (aey?, should of course be autumn) of 2005 Turunen was fired from the band and she moved to a solo career.

Are you as nervous of a heavy gig than an opera performance?
- When you've sung the same songs many times, the suspense is just a little pinching. I've sung less opera than heavy gigs, so I'm also more nervous about that. When you sing opera, you're naked on stage with your voice. Every performance demands careful concentration. Without suspense the gig won't be a good one, you forget the words or otherwise screw up. I've many times on tour said to the guys "say something. I'm not nervous enough". Which they reply by saying the in ear monitors aren't working or that only five people have showed up which makes me more nervous than performing to 500 people.

Have you tried to teach Marcelo to sing?
- Not really. Marcelo's singing is quite desperate. He hasn't got the gift for it. I of course let him sing in the car, but we don't sing together.

What's the longest time you've gone without singing?
- A month last year's January, when I was in Costa Rica with my friends. We sang some songs in the car, but I didn't practise properly.

Did you have withdrawal symptoms?
- Yes. I did weird breathing exercises in the hotel room and thought with terror about the day I should practise again. Getting into a good singing condition demands intensive rehearsal. Pianist say that they loose their touch if they don't play for a while.

A big, black yo-yo
In what stage is your solo-album?
- We're just getting started. Right now we're looking for songs and people for my team. We'll head to the studio next year.

What are you the most nervous about making an album?
- A first solo-album is a challenging thing. With it I'll show what my music style is. The album will be very versatile, but I'm still nervous if people will like it.

You practise singing at home. How do your neighbours react to that?
- They don't. We just had a new neighbour and I went and introduced myself. (S)he said that (s)he'll gladly listen. A singers job is pleasant and it would be quite sad if I couldn't practise at home.

Have you ever been able to brake something made of glass with your voice?
- At school my girlfriends laughed when I came from the practise class and said that the lamp broke. It was an old fluorescent lamp that had chirred for a long time. It was just a matter of a certain pitch that it broke. I never told to principal about it.

You've said that having a flu is a singers wirst nightmare. What's the second worst?
- Lack of sleep. It immediately affects the performance. On tour you just try to rest whenever you can, no matter what the time is. Regardless of that after a three-four week long tour you're completely broken.

If you could sing a duet with any singer, who would you choose?
- It would've been amazing to sing with Freddie Mecury. He was a truly charismatic and personal singer with a brilliant musical intuition.

You partly live in Argentina. How do Argentineans act when they hear music?
- The applauses are huge, which can also be because they consider me as their own girl. From the stage you can see a huge black mass of people, that moves like a yo-yo. When Argentineans applaud they do it from the bottom of their hearts.

Windwipers on
You have been called a church freak. What is the fascination with churches?
- On tour a church is a place, where you can run to from all the noise and uproar. In a church you can be completely yourself and listen to your innermost thoughts and to thank. You often notice how seldom people stop to listen to themselves. It's actually quite scary.

What's the most impressive church you've been to?
- Montreal's cathedral that has dark wood decor and amazing turquoise floors. They'd used turquoise also elsewhere in the upholstery. The church is really beautiful.

What do you believe in?
- I'm an Evangelical-Lutheran. I believe in God. But for me the most important thing is my own personal faith. God for me is the highest being.

Angelina Jolie has told that she donates a third of her income to charity. How are you a part of charity? Have you thought about utilizing your publicity in charity?
- Jolie has a lot bigger status than I do. If I was as well-known, I could do something similar and more, than I am able to do now. In November I for example perform in a Unicef-consert and the profits are going to the children of Laos and Karelia. I also do small charity work without publicity.

You mix terms, you've for example called a fibreglass boat a silicon boat. When is the last time you've mixed a term?
- At home I speak english, in Argentina Spanish and I've also studied in Germany so I sometimes mix the Finnish words. I think the last time was when I asked Marcelo why he has the wind wipers on, when I ment the windshield wiper.

Tarja supports Finland
You traded your Nightwish clothes for a wet suit. How do you see yourself in it?
- Like a duck. I’m always cold, so it’s wonderful that I can swim with my wet suit on for a long time in Finnish waters without getting cold. I don’t feel femine in the suit. It’s very un-sexy.

What do you think when you see a girl that's dressed like you when you sang in Nightwish?
- I know that many girls have even gotten dresses like mine made. It's really flattering. It's also sometimes wild especially when a fan comes to see our gig from half way around the world dressed like me.

What's the most terrible song you've heard?
- There isn't one. Terrible is a too strong word. There are all these summer hits, but they're mostly amusing.

What things would you like to develop or take foreword in Finnish opera?
- That question is too big for me. I've always waved Finland's flag abroad. It would be great to take Finnish opera more to other countries.

The garden grows rank, Marcelo mows the lawn
I hear you've intrested in gardening? How is the garden doig?
- It's growing rank, since it's left without care. We've planned to renovate the garden in the end of autumn.

Does Marcelo help you pull up weeds?
- Marcelo mows the lawn, I pull up weeds.

What is most wrong with Finnish society?
- That people don't see how good we have it here. There aren't many countries better than Finland.

You said in MeNaiset-magazine's article 'now I dare to laugh'. What is your laughter like?
- Cheerful and it comes out often.

Best instruction in life you learned from your mother?
- Mum always reminded that being yourself, you'll get the furthest in life.

You perform today in Parainen (in Rhapsody in Rock). What kind of set do you have?
- All kind of songs. I sing for example pop songs, parts of musicals and rock.