Baritone Waltteri Torikka has established himself as one of the most sought-after opera singers of his generation in Finland. This versatile and charismatic performer has received numerous acknowledgments throughout his career, including the HSBC laureate at the Académie du Festival d'Aix, the Martti Talvela Award, the Pro Musica Foundation Young Musician of the Year, the Bayreuth Scholarship, and a first prize at the National Lappeenranta Singing Competition.

He has participated in numerous domestic and international projects at various renowned festivals and collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leif Segerstam, Sakari Oramo, Mikko Franck, John Storgårds, Louis Langrée, Ville Matvejeff, Michael Balke, Risto Joost, Dalia Stasevska, Hannu Lintu, Anna-Maria Helsing, Kaapo Ijas, Atso Almila, Ruut Kiiski and various accomplished directors including Peter Sellars, Stefan Herheim, John Ramster, Emmanuelle Cordoliani, Alfonso Romero, Riikka Oksanen, Pertti Sveholm, Erik Söderblom, Ville Saukkonen, Tuomas Parkkinen, Jussi Nikkilä, Marco Bjurström and Vilppu Kiljunen, among others. He is also actively contributing to the creation of new opera premiere productions.

Waltteri began piano lessons at the age of six at the Tampere Conservatory. As a member of the band "Postiklubi," founded during his time at the Tampere Arts-Oriented Senior Secondary School, he won the Finnish Rock Lyrics Finnish Championship in 2002. Subsequently, he embarked on classical singing lessons at the Tampere Conservatory. His year-long service in the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces enriched his performance experience.

Upon entering the Sibelius Academy, Waltteri initially pursued studies in the church music department before concentrating on vocal music studies. His musical education continued at the Karlsruhe Hochschule für Musik, where he further honed his expertise in Lied and opera studies. Waltteri Torikka holds a Master's degree in music and has completed opera training at the Royal Danish Opera Academy and the Sibelius Academy. He has also participated in numerous masterclasses and private lessons with renowned teachers, including Jack Livigni, Helmut Deutsch, Mikael Eliasen, Julia Varady, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ryland Davies, Susanna Eken, Fiona McSherry, José Van Dam, Paul Farrington, and Udo Reinemann among others. In 2022, Waltteri successfully completed separate pedagogical studies for teachers in the arts at the Uniarts Helsinki.

In 2009, Waltteri received the HSBC Laureate award at the Académie du Festival d'Aix, which included recitals in various prestigious locations in France, including Paris, Dijon, and Lille, culminating in a final concert at the d'Aix Festival. His debut at the Finnish National Opera occurred in 2009, where he performed in Madetoja's opera Pohjalaiset. That same year, he was selected as a soloist for the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Young Soloists concert.

In 2010, he won first prize at the National Lappeenranta Singing Competition.

During the 2010-11 season, he made his debut at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, where he performed the role of Schaunard in Puccini's opera La Boheme. For the 2012-2013 season, the Finnish National Opera engaged Waltteri Torikka as a soloist trainee in eight productions. His roles included Papageno in The Magic Flute, Silvio in Pagliacci, and the title role in Jukka Linkola's opera Robin Hood. In Richard Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde, he sang the role of Melot (Salonen/Sellars/Viola) at the Helsinki Festival in 2012 and at the Baltic Sea Festival at Stockholm Berwaldhallen.

His performance as Don Giovanni at the Helsinki Festival in August 2013 garnered significant attention.

His appearance at the Independence Day Gala Concert at Tampere Hall introduced the young baritone to a wider audience through a live TV broadcast on Yle.

Waltteri made his debut as the title character in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Turku Swedish Theatre in 2013. Subsequently, he performed in operas like La Boheme and Carmen at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2014. He became the first Finnish singer to be invited to the Emmerich Smola Förderpreis TV documentary competition (SWR) and performed with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. In the same year, Torikka was awarded the Young Musician of the Year by the Pro Musica Foundation. He also successfully debuted in the role of Marcello in the Danish National Opera's touring production of La Boheme, performing with several Danish orchestras.

In 2015, Waltteri sang the part of Sibelius' Kullervo as a soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the BBC Proms festival (Royal Albert Hall) and at the Lahti Sibelius Festival.

He received excellent reviews for his portrayal of Don Giovanni at the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka, where he then made his debut as the title character in Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin in 2016. The same year, Torikka impressed audiences as Don Giovanni at the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Waltteri won the *Stars Stars* Music Show on MTV3 Finland in 2015. Several albums recorded with the Jyväskylä Symphony were released by Warner Music Finland. His boundary-breaking debut album, "Sydän," released in autumn 2015, achieved platinum status in record time and earned him a Finnish Grammy nomination. This was followed by a solo album, "Rakkaus," which achieved gold status. "Sydämeni Joulu" reached the top spot on the Finnish official album chart. Waltteri Torikka Trio's 2017 album, featuring new arrangements of Tapio Rautavaara's folk songs, was chosen as the Folk Song Album of the Year by Helsingin Sanomat. In 2020, the album "Toivo" (Hope) was released, featuring new arrangements of beloved Finnish melodies to inspire hope during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His latest concert hall tour, Amore, featured Italian and Spanish classics, as well as gems from stage and film music. Waltteri Torikka performed in sold-out concerts at the Hartwall Arena three times between 2017 and 2019, alongside heavy tenor Jarkko Ahola.

Waltteri also appears on classical albums such as Ilkka Kuusisto's song album, on a complete recording of Sibelius' stage music with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam (Naxos), and in the recording of Gounod's Faust at the Croatian National Opera in Rijeka (Decca).

In the summer seasons of 2017-2019, Waltteri interpreted the title role of Mannerheim at the Ilmajoki Opera Festival.

As a young Sillanpää and the artistic director of the Sillanpää opera (Finnish Nobel laureate in literature), he performed in the summer of 2017 and 2018 at the Hämeenkyrö Festival, which became a hit with both the public and critics.

Waltteri performed in front of a thousand-strong audience in Helsinki during Easter 2018 as Jesus in the Via Crucis spectacle.

In 2017, there were also debuts such as Mendelssohn's Elias with the Jyväskylä Symphony, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen at the Jyväskylä Opera, and Aulis Sallinen's opera Horseman at the Pori Opera. In August 2017, his role debut as Amfortas in the concertante version of Richard Wagner's Parsifal with singers such as Karita Mattila, Klaus Florian Vogt, and Matti Salminen was a great success at the Turku Music Festival with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

At the Finnish National Opera, Waltteri portrayed the role of Guglielmo in Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" production in 2018. In 2020, he participated in the internationally acclaimed Covid fan Tutte project and played Danilo in Lehar’s The Merry Widow.

In 2021, he finished third in Dancing with the Stars and second in The Masked Singer Finland television shows.

In March 2022, Waltteri sang bass arias in Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Novi Sad and Belgrade as a soloist of the New Trinity Baroque Orchestra. In July 2022, during the Finnish Crusell weeks in Uusikaupunki, Waltteri performed Mahler's Kindertotenlieder and Mozart arias with the Lappeenranta Orchestra. In December, he sang bass arias for Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the Vaasa City Orchestra.

At the beginning of 2023, Waltteri sang the role of Topi in the opera Red Line composed by Aulis Sallinen at the Turku City Theatre, a co-production of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Archipelago Opera.

Bach's St. John's Passion was performed in Tampere Cathedral on Good Friday, with Waltteri portraying Jesus. In July 2023, Waltteri took on the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, receiving great acclaim.

In July 2023, the Hämeenkyrö Opera Festival premiered People in Summer Night, with Waltteri singing one of the main roles and serving as an artistic director.

In January 2024, the role of Belcore in Donizetti's opera "L'elisir d'amore" was performed at the Jyväskylä Opera.

Ondine released Waltteri Torikka and Marko Hilpo's lieder album "Songs By Oskar Merikanto" on February 17, 2024, marking exactly one hundred years since the composer's passing. This release follows nine years after Ondine's last lieder album (featuring Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Ivari Ilja).During his lifetime, Oskar Merikanto was even more popular than Jean Sibelius among the Finnish people. 

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