Iltalehti, Finland, September 2007





Tarja Turunen has just turned 30.
- I haven't had a crisis yet and my family or husband aren't creating pressure on me. It would be hard to go through daily in a relationship that the other isn't satisfied with you.
Even without a crisis many begin to think in their 30 at the latest about their stand on having a family.
- My tummy isn't bulging yet. But I have to admit that I'm a woman in an age where I have thought about children. I have noticed that there is no perfect time to have children. And it's not obvious to have them. Many of my friends have battled with this issue.
- I'm at the moment in the turning point in my career. We'll see how my first album is received and what the situation is like in a year or two. I'll surely be that kind of a mother who takes my children with me. You just have to have the right attitude towards it. Life is what it is and family goes with you.

Tarja tries to live as healthy as possible. She starts a morning with a good breakfest, usually with bran. Because of the yeast problem she stays away from sugar.
- Singing pretty much defines my life unless I'm lying on some beach on holiday. If I'm not working I may relax with a glass of wine. If I have to sing the next day it has to stay only that one glass. I train every day so my life is quite disciplined. I don't go much to smoky restaurants.
Once a year she takes a holiday.
- We usually spend January in Argentina in our home in Buenos Aires.
Tarja and Marcelo have had a home for about four years also in Kuusankoski. They got it when Tarja graduated from Karlsruhe's music university in Germany.
- Finland is a center of peace for both of us. Marcelo loves Finland. In Kuusankoski you can hear the birds sing, it's like a vacation. I have had to keep the basic values like home and family it's been important for both of our mental healths. I don't think I'd ortherwise be this balanced. We also have lovely friends in Kuusankoski.

Nightwish's new album is also released in the autumn.
- It's not a competition, it's about the music. Many people will like Nightwish's album and may wonder what on earth is that Tarja doing now. Or someone might not stand the Nightwish album but likes my music. It's about opinion not a competition. Not me nor Nightwish can accept it as a competition, it makes no sense. Music is music.
Tarja hasn't been in contact with her former bandmates but she has heard the new vocalist Anette Olzon on the radio.
- I was in Finland some time ago and heard the ballad on the radio. Surely I have an opinion about the matter but I don't think my opinion is valid in this case. I may be the last person who should say anything, Turunen says diplomatically.
Turunen emphazises that she hasn't lost her fate in the music business at any point.
- A person has to be able to take a few hits. My husband owns a record company so I've seen what happens in the music business. When one door closes new ones open. I've dealed with it on my part and I can fully live and enjoy what I'm doing. I have positive people around me and a good feeling.

Scans and translation by Afrodite