© Heikki Tuuli

Finnish tenor Mika Pohjonen has enjoyed an unusually varied career as a singer ever since he was crowned “Tango King” at the Seinäjoki Tango Festival in 1992, when he was 19. During his six years as a tango singer he released no fewer than seven albums. Since 1998 he has, however, been concentrating more and more on classical singing, first in the chorus of the Finnish National Opera before making his classical breakthrough in 2002 on winning the Kangasniemi Singing Competition and third prize in the Lappeenranta Singing Competition. He has been a member of the solo ensemble of the Finnish National Opera since 2003, specialising in the heroic roles in Italian opera.