Coordinates	49°50′″N21°37′″N
Official name	Miskolc
Nickname	Steel City; City of the Open Gates
Postal code type	Post code
Postal code	3500–3549
Image shield	HUN_Miskolc_COA.jpg
Pushpin map	Hungary
Pushpin map caption	Location of Miskolc in Hungary
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	Hungary
Subdivision type1	Region
Subdivision name1	Northern Hungary
Subdivision type2	County
Subdivision name2	Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén
Leader title	Mayor
Leader name	Ákos Kriza (Fidesz)
Established title	Town since
Established date	1365
Established title2	City since
Established date2	1909
Established title3	Urban county since
Established date3	1970
Area total km2	236.68
Population as of	2011
Population total	168075
Population density km2	756
Timezone	CET
Utc offset	+1
Timezone dst	CEST
Utc offset dst	+2
Coordinates type	region:HU_type:city
Coordinates display	displayinline,title
Website	www.miskolc.hu
Footnotes	}}

Miskolc (, ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 (2010) Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary (behind Budapest, Debrecen and Szeged; second-largest with agglomeration.) It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.

Geography

Miskolc is located at .

The city lies at the meeting point of different geographical regions – east from the Bükk mountains, in the valley of the river Sajó and the streams Hejő and Szinva. According to the 2001 Census the city has a total area of . The ground level slopes gradually; the difference between the highest and lowest area is about .

The lowest areas are the banks of the river Sajó, with an altitude of . The area belongs to the Great Plain region and is made up of sedimentary rocks. Between the Avas hill and Diósgyőr lies the hilly area of the ''Lower Bükk'' () consisting of sandstone, marl, clay, layers of coal, from the tertiary period, and volcanic rocks from the Miocene.

The ''Central Bükk'', a gently sloping mountainous area with an altitude between , is situated between Diósgyőr and Lillafüred; the area is made up of limestone, slate, dolomite and other rocks from the Triassic period. The surface was formed mostly by karstic erosions.

The highest area, the high ''Higher Bükk'' bore ''Bükk Highlands'' begin at Lillafüred. This mostly consists of sea sediments (limestone, slate, dolomite) from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, and volcanic rocks like diabase and porphyry. Several caves can be found in the area. The city is also known for lowest measured temperature ever in Hungary with .

Climate

History

The area has been inhabited since ancient times – archaeological findings date back to the Paleolithic, proving human presence for over 70,000 years. Its first known dwellers were the Cotini, one of the Celt tribes. The area has been occupied by Hungarians since the "Conquest" in the late 9th century. It was named after the Miskóc clan and was first mentioned by this name around 1210 AD. The Miskóc clan lost their power when King Charles I centralized his power by curbing the power of the oligarchs.

Miskolc was elevated to the rank of oppidum (market town) in 1365 by King Louis I. He also had the castle of the nearby town Diósgyőr (now a district of Miskolc) transformed into a Gothic fortress. The city developed in a dynamic way, but during the Ottoman occupation of most of Hungary the development of Miskolc was brought to a standstill. The Turks burnt Miskolc in 1544 and the city had to pay heavy taxes until 1687. It was during these years that Miskolc became an important centre of wine-growing. By the end of the 17th century the population of the city was as large as that of Kassa, and 13 guilds had been founded.

During the war of independence against Habsburg rule in the early 18th century, Prince Francis II Rákóczi, the leader of the Hungarians put his headquarters in Miskolc. The imperial forces sacked and burnt the city in 1707. Four years later half of the population fell victim of a cholera epidemic. Miskolc recovered quickly, and another age of prosperity began again. In 1724, Miskolc was chosen to be the city where the county hall of Borsod county would be built. Many other significant buildings were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the city hall, schools, churches, the synagogue, and the theatre. The theatre is commonly regarded as the first stone-built theatre of Hungary, although the first one was actually built in Kolozsvár (then a part of Hungary, now Cluj-Napoca, Romania). According to the first nationally held census (1786) the city had a population of 14,719, and 2,414 houses.

These years brought prosperity, but the cholera epidemic of 1873 and the flood of 1878 took many lives. Several buildings were destroyed by the flood, but bigger and more beautiful buildings were built in their places. World War I did not affect the city directly, but many people died, either from warfare or from the cholera epidemic. She was occupied by Czechoslovak troops between 1918 and 1919 after the First World War.

After the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary lost Kassa (today Košice, Slovakia) and Miskolc became the sole regional center of northern Hungary. This was one of the reasons for the enormous growth of the city during the 1930s and 1940s. The preparation for World War II established Miskolc as the national centre of heavy industry, a position the city maintained until the 1990s. Although Miskolc suffered a lot during the last year of the war, it recovered quickly, and by absorbing the surrounding villages, it became the second-largest city of Hungary with more than 200,000 inhabitants. In 1949 the University of Miskolc was founded (as a successor of the ''Academy of Mining'', formerly in Selmecbánya, which is now Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia).

During its long history Miskolc survived fires, floods, plagues and foreign invasions, but maintained its position as the centre of northeastern Hungary. The 1990s brought a crisis in the iron industry with a decline in the population.

Miskolc is now trying to become known as a cultural – instead of merely an industrial – city. Among the various cultural events, one of the most important festivities is the International Opera Festival, held in every summer.

The most popular tourist destinations in Miskolc are Tapolca, Lillafüred and Felsőhámor. Tapolca has a beautiful park with a boating pond and the famous and unique Cave Bath. Lillafüred and Felsőhámor are pretty villages in a valley surrounded by mountains and forests; their most famous sights are the Hotel Palace on the shore of the Lake Hámori, the Szinva waterfall (the highest waterfall of the country), the Anna Cave and the István Cave.

Historical population

|type= |footnote= |1786 | 14179 |1850 | 16345 |1870 | 21199 |1891 | 30408 |1930 | 61559 |1941 | 77362 |1949 | 100000 |1960 | 144217 |1970 | 180581 |1980 | 207303 |1990 | 196442 |2001 | 185567 |2011 | 168075 {{

Economy

Miskolc is generally thought of as an industrial city, and the largest boost to its economy was indeed provided by the industrialization during the Socialist era; in fact industry (including metallurgy) has a long history in the city.

Miskolc was already an important market town in the Middle Ages, mostly due to its proximity to the main trade routes of the region. In regards of the economy, real development started only after the Ottoman occupation. In the 18th century, the town already had a lumber mill, a paper manufacture, a brewery, a gunpowder factory and fifteen mills on the Szinva stream. The glass works manufactures and iron furnaces appeared in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The first iron furnace, built by Henrik Fazola around 1770, did not survive, but the second one, built in 1813, can still be visited. Several new settlements were formed in the Bükk mountains to provide dwellings for the workers of glass works manufactures and furnaces. Many of them – including Alsóhámor, Felsőhámor, Ómassa and Bükkszentlászló – are now parts of Miskolc.

Development quickened from the second half of the 19th century, partly because of the political situation (after the Ausgleich) and partly because of the newly constructed railway line. A large furnace (second largest in the country) was built in Diósgyőr, and several other factories were built. The mining industry became more and more important, too. Within forty years the population doubled. The industrialization led to the forming of ''Greater Miskolc'' with the unification of Miskolc and Diósgyőr (1945) and several nearby towns and villages (between 1950 and 1981). The unification was only the first step in Miskolc being developed into an industrial centre. Development reached its highest point in the 1980s, when the metal factory had more than 18,000 workers and production was over one million tons per year. The population hit all-time record (over 200,000 inhabitants), ⅔ of the working people worked in heavy industry.

The economical recession after the end of the Socialist era hit the industrial cities of Northern Hungary the hardest. The unemployment rate rose until it became one of the highest in the country, the population of Miskolc dramatically decreased (not only because of unemployment though, but also due to suburbanization which became prevalent nationwide). The economical situation of the city went through a change, smaller enterprises appeared in place of the large state-owned companies.

By the early 2000s the decade of changes was over, and the city went through the recession successfully. International companies and supermarkets appeared in the area. The local government is trying to strengthen the city's role in culture and tourism. By the end of 2004, the highway M3 had reached the city.

Sports

The most popular sport in Miskolc is the football. The leading club of the city is the Diósgyőri VTK ( short name: DVTK). They won several times the Hungarian Cup and represented Hungary many times in Europe. The capacity of the stadium is 26,000 seats (15,000 is in use), but it is now in poor condition due to decay except for the new grand stand. The new board plans building of a new 15,000-seat stadium with under-soil heating and fully covered stands.

The other team, the MVSC plays in the county division. Miskolc has got other former first league representers, namely Attila FC Miskolc (7 seasons int the highest level), Pereces TK (1).

Miskolc has a famous women basketball team, called DKSK Miskolc MISI. It won The National Cup twice.

The Miskolc Ice-bears Hockey Team plays also in the first division. The Ice arena is in the People's Garden Downtown. It has 1,500 seats and was opened in 2006.

The women's volleyball team of MVSC plays at the highest Hungarian level also.

Speedway Miskolc joined the Polish Second League in 2005 and achieved serious results. They won the 2007 European Speedway Club Champions' Cup with World champion Jason Crump.

City parts of Miskolc

Avas

The Avas is a hill () in the heart of Miskolc. On the hilltop stands the Avas lookout tower, the symbol of the city. On the northern part of the hill, close to downtown Erzsébet Square, is the Gothic Protestant Church of Avas, one of the two oldest buildings of Miskolc (the other is the Castle of Diósgyőr.) The limestone caves of Avas are used as wine cellars; the narrow, winding streets give a Mediterranean atmosphere to this part of Avas Hill. The southern part of Avas, also called Avas-South, is where the largest housing estate of the city stands, with 10-story Socialist-style concrete buildings providing homes for about one-third of the city's population.

Belváros (City centre)

Miskolc's city centre is not as rich in monuments as that of other cities; only the Main Street (Széchenyi St.), ''Városház tér'' (City Hall Square) and ''Erzsébet tér'' (Elizabeth Square) have preserved the 19th-century style of the town. There are not only historical buildings but also modern shopping malls and offices in the city centre.

Diósgyőr

The other town forming today's Greater Miskolc is mostly famous for its medieval castle. Miskolc's football team also got its name from Diósgyőr, since their stadium stands there. Historical Diósgyőr is connected to Historical Miskolc by a district called ''Új(diós)győr'' (Újgyőr); its main square is an important traffic hub. Also in Új(diós)győr ''(Diósgyőr-Vasgyár)'' stands the steel factory that made Miskolc the most important heavy industrial city of Hungary (and earned it the nickname "Steel City").

Egyetemváros (University Town)

The University of Miskolc is among the newer ones. It was founded in the 1950s, so its buildings are not old, historical ones. University Town is one of the newer parts of the city and can be found between Miskolc and the holiday resort Miskolctapolca. The university, the campus and the sport facilities are surrounded by a large park.

Hejőcsaba and Görömböly

Two former villages that were annexed to the city in 1945 and 1950. Görömböly still looks like a small town of its own.

Lillafüred

The other famous holiday resort, Miskolc-Lillafüred is a picturesque village surrounded by the Bükk mountains. Its most famous building is the beautiful Palace Hotel (Palotaszálló).

Martin-Kertváros

Martin-Kertváros (in Slovak: Martinská osada) is a garden town area.

Miskolctapolca

One of the most well-known holiday resorts in the country, Tapolca (officially Miskolctapolca or Miskolc-Tapolca to avoid confusion with the Transdanubian town of the same name) is the home of the unique Cave Bath, a natural cave with thermal water. Tapolca is quite far from the city centre and counts as one of the posh areas of Miskolc. It is a popular tourist attraction.

Alsóhámor, Bükkszentlászló, Felsőhámor, Ómassa, Szirma

These former villages were annexed to the city in 1950 (Bükkszentlászló in 1981) and are still separated villages, connected to the city only by its public transport system.

Main sights

Downtown

Main street and City Hall Square with the atmosphere of Hungarian towns of the 19th century

Gothic Protestant Church of the Avas Hill

Greek Orthodox Church with the largest iconostasis in Central Europe

House of Arts with two art cinemas

Kós House (designed by Károly Kós in Art Nouveau and folk style, 1931)

Mindszent Church

Minorite Church and Heroes' Square

Miskolc-Avas TV Tower

National Theatre of Miskolc

Csodamalom Puppet Theatre

Ottó Herman Museum

Palace of Music

Wooden Church

Diósgyőr

Castle of Diósgyőr (built in the 13th century, had its prime during the reign of Louis the Great; medieval castle plays are held in every August)

Lutheran church of Diósgyőr

Protestant church of Diósgyőr (Baroque, built on the ruins of a mediaeval monastery)

Lillafüred

Anna Cave, István Cave, Szeleta Cave

Hotel Palace

Lake Hámori

Trout Farm

Waterfalls (the highest one in Hungary)

There is a narrow-gauge railway that connects Lillafüred to Miskolc known as the Lillafüredi Állami Erdei Vasút (Lillafüred Forest State Railway). It winds through scenic forests, and takes between a half hour and 45 minutes for the train to go between the two major stops. The Miskolc stop is located in Diósgyőr.

Miskolctapolca

Cave Bath of Miskolctapolca

Near to the city

Bánkút ski resort

Bükk Mountains

Miskolc Zoo

Ruins of the monastery at Szentlélek

Festivals

Diósgyőr Castle Plays (every May and August)

International Soldiers and Military Bands Festival (every two years in August)

Jelly festival (February)

Miskolc Opera Festival (every summer)

CineFest - International Festival of Young Filmmakers (every September)

Public transport

Public transport in Miskolc is provided by the company ''MVK Zrt.'', owned by the local government. There are 36 bus lines and 2 tram lines. The first tram entered service on July 10, 1897 (making Miskolc the third city in Hungary to have a tram line), the first scheduled bus line started on June 8, 1903 (first in the country as well.) Today the public transport of Miskolc is one of the best ones in Hungary. There are several taxi companies too.

The Lillafüred Forest State Railway connects Diósgyőr to Lillafüred. It is mainly a tourist attraction.

The city has two railway stations (Tiszai and Gömöri) and a small unpaved airport, which is not open to the public, used mainly as a sports facility and has no role in public transport since 1963.

Famous people

Born in Miskolc

(Also includes people born in Diósgyőr and other city parts that were independent towns at the time of their birth.)

Alan A. Brown (1928–2010) economist

Alexander Grossmann (1909–2003) Swiss writer, journalist

Andrei Şaguna (1809–1873) Romanian political leader, orthodox Metropolitan bishop of Transylvania

Árpád Latabár sr. (1878–1951) actor

Attila Repka (1968) wrestler, Olympic champion

Bela Borsody Bevilaqua (1885–1962) Cultural historian

Dániel Nyitray (1890–1971) painter, sculptor

Dezső Gyarmati (1927) water polo player

Ede Reményi (1828–1898) violinist

Emeric Pressburger (1902–1988) Academy Award–winning movie director/writer/producer

Ferenc Demjén (1941) singer

Gábor Dayka (1769–1796) poet

Gizella Bodnár, "Airplane Gizi" (1926–) thief

Ilona Kállay (1930–2005) actress

István Jónyer (1951) table tennis player

István Prókai (1920–1983) actor

Ladislau Raffinsky (1905–1981), Romanian football player

Júlia Sebestyén (1981) figure skater, Europe champion

Julius Leopold Klein (1810–1876) German writer

Károly Grósz (1930–1996) politician, president

László Palóczy (1783–1861) politician

Lőrinc Szabó (1900–1957) poet

Mária Keresztessy (1908–1977) actress

János Nagyváthy (1755–1819) Hungarian journalist

Máté Kamarás (1976) musical actor

Miklos Kover (1975) controller, member of Holt Dog

Péter Biros (1976) water polo player

Péter Kropkó (1963) triathlonist

Róza Laborfalvi (1817–1886) actress

Sándor Ferenczi (1873–1933) psychoanalyst

Sándor Lukács (1947) actor

Sándor Rónai (1892–1965) politician, president

Szabolcs Huszti (1983) football player

Tamas Varro (1975) engineer, member of Miskolci Kan Korus

Tibor Benedek (1911–1963) actor

Vera Schmidt (1982) singer-songwriter

Zoltán Dunai (1935) painter

Zsigmond Fülöp (1935) actor

Lived in Miskolc

Béla Kondor (Pestlőrinc, 1931 – Budapest, 1972) graphics artist

Béni Egressy (Sajókazinc, 1814 – Budapest, 1851) composer

Bertalan Szemere (Vatta, 1818 – Budapest, 1869) politician

Didák Kelemen (Kézdialmás-Baksafalva, 1683 – Miskolc, 1744) Minorite monk, founder of Ferenc Földes High School

Ferenc Bessenyei (Hódmezővásárhely, 1919 – Lajosmizse, 2004) actor

Ferenc Pulszky (Eperjes, 1814 – Budapest, 1897) politician, archaeologist, writer

János Lavotta (Pusztafödémes, 1764 – Tállya, 1820) composer, violinist

József Lévay (Sajószentpéter, 1825 – Miskolc, 1918) poet, politician

Lajos Szalay (Őrmező, 1909 – Miskolc, 1995) painter

Leo Lánczy (Pest, 1852 – Budapest, 1921) deputy

Margit Kaffka (Nagykároly, 1880 – Budapest, 1918) writer

Menachem Josef Heimlich (Hajdu Bogasz, 1890 – Miskolc, 1925–1944) grand rabbi

Ottó Herman (Breznóbánya, 1835 – Miskolc, 1914) ornithologist, polyhistor

Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav (Felsőkubin, 1849 – Alsókubin, 1921) Slovak poet

Robert Szucs (Toronto, 1974 - Miskolc, 1976–1989, teacher, social worker, member of Holt Dog and Miskolci Kan Korus

Róza Széppataki-Déry (Jászberény, 1793 – Miskolc, 1872) actress

Sándor Káli (Budapest, 1951) mayor

Teréz Karacs (Budapest, 1808 – Békés, 1892) pioneer in women's education

Zénó Terplán (Hegyeshalom, 1921 – Miskolc, 2002) fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Gallery

Twin towns – Sister cities

Miskolc is twinned with:

Aschaffenburg, Germany Białystok, Poland Burgas, Bulgaria Cleveland, USA Katowice, Poland Košice, Slovakia, since 1997 Ostrava, Czech Republic Tampere, Finland Valenciennes, France Vologda, Russia

References

;Notes

External links

;Official sites of the city and city parts Official website Official website of Lillafüred Official site of Miskolctapolca

;Webcams and image galleries

Webcam view of downtown area (interactive cam)

City Hall Square webcam

Webcam view of Hotel Palace, Lillafüred

Aerial photography: Miskolc

;Education and culture Official site of the Castle of Diósgyőr Opera Festival

University of Miskolc

;Other Miskolc Online

''Getting Medieval'' (an article in the ''Budapest Sun)''

Trams in Miskolc

Miskolc Category:Populated places in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county

af:Miskolc be-x-old:Мішкальц bg:Мишколц ca:Miskolc cs:Miskolc da:Miskolc de:Miskolc et:Miskolc es:Miskolc eo:Miskolc fa:میشکولتس fo:Miskolc fr:Miskolc gl:Miskolc ko:미슈콜츠 id:Miskolc it:Miskolc he:מישקולץ sw:Miskolc mrj:Мишкольц lv:Miškolca lt:Miškolcas li:Miskolc lmo:Miskolc hu:Miskolc mk:Мишколц ms:Miskolc nl:Miskolc ja:ミシュコルツ no:Miskolc nn:Miskolc pnb:مسکولس pl:Miszkolc pt:Miskolc ro:Miskolc qu:Miskolc ru:Мишкольц simple:Miskolc sk:Miškovec sl:Miskolc sr:Мишколц fi:Miskolc sv:Miskolc udm:Мишкольц uk:Мішкольц vi:Miskolc vo:Miskolc war:Miskolc zh:米什科尔茨

Coordinates	49°50′″N21°37′″N
name	Tarja Turunen
alt	Turunen has long black hair parted in the middle and is wearing a bright yellow dress.
background	solo_singer
birth name	Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen
born	August 17, 1977Kitee, Finland
city of residence	Buenos Aires, Argentina
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	Symphonic rock, symphonic metal, classical, classical crossover, Lied
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	1996–present
label	Universal, Spinefarm, Nuclear Blast, Roadrunner, NEMS Enterprises, Drakkar Entertainment
associated acts	Nightwish, Beto Vázquez Infinity, Noche Escandinava
website	TarjaTurunen.com }}

Tarja Soile Susanna Turunen Cabuli or Tarja Turunen (), born August 17, 1977, is a Finnish singer-songwriter and composer. She is a full lyric soprano and has a vocal range of three octaves.

She is well-known as a professional classical (art song) singer but best known as the former lead vocalist of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish, which she founded with Tuomas Holopainen and Erno Vuorinen in 1996. Their combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with Turunen's classical lead vocals quickly aroused the enthusiasm of critics and audiences. Their symphonic metal style, soon dubbed "opera metal", inspired many other metal bands and singers.

Turunen was dismissed from the band on October 21, 2005. She started her solo career in 2006 with the release of a Christmas album called ''Henkäys Ikuisuudesta'', which was supported by a classical tour in Finland and Russia. In 2007, Turunen released ''My Winter Storm'', an album featuring various styles, including alternative rock and symphonic metal. Her Storm World Tour supported this album. Turunen released her third album, ''What Lies Beneath'', on September 1, 2010. She performed several concerts in Europe, playing in metal festivals including the Graspop Metal Meeting and the Wacken Open Air, before starting the What Lies Beneath World Tour, scheduled to last until the end of 2012.

Early life

Tarja Turunen was born in the small village of Puhos, near Kitee, Finland. She has an older brother, Toni, and a younger brother, Timo. Her talent for music was first noted when she sang the song ''Enkeli taivaan'' (the Finnish version of ''From Heaven Above to Earth I Come'') in the Kitee church hall at age three. She joined the church choir and started having vocal lessons. At age six, she started playing piano.

At comprehensive school, Turunen performed as a singer for several projects. Her first piano teacher Kirsti Nortia-Holopainen remembered that “Tarja was in a school that had some very musical people. Even then she got to perform a lot. I think she sang in every school function there was.” Her music teacher, Plamen Dimov, later explained that “If you gave Tarja just one note, she immediately got it. With the others, you´d have to practice three, four, five times”. At school she had a tough time, since some girls bullied her because they envied her voice. To solve that problem, Dimov organized projects outside school. At fifteen, Turunen had her first major appearance as a soloist at a church concert in front of a thousand listeners. In 1993 she attended the Senior Secondary School of Art and Music in Savonlinna.

For several years Turunen preferred to perform soul music, like her biggest childhood idols, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. Later she listened to songs from the classical singer Sarah Brightman, especially the song ''The Phantom of the Opera'', and decided to focus on that genre of music. At eighteen, she moved to Kuopio to study at the Sibelius Academy.

Musical career

With Nightwish

At Christmas break 1996 former classmate Tuomas Holopainen invited Turunen to join his new acoustic mood music project. She immediately agreed. At the recording session for the first demo Holopainen discovered that due to her classical singing lessons, Turunen's voice had become much more powerful than he recalled from their school days. At the following band practices, Emppu Vuorinen used an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar because he felt that it gave a better accompaniment to her voice. Holopainen decided to form Nightwish as a metal band. He later explained that the band members had gradually realised that Turunen's voice had become too dramatic for acoustic mood music. They came to the conclusion that the music had to be massive too. In this way Turunen was a major influence on the musical style of Nightwish.

In September 1997 Nightwish recorded a second demo with "more bombastic, dramatic" songs. Holopainen used this material to convince the Finnish label Spinefarm Records to publish the band's debut album, ''Angels Fall First''. The success of the first album came as a surprise to everyone. As the album hit the top 40 of the Finnish charts, Nightwish started their tour The First Tour of the Angels. That same year, Turunen performed at the Savonlinna Opera Festival for the first time, singing songs from Richard Wagner and Verdi.

Due to her commitment to the band, Turunen was not able to concentrate sufficiently on her schoolwork and interrupted her academic studies. In 1998 Nightwish published their second album, ''Oceanborn''. This album lacked the earlier elements of folk and ambient music, and instead focused on fast, melodic keyboard and guitar lines and Turunen's dramatic voice. In addition to the Oceanborn Europe Tour (1999), Turunen sang solo in Waltari's rock-themed ballet ''Evankeliumi'' (also known as ''Evangelicum'') in several sold-out performances at the Finnish National Opera. In 2000 and 2001 Nightwish recorded ''Wishmaster'' and ''Over the Hills and Far Away'' and toured Europe and South America (the Wishmaster World Tour).

In 2000 Turunen enrolled at the German music university Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe to gain a professional qualification as a soloist with further specialization in art song. In addition to the good reputation of the university, Turunen chose to go to Karlsruhe because her increased profile in Finland meant that some people at the Finnish university did not take her seriously as a classical singer due to her commitment in a metal band. At Karlsruhe she was accepted as a classical singer who also sang in a metal band. In particular, her professors did not think of it as a flaw. While there, she recorded vocals for Nightwish's 2002 album ''Century Child'' and for Beto Vázquez Infinity. As with the other albums, Holopainen wrote the pieces and sent Turunen the lyrics and a demo recording of the prerecorded instrumental tracks by mail. Using the demo, Turunen designed her vocal lines and the choral passages.

In 2002 Turunen toured South America, performing in the classical Lied concert ''Noche Escandinava'' (''Scandinavian Night'') to sold-out houses. Following this and an exhausting world tour in support of ''Century Child'' (the World Tour of the Century), Nightwish took a hiatus and Turunen returned to Karlsruhe to finish her studies. In 2003 she married the Argentine Marcelo Cabuli, whom she had met on tour while staying in Buenos Aires in 2000. After the hiatus Nightwish recorded the album ''Once''; it was released on October 5, 2004. The album hit No. 1 on the European Top 100 Albums. The band performed in the supporting Once Upon a Tour throughout 2004 and 2005.

For Christmas 2004, Turunen released her first solo single, titled "Yhden Enkelin Unelma" (One Angel's Dream), which sold gold in her native country of Finland. At Christmas 2005 it made a reentry at position one in the Finnish Charts. In spring 2005 she prepared the duet "Leaving You for Me", a collaboration with Martin Kesici, accompanied by a video.

Breakup

The first change in the line up of Nightwish was in September 2001, when bassist Sami Vänskä was fired because Holopainen was no longer able to continue working with him. In the following years the relationship between Holopainen and Turunen's husband and manager Marcelo Cabuli deteriorated. This had an impact on the relationship between Holopainen and Turunen as well. In December 2004 Turunen announced to the band members that she wanted to leave the band after one more album and its subsequent tour, planned for 2006/2007. According to her husband, Turunen had agreed to release her first solo album after the new studio album from Nightwish. After the last concert of the ''Once Upon a Tour'' on October 21, 2005 (which was released on video as ''End of an Era''), Holopainen gave Turunen a letter signed by himself and the other band members informing her that the band did not want to work with her any more. The letter was simultaneously published on the band's website. The letter accused Turunen of having skipped too many rehearsals and of having behaved like a diva, and claimed her husband was partly responsible for her behavior. Turunen responded through an open letter on her website and through some interviews in which she explained her view. She was upset that after nine years of working together, Holopainen had announced the separation via an open letter. She felt the allegations were untrue, and asked that her husband be kept out of the debate. Because of the continuing media interest, Marcelo Cabuli posted a message addressing the situation on the website in February 2006. He asked that anyone who had questions should email him. In June 2006 Cabuli posted a lengthy reply to many of the questions he had received.

Despite the circumstances of the separation, Holopainen's appreciation of Turunen as an artist remained. He explained that he did not search for a similarly trained singer as a successor for Turunen because he considers her to be extraordinarily good in her genre and therefore irreplaceable. He said that one day he would like to reestablish the friendship. In October 2007, Turunen said in an interview that she is very proud of her career with Nightwish. She considers the remaining band members extremely talented and wishes all the best for them and their subsequent lead singer Anette Olzon.

Between 1997 and 2006 she had toured the world with Nightwish, playing in all the continents except Africa and Antarctica. She performed live for more than 500,000 people.

Independent career

In December 2005 Turunen performed several classical concerts in Finland, Germany, Spain, and Romania. Since Turunen expected to participate in another Nightwish album, several Christmas concerts and the release of her Christmas album ''Henkäys Ikuisuudesta'' (Finnish for "breath of eternity") were the only activities scheduled for 2006.

In July 2006 Turunen again played at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, this time as the main act; Turunen sang alongside Finnish tenor Raimo Sirkiä, supported by the Kuopio Symphonic Orchestra. Turunen performed classical arias like "O mio babbino caro" by Puccini, "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" by Verdi and some songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber—"Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Phantom of the Opera"—among other songs. In November she performed at the charity concert “Tomorrow's Child” with the Tapiola Choir as a benefit for the UNICEF Children's Fund. On December 6, 2006, Turunen performed a big concert at the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland; it was broadcast live by the Finnish channel YLE TV2 for 450,000 viewers. She was nominated for the Finnish Emma Award as Best Soloist of 2006. Also in 2006, she recorded vocals for her brother Timo Turunen's debut album.

In 2007 Turunen recorded vocals for the track "In The Picture" on the Nuclear Blast All-stars album ''Into the Light'' In spite of speculation to the contrary at the time, Turunen did not focus entirely on classical music after the separation of Nightwish. Since August 2006 she worked on her next solo album, ''My Winter Storm'', the beginning of her solo projects. It was the first time that Turunen had written songs. She was supported by some professional songwriters. The choir and orchestral arrangements were written by film music composer James Dooley.

Turunen released ''My Winter Storm'', an album featuring various styles, including symphonic metal with classical “operatic” lead vocals, in November 2007. The album took the number one spot on the Finnish charts, and went platinum in Finland and double platinum in Russia. In late 2007 Turunen was nominated for an Echo as best newcomer and an Emma for best Finnish artist.

On May 9, 2008, Turunen embarked the Storm World Tour to promote ''My Winter Storm''. She opened the tour by performing at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig and ended the tour in 2009 at the O2 Academy Islington in London. In December 2008, the EP ''The Seer'' was released in the UK and the new extended edition of ''My Winter Storm'' released on January 2, 2009.

On November 18, 2009, the Finnish charity Christmas album ''Maailman kauneimmat joululaulut'' (Finnish for "The World's Most Beautiful Christmas Songs") was released; three songs feature Turunen's vocals. In December 2009 she recorded her vocal part for the song "The Good Die Young", a duet with Klaus Meine which is included on the final Scorpions album ''Sting in the Tail''.

Turunen recorded her third album, ''What Lies Beneath'', in 2009 and 2010; it was released on September 1, 2010. The album combined metal with classical “operatic” elements in an out of the box approach. She started the What Lies Beneath World Tour performing in several festivals, including the Wacken Open Air and the Graspop Metal Meeting, with special concerts at Miskolc Opera Festival and at the Masters of Rock, when she performed accompanied by a full orchestra. The tour is scheduled to last until the end of 2012. Also in 2010 she supported Alice Cooper on the German leg of his tour.

On April 12, 2011, Turunen announced that she was planning to record a Classical album live in a church in Finland with the finnish organist Kalevi Kiviniemi. On July 17, 2011, she is scheduled to sing again at the Savonlinna Opera Festival as the main act, accompanied by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.

Singing style

Development

Parallel to visiting the music school in Savonlinna, Turunen began serious classical vocal training at 17. After school, she began studying music (with a specialization in church music) at the Sibelius Academy. Due to her commitment with Nightwish, she had to interrupt her academic studies.

From 2001 to 2003 she studied at the music academy Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, where she trained as a soloist with further specialization in art song. Turunen originally applied to train as a choir singer. At the audition she attracted the attention of professor Mitsuko Shirai, who encouraged Turunen to apply for soloist training.

As a classical singer, Turunen always sings with classical vocal technique. She explained that in the early days of Nightwish, it was difficult to combine classical technique with the metal sound in a way that gave her liberty of action without damaging her vocal cords. Classical techniques helped her to play with her voice, so she decided not to pursue extra training in rock/pop singing.

Towards the turn of the millennium, the combination of hard and fast guitar riffs with classical female lead vocals attracted a great deal of attention in the metal scene. The new music style of Nightwish quickly aroused the enthusiasm of critics and audiences; this symphonic metal style was soon dubbed "opera metal". Turunen does not see herself as an opera singer. She has sung excerpts from operas at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, but she stresses that singing opera cannot be performed as a side project. She would need special training to perfectly sing an entire opera without a microphone.

When asked how the association between the opera and metal genres may have arisen, Turunen said that despite the obvious differences, the two music styles have some similarities:

From the first Nightwish album ''Angels Fall First'' (1997) on, critics described Turunen's vocals using adjectives such as ''angelic'' or ''valkyrian''. On the following albums the singing was technically more complex. On the Nightwish album ''Oceanborn'' (1998), her classical vocal training was much more noticeable. For the song "Passion and the Opera", Turunen performed a staccato coloratura reminiscent of the aria "Hell's vengeance boils in my heart", sung by the soprano role Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. "Sleeping Sun" required a well trained breathing technique. Turunen explained in an interview that when they recorded ''Oceanborn'', she had serious doubts, fearing that she was not yet advanced enough in her studies to have mastered the required techniques.

A challenge of a different kind was the cover version of "Over the Hills and Far Away" (2001), as it required a deeper voice, far below the vocal range of an average soprano. In an interview with ''Breakout'' magazine, she reported that in the studio, the band members were shaken by a paroxysm of laughter as she tried to warm up for the vocal lines. As a side benefit of her efforts, Turunen gradually expanded her vocal range considerably into the lower range, which manifested even more on the following albums.

For the album ''Century Child'' (2002), she experimented with a more "rock" sounding voice, where she maintained the classical singing technique, but, for example, sang with less vibrato. Turunen was not satisifed that she had successfully transitioned to this new style until the album ''Once'' (2004).

This deeper "rock"-sounding voice on ''Once''—as well as on the song "In the Picture" of the album ''Into the Light''—was welcomed by critics as a refreshing change.

Her first solo album ''My Winter Storm'' (2007) contains rock and metal songs as well as songs that resemble classical songs. Turunen uses both her classical singing voice and a rock-sounding voice. In many songs she starts with a rock voice, and then switches for widely arching melodies into a distinctly classical singing voice.

In an interview, she explained that ''My Winter Storm'' was the first album where she had the chance to use her full vocal range.

Register

Turunen's voice type is soprano (more precisely, (full) lyric soprano). Over the course of her career, Turunen has developed a vocal range of three octaves.

Reception

Turunen's voice is described by critics as remarkably powerful and emotional. Sometimes it is stated that her voice is too trained or operatic for metal music, but even critics who do not like classical voices admit that her voice suits the kind of metal songs she sings unusually well.

Until the end of their collaboration, Turunen's singing was a trademark of Nightwish. She was known as the face and voice of Nightwish while bandleader Holopainen was the soul. Turunen was seen as a key to Nightwish's success. She is respected by other musicians of the metal genre and is an influence on their work; for instance, Simone Simons names her as her inspiration to study classical music and apply that vocal style to a metal band.

The media closely covered her very public separation from Nightwish, and Turunen's character became the subject of many media discussions. The band members stated that she had become greedy.

Marcelo Cabuli answered fans' questions related to this topic, stating that the band had agreed on the distribution of earnings in a contract at the formation of Nightwish. Based on that contract, other members got a higher share of royalties, which Turunen has never regretted.

Turunen receives most of her media attention in her homeland of Finland. In December 2003 she was invited by Finnish president Tarja Halonen to celebrate the Finnish Independence Day at the Presidential Palace together with other local celebrities. The event is televised annually live by the state-owned brodcaster, the Finnish Broadcasting Company. In December 2007 she performed different versions of the Finnish national anthem "Maamme" (Finnish: "Our country") accompanied by the Tapiola Sinfonietta, to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Finnish independence. The concert was televised by the Finnish Broadcasting Company for 2 million Finnish viewers. During her solo career, Turunen has sold over 86,000 certified records in Finland, which places her among the top 50 of best-selling female soloists.

In Europe, her popularity is mainly limited to the hard rock and metal scene. She had a broader exposure on November 30, 2007, when she was invited to open the farewell fight of Regina Halmich. Her performance of "I Walk Alone" was televised live by the German television station ZDF for 8.8 million viewers.

Discography

''Henkäys Ikuisuudesta'' (2006)

''My Winter Storm'' (2007)

''What Lies Beneath'' (2010)

References

External links

Tarja's Official Website

Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kitee Category:Female heavy metal singers Category:Finnish female singers Category:Finnish heavy metal singers Category:Finnish singer-songwriters Category:Finnish sopranos Category:Women composers Category:Nightwish members

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