70 years old | Matti Pasanen sings a song clip here

As a little boy Matti Pasanen on his way home from school, he entertained the crowd by singing Italian songs. The kilometer journey home stretched into a couple of hours, when the boy stopped by the terraces of Vaarala’s housewives, pulling a child’s star Robertino’s songs made famous Back to Sorrento from the song O pcome on

They sang at home too, because Pasanen’s father, who was a carpenter, came Jolanda di Maria Petrinsen in singing lessons. The Italian-born opera singer di Maria Petris had big Finnish opera names as students at the Sibelius Academy, such as Jaakko Ryänen.

Pasanen also ended up in opera, even though his passion for singing died momentarily as a pre-teen.

“Social pressure made me stop singing at the age of 12,” says Pasanen in the lobby of Teatteri Vantaa.

When At the age of 17, Pasanen was working in the summer on buildings in Malmi, he sang while digging a ditch. It was heard by the biggest and most feared man on the site, a two-meter stack called “The Terror of Ore”.

“He came with a knife in his belt to say that your boy is behind that booth.”

After getting behind the booth, the man asked Pasas to sing Simon & Garfunkel of Scarborough Fair. And Pasanen sang.

“Korsto would pull a bird whistle from his pocket and say that you won’t give a shit about this to anyone, and started playing along,” says Pasanen and laughs.

Singing returned.

Badass bursts out with anecdotes related to singing. Singing is clearly still in the blood. He accompanies his stories by humming a song about this.

He says that he started his career as a singer Eino Leinon from the statue.

“We sat with our friends for the evening at the restaurant Kuparipannu and at the end of the evening we realized that there is not enough money. The guy came up with the idea of ​​putting Matti on the street to sing, that’s what he can do.”

Pasanen sat down to sing at Eino Leino’s statue, and the money for the restaurant bill quickly accumulated.

Pasanen went to the singing lessons of Jolanda di Maria Petris at her father’s suggestion. Pasanen remembers that there was a strict instruction on the teacher’s door: Boys, remember to have a neat hairstyle and girls to keep your hair out of your eyes!

Student essays and after the army, Pasanen considered studying architecture, but his singing teacher encouraged him to apply to the Sibelius Academy. Pasanen started studying there in 1975.

“In Sibis, I immediately drifted to the stage line to the opera studio.”

During his studies, he sang himself Ella Eronen and by Leif Wager with on the stage of the National Theatre At the blood wedding and At Tukkijoki– in the musical play. Another memorable visit was in 2011–2013 Kristina from Duvemåla – in the musical.

All among other things, Pasanen was also gigging all the time and couldn’t get papers out of the Sibelius Academy because of his rush. “But I haven’t been looking for them.”

When Pasanen heard that the National Opera was going to the Metropolitan and Bolshoi, he wanted to join. He aspired and got to sing first tenor in the opera chorus. Almost 29 years passed in the opera, Pasanen retired in 2009.

“The 1980s were a wonderful time for Finnish opera that can never be recovered. There were great directors, like Ralf Långbacka and Kalle Holmbergand great trips. The era culminated in Los Angeles Kullervon to performances.”

The Finnish National Opera had ordered Kullervon From Aulis Sallis for the inauguration of the new opera house. After construction work was delayed, it premiered in 1992 as a collaboration between the National Opera and the Los Angeles Opera.

Last Pasanen only commented on the age-old debate about the opera’s elitism by saying that the acoustically best seats in the Opera House are also the cheapest seats.

And not all the stories told in the opera are based on centuries-old, misogynistic stories.

“For example, in the Finnish Chamber Opera, you can see wonderful premieres,” he says.

Pasanen himself founded the Finnish Chamber Opera in 1988. He also founded Teatteri Vantaa together with his wife, an actress by Anne Nielsen with in 1985.

“The impetus for the establishment of the theater came when the city of Helsinki demanded that Vantaa also participate in the maintenance of the Helsinki City Theater with a considerable amount, because Vantaa did not have its own professional theater. It was thought that we would then establish our own professional theater in Vantaa.”

The name was Teatteri Kehä III at first. It was an ironic jab at Helsinki-centricity.

“It came from thinking that there can be no culture outside of Ring III.”

After retiring, Pasanen has found a hobby. He gigs with his posets, playing and singing in nursing homes, among other things.

What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

“I’ve always jumped over border fences, and I didn’t obey anyone. I would say live as you have lived.”