Biography

Lyric soprano Leila Raakel Saari graduated with a Master of Music degree from the Opera Programme of the Sibelius Academy in December 2025. Between 2023 and 2025, she made four role debuts in Sibelius Academy opera productions: Orasia (Orpheus), A Lady with Cake Box (Postcard from Morocco), Frau Fluth (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), and La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro). In the coming summer, Saari will work as a member of the Savonlinna Opera Festival Chorus.

Saari has also been active in contemporary opera. She created the role of Hilja Syrjämäki in Ihmiset suviyössä, an opera by Paavo Korpijaakko and Elina Snicker, at the Hämeenkyrö FEStiwaali in 2023. Previously, she appeared as Albertina in Joonas Kokkonen’s opera The Last Temptations with Jyväskylä Opera in 2021.

As a concert singer, Saari’s repertoire ranges from lieder to sacred music. Most recently, she portrayed Aino Ackté in a dramatized performance presented in honor of composer Erkki Melartin’s anniversary year at the Arabia Kaikuu Lied Festival in summer 2025. She has performed as a soloist with ensembles such as the Finnish Baroque Orchestra (FiBO), Refugium Musicum Chamber Orchestra, and Kainuu Chamber Orchestra, in works including Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St. John Passion, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah. In autumn 2024, Saari performed internationally in Gdańsk and Sopot, Poland, together with pianist Anna Prabucka-Firlej.

Leila Saari was a semifinalist in the Lappeenranta National Singing Competition in 2022. Her artistic work has been supported by the Central Finland Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Selim Eskelin Foundation, and Friends of the Opera Programme.

Originally from Kajaani, Saari holds a degree in Vocal Pedagogy from Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (2018) and a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Jyväskylä (2016). She worked as a private voice teacher in her own company from 2019–2025.

  • “Leila Saari was as much of a diva as a queen should be, and the uncertainty and madness at the end came through vividly.” — Harri Kuusisaari, Rondo.fi

  • “Both the lead performers and those in the smaller roles are perfectly cast. The creators could trust that everyone is a skilled professional in their place.” — Annmari Salmela, Helsingin Sanomat

  • Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.

  • Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point.