Vienna-based Finnish mezzo-soprano Tuija Knihtila graduated from the Sibelius Academy and continued her studies in Berlin and Zurich.
After starting her career as an ensemble member at the Finnish National Opera, she has worked as a freelance artist since 2010.
Knihtila’s repertoire includes major mezzo-soprano roles, such as Venus in Wagner’s Tannhauser, Ortrud in Lohengrin, and Brangane in Tristan und Isolde,
which she has performed at renowned opera houses including La Fenice in Venice, the Royal Danish and Swedish Operas, the National Theatres of Bonn and Mannheim, and the Frankfurt Opera. She made her U.S. debut in 2015 as Amneris in Aida at Austin Opera.
Recent highlights include Waltraute in Wagner’s Die Walkure at the Royal Swedish Opera (2020), Carmen at the Savonlinna Opera Festival (2022),
and Kundry in Parsifal at Landestheater Linz (2022) and Theater Bielefeld (2023).
In 2024, she made her debuts as Mere Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites and as Waltraute in Wagner’s Gotterdammerung at the Finnish National Opera, conducted by Hannu Lintu.
Beyond opera, Knihtila is a sought-after concert soloist. She has performed The Damnation of Faust with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Organ Night and Aria Festival, and Verdi’s Requiem at the Finnish National Opera.
She has also been a frequent interpreter of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performing it with the Vienna Symphony under Sakari Oramo (2022) and most recently with Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse under Tarmo Peltokoski (2025).
Upcoming performances include Verdi’s Requiem with Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’ete at the Naantali Music Festival.

Opera Repertory
Bartók Duke Bluebeard’s Castle Judith
Berlioz La damnation de Faust Marguerite
Bizet Carmen Carmen
Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana Santuzza
Ponchielli La Gioconda Laura
Poulenc Dialogues des Carmélites Mère Marie
Sallinen The Horseman The Woman
Kullervo Mother
Strauss Salome Herodias
Verdi Aida Amneris
Wagner Götterdämmerung Waltraute
Wagner Lohengrin Ortrud
Wagner Parsifal Kundry
Wagner Tannhäuser Venus
Wagner Tristan und Isolde Brangäne
Wagner Die Walküre Fricka

Concert Repertory
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
Symphonie IX
Brahms Alt-Rhapsodie
Chausson Poème de l’amour et de la mer
Dvorák Stabat Mater
Elgar Sea Pictures
Kokkonen Lintujen Tuonela (The hades of the Birds)
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde
Kindertotenlieder
Rückert-Lieder
Symphonie II
Symphonie VIII Mulier Samaritan
Mozart Requiem
Pergolesi Stabat Mater
Perosi Transitus Animae
Ravel Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé
Respighi Il tramonto
Rossini Stabat Mater
Sibelius Kullervo-Symphony
Songs
The Tempest Ariel
Verdi Messa da Requiem
Zemlinsky Sechs Gesänge Op. 13