Henri Tikkanen will obtain his M. Mus. degree from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 2019. Born in 1989, this Finnish baritone has spoken of how he feels at home on stage and how he enjoys bringing the experience of opera to audiences. In addition to opera, Lieder singing is among his great loves. In the autumn of 2018 Tikkanen sang the role of a Prison Guard in Jake Heggie’s new opera Dead Man Walking at the Barbican Centre in London. The principal role in this BBC production was sung by Joyce DiDonato and it was conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. In the same season he sang the role of Tarquinius in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia in Helsinki. His repertoire also includes major works of sacred music such as Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah and Bach’s St John Passion.