“There are no such people who didn’t lie.”

In many cases beneath the surface lies something else than what we see. Sometimes the disappointment is unavoidable. Leastwise that’s what the title of Tarja Turunen’s newest album suggests. The album “What Lies Beneath” will be released in August. “Many times happens in life that we know – or we think that we know – someone, we probably even live together with them, and all of a sudden we find out that they’re not the people we used to know, that beneath the surface lies something else, something what we didn’t see till then. And in my opinion this is frightening.” – said Tarja Turunen in the interview for the NLC. She arrived at the end of last week to our country to perform at the Opera Festival at Miskolc.

There’s no one who didn’t lie – do you have personal experiences on this territory?
Tarja: I think everyone has experienced such things in life. Of course it happened with me too that I saw people differently than how they actually were. Most of the times my songs are based on personal experiences. It’s much easier to write about them, than about invented things. I’ve been working on this album for 2 years already, the title came very early, and then I adjusted the songs after it.

If we make ourself seem something else than what we are, is a way of lying. Have you lied as well?
Tarja: Of course. Who didn’t? In my opinion there are no such people on earth who didn’t lie. Even if it was just a joke, or a little fib.

You sing rock music, and now you’re performing opera in our country. This is not your first performance related to classical music. How do you see yourself, more like a rock or an opera singer?
Tarja: I’d say I’m simply a singer. I don’t want people to label me, and that’s why I don’t want to put myself in any „box”. But I would neither compare myself to the professional opera singers. I work very hard, I rehearse a lot of opera which also helps my singing in rock music, but I still don’t catch up with them.

Who do you prefer the most from the opera composers?
Tarja: Oh, there are lots of them. I like Puccini the most, his composing style stays very close to me. And I rehearse a lot Bellini’s works, because those are the ones which cause the most of struggle for me.

Many good rock and metal bands have their origins in the Skandinavian countries. What do you think that is the reason of this?
Tarja: I can’t tell exactly what the reason is. I think there’s no right answer for it. But it’s a fact that many well known metal or hard rock bands came from Finland, Sweden and Norway. Maybe it’s because of the rough weather, and this affects the mood of people.

Isn’t it a disadvantage for a woman to play a heavy genre. Don’t men get frightened from you? [lol]
Tarja:Often they think that we are sad and bitter women, but this is not true. I know many woman who sing metal, but still they are delicate and gentle woman. They always think that I am a reserved, rigid type, because I perofrm moody songs. Generally the people are surprised when they meet me and notce that I’m a cheery, happy person.

Do you express your bad mood through the moody songs?
Tarja: No, actually that’s just a role which I take on. Despite the fact that I sing sad songs I smile on the stage as well. You don’t have to be in a bad mood to perform or write songs like these. It’s enough to live through someone else’s situation.

Your new album will be released in August. How do your next 1-2 years look like?
Tarja: My calendar is full until the end of this year. After that I’ll rest a bit, and in March I’ll start the new tour. Probably I’ll begin in America and then continue in Europe. But many things will depend on how the audience will receive the new album.