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TARJA TURUNEN: Not the time for children yet
Tarja Turunen tells about living between two countries, her late mother, Argentinean Christmas traditions and how Marcelo charmed her.
Tarja Turunen, 29, walks slowly to Helsinki's Kulttuuritalo's stage. A smile on her face and a tender look in her eyes. Her hair is lighter than during the past years and a soft make-up emphasizes her features. The soprano resembles only a bit of Nightwish's singer who favored black hair and fierce stage make-up.
Tarja is wearing a classy, black trouser suit. Around her tunic she has binded a scarf that glows in red and gold. The singer casts her eyes to the top of the consert hall and starts with the song Kuin Henkäys Ikuisuutta. The audience is quiet.
There are middle age couples as well as goth youth in the audience. There are at least two fans from Japan, a fan couple from California and a girl who sees Tarja for the 25th time today.
While the band changes the stage props, Tarja comes to the audience. She talks with the North-Carelian dialect, smiles to the audience ad asks if the night has met their expectations.
After the songs by John Lennon and Abba Tarja performs more pious carols and sits in front of the piano for a while. Lastly fake snow comes down from the concert hall's ceiling and Tarja sings in a red velvet dress Walking in the Air, a song which is known from the Snowman- movie.
When the two and a half hour long concert is over, Tarja gives autographs for fans for another two and a half hours.
It's been five days from the first concert when Tarja is again in Helsinki. She'd been up until 11 p.m. last night for the concert for The Association of Friends of the University Children's Hospitals, but she's ready for the interview already at eight in her hotel.
Tarja has two hours before she has to leave for Joensuu, where the next concert will be.
You are used to performing for tens of thousands of people and yet it seemed like you were nervous in your opening concert.
- I was really nervous for my first performance in Helsinki. I encouraged myself by thinking that a little excitement is part of the concert. It helps to consontrate. I also admitted to my husband that I wasn't so nervous about singing than speaking between songs in Finnish. It's so much more natural to talk to an audience in English, because I'm used to it.
How is it different to perform in an intimate Christmas concert than on the world's biggest stadiums?
- The concert halls feel small when I'm used to perform for the masses. However I enjoy the intimatecy of the halls. It's a different athmosphere in Christmas concerts as well. The approaching Christmas gives it peace and sensitivity.
During nine concerts you'll perform for example in Joensuu, Turku and Kuopio. How do you travel?
- In the home country we travel with my husband with our own car. We come back to Kuusankoski when ever it's possible. In Joensuu we'll stay at my dad's house and we'll meet friends and fans in many other places as well.
What is your husband Marcelo's role on tour?
- During the concert he helps me backstage for example with costume changes, supervises activity on and off stage and deals with other errands connected with the concert.
Your tour ends in Russia. Why did you want to perform in St. Petersberg and Moscow as well?
- I was in Russia the last time on 2003 with Nightwish. I know that there are people there waiting for me to perform. This year I was invited to perform in Russia and I was happy about it. Later I got calls to other European countries as well, but the Christmas time is short. I can't go everywhere.
The tour keeps you busy during December. Have you had time to prepare for Christmas?
I'm a Christmas person, but I don't start to prepare for it early. I've always been at home with my family, but this year I'll be away from Finland. We're going to go to Buenos Aires. After Christmas my brothers are coming to Argentina for a vacation and on New Year's Day we celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.
Will you spend Christmas with your husband's family?
- We'll be with Marcelo's parents at Christmas. In Finland Christmas is a pious and peaceful celebration, but in Argentina people go out to the streets. Fireworks are exploding and people are going wild. An Argentinean Christmas is like Finnish New Year. Though they do enjoy ham and go to church there too.
- I'm going to help Marcelo's mum with cooking among other things. The flight to Buenos Aires is so long that there's no point in me taking Finnish Christmas casseroles with me.
What kind of memories do you have of family Christmases?
- We have always had the same traditions. We dig up old notes at Christmas at the latest, play the piano and sing together. We eat ham and casseroles.
- For me Christmas has always been in particular a Turunen's family celebration. I often miss my family and Christmas is that time of the year when we come together. Even on the busiest years I have came home for Christmas.
On New Year you'll see your brothers in Argentina. What are you going to do?
- We'll spend the first week in Buenos Aires. I'll take them at least to the stores, a tango bar and a local animal park where you can pet even a lion. The next couple weeks we'll travel in other parts of Argentina.
This year you had time to execute your longtime dream of a Christmas album. How did you assemble it?
- I couldn't make an entirely traditional Christmas album, though it has many Finnish pious carols. I tried to also get some songs that are known all over the world. One of the album's dearest songs to me is Cori Connors' You Would Have Loved This.
What's the song about?
- It's a sad story of losing someone dear to you. The idea is to think about that person on that time of the year she or he loved. So it's not necessarily a Christmas song. I wanted to dedicate it to my mother who passed away three years ago, since she loved christmas. We had a special connection.
You started singing at a young age in your home town Kitee. Your mother took you to choir practise and camps. How much did she affect on you becoming a singer?
- My mum has had a big influence on my career. She encouraged me to music the same as my dad did. When I was small we lived in a small town called Puhos, 15 kilometres from Kitee's centrum. My parents still managed to take me to choir practise and singing lessons every day.
Was your mother musical as well?
- She had a lovely singing voice, but her parents hadn't encouraged her to music. I know that she would have wanted to learn to play the piano. Singing was important to her. She did everything she could so that I was taken to music hobbies. Mum didn't want me to feel bad for not studying singing.
Are you living your mother's dream in a way?
- I'm living my own dream. I've studied music and worked hard. In every concert room I have a picture of my mother and a small candle to remind of her.
Did your husband get to meet your mother?
- They knew eachother for three years. Eventhough Marcelo and my mum didn't have a mutual language, they became close. My mum was sort of a second mother to my husband. Her death was as hard for Marcelo as it was for me.
Your Argentinean husband has become a solid part of your family. When did you meet Marcelo for the first time?
- We were touring South-America with the band and Marcelo was our tour manager. We met for the first time on a lunch. Marcelo had short hair at the time. I remember thinking that he's quiet and shy for a latino. I didn't know then that Argentineans were serious on the South-American scale. After the meeting he went ski slaloming to the Andes and I went shopping. It really wasn't love at first sight.
When did the love start?
- Marcelo toured South-America with us for a few weeks. Although he was responsible of running errands he always had time for me. Marcelo took it upon himself that I felt good and safe. After the tour I left to Finland feeling confused. It felt insane to think that half way around the world there was the right person for me. You could say socks were spinning on my feet.
When did you meet the next time?
- A month later he came to visit Finland. I took Marcelo around East-Finland by car and he was amazed about all the peace and space we have.
You got married on 2002 in Helsinki's city administrative court and had a big summer wedding in Kitee half a year later. How did Marcelo propose to you?
- We were in an opera in Buenos Aires. During intermission Marcelo kneeled in our stand and propesed to me. Soon after we went to look for rings.
Now you have homes both in Kuusankoski and in Buenos Aires. How do you smdivide your time between two countries?
- We sit down in the beginning of each year and make a plan month by month. Presently we're probably spending more time in Finland than there. It's important to me that we spend longer times also in Argentina. I want him to maintain bonds to his home country. The connection is important also because my husband has an office and a job there.
What does he do for a living?
- Marcelo has a small record company whose business he takes care of from here as well. It's good to go there now and then. Sometimes Marcelo goes to Argentina alone.
Why did you choose to make your Finland's home in Kuusankoski where you have no family or relatives?
- We didn't want to move to Helsinki, but somewhere with a reasonable driving distance to it. We went around in diffrent places looking for apartments. My bosom friend cantor Marianna Pellinen lives in Kuusankoski and she helped us to find an apartment. Through Marianna we have formed a solid circle of friends in Kuusankoski. Everytime we're there we can visit them and coffee gets made and sauna warms up.
How is your everyday life different in Buenos Aires than in Kuusankoski?
- At least so far I've been in Buenos Aires when I've been preparing for an upcoming, big consert. Usually I meet my singing teacher, go to the gym and consontrate on taking care of myself. I also have a few students in town, who I teach singing.
Do you have your own friends in Buenos Aires?
- I know Marcelo's friends. There are a few people I know from the gym and we catch up the latest.
What is your Buenos Aires home like?
- It's on the 14th floor of an apartment building. Marcelo wanted Finnish art there, so we have pictures of Finland's seasons on every wall. We also have a Finnish kitchen that we found accidentally from an Argentinean furniture shop. We don't have a sauna, but Marcelo dreams already that if we some time move we'll get a sauna to our new apartment. He has become more Finnish over the past few years. He even got his own Finnish teacher in Buenos Aires through the embassy.
Your home in Argentina has reminders of Finland. Do you have Argentinean things in home in Kuusankoski?
- It's furnished in a Finnish way as well. I have sometimes said to Marcelo that we should get something Argentinean there, but he doesn't care so much. To me the most important thing in a home is a warm atmosphere.
Do people regonize you in Buenos Aires?
- Being regonized there is different than here. You really get attention! Fans start to laugh, sing and jump. The most active fans usually know where I'm at. When I come home there's otfen a bouquet of roses waiting at the door.
Living between two coutries must have its own fortunes.
- The best things in Finland are serenity, friends and short distances. We were jugging one evening in Kuusankoski and admired the silence. The noise never stops in Argentina. You can hear the noise of traffic to our home there. Usually on the first night in Finland we go to bed marveling how quite it is in here. - In Argentina I'm fascinated by the positivity of life and versatility of the supply. It's wonderful to go shopping there. I also love the simple Argentinean food like a steak flavoured with salt and lemon and the Mendoza-area's red wine.
When you're in Finland what do you miss of Argentina?
- I sometimes miss the wildness of Argentineans. They don't take things too seriously and don't stress about little things. From Argentineans I've learned a different outlook on life and I can deal with stress better. I've had success, blows and sorrows in my life. Now I just try to enjoy this moment.
How has Marcelo changed your attitude to life?
- My husband has taught me to open up and talk. He deals with things without turning them into a problem and can oppenly talk about anything. I don't regonize the concept of fighting in our relationship. We disguss things calmly through even if someone is standing next to us. - I've had great fortune in my life, as I feel that I live in a good relationship.
Where do you feel most at home?
- My roots are firmly in East-Finland. Luckily my brothers still live in Kitee and my dad in Joensuu. Those are places, where my real mental home is. I don't feel rootless as long as I can visit East-Finland annually.
You've been married to your husband for four years and the hard touring with the band is over. Are you planning to have children?
- My biological clock isn't ticking yet! The time for children will surely come some day. I wouldn't want children in this situation right now. We still live a moving life and I have many plans for my solo career.
Have you thought when you would want to be a mother?
- I haven't marked having kids to my calender. By the time my kids would reach the age to go to school my life has to be in balance. You have to be able to offer them roots and a warm home. I would consider it a blessing to be a mother some day. I think I'd be a fairly good mother.
Could you keep a break from your career for your family?
- Starting a family would automatically make a break. I can also trust my husband's resources. He gives me as much support as possible and I surely wouldn't feel alone even as the mother of small children.
What are you going to do next?
- I'm looking for songs for my new album from different composers. I'm making a record with Germany's Universal-company and it's going to be an international release. In my music I'll try to combine different elements, like classical music and rock. I'll head to studio on March and to gigs on 2008.
You've seen a lot of the world and you're turning only 30 next August. How do you feel about that?
- I feel it in my body that I'm not so young anymore. Places hurt and ache now more than ther did before and a short night sleep backfire easily. I still don't think that I'm going to have a crisis.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
- We'll still be living on the Finland-Argentina axle, but I'll have ten years more experience on life. Surely I'll still sing.
You have achieved world fame as a singer and you have also been able to create your solo career. What do you still dream of?
- I hope that I'll be able to sing still when I'm sixty. Otherwise I don't dream of things far ahead but live in the moment. Life has given me a lot, but it has also taken things away from me. I try to do things one at a time. It's good to keep facts in mind and not to reach for too much.
TARJA'S TUESDAY
9.00/9 a.m.
Morning wake-up. I cuddle my husband and brush my teeth. I enjoy my coffee and a light breakfest.
9.30/9.30 a.m.
I go through my e-mails, interviews and errends at home and on the town.
12.00/12 noon
I run on the treadmill and sweat.
14.00/2 p.m.
I eat lunch
15.00/ 3 p.m.
A little after-dinner nap.
16.00/ 4 p.m.
I start singing rehearsal and practicing songs.
19.00/ 7 p.m.
Coffee break. I pop in to meet friends.
21.00/ 9 p.m.
I go to the sauna and eat an evening snack.
23.00/11 p.m.
We fall asleep in front of the television
Ilona Video Interview
Interviewer: So you have just released a christmas album and are doing a tour all over Finland. Where will you spend your christmas this year?
Tarja: Actually this will be my first christmas in Argentina, I'm leaving Finland for the first time on christmas. It's always been a family celebration and we have tried to be together, but this year my family will come after christmas to Argentina.
I: What do you think christmas will feel like in a foreign country?
T: Well, it's going to be very different already by the climate, since it's like +35 C in shadow. Chocolates will melt. I think it's going to be very different christmas by the food and everything. I'll just have to keep an open mind and go to christmas church like in Finland and try to create a Carelian buffet table from Argentinean ingredients. We'll see if I succeed in it.
I: You did one song for this christmas album by yourself called 'Henkäys Ikuisuudesta'. What's it about?
T: In fact this song is made to a poem by Sinikka Svärd, myself and Esa Nieminen thought about it together. I had asked Esa if he had a new song for me to put on this album. He played a few for me and then I chose one and asked if it were possible to change it a bit and 'Kuin Henkäys Ikuisuutta' was born with those changes. It was a new experience for me, a wonderful new breath, I had never thought about participating on writing a song for this album. I'm glad we were able to do it.
I: Your tour ends with to gigs in Russia. Why did you want to perform in St. Petersrburg and Moscow as well?
T: I haven't been able to go there for many years, it must have been on 2003 the last time I did a consert in Russia. I have heard that there are a lot of people there waiting for me and all the messages, e-mails, letters, flowers and everything flooding to my home from Russia show that there are intrested people. I'm happy to go there with this tour, Russia fits into this christmas tour, even though they don't celebrate christmas the same we do in Finland. New year is more important. But we'll see how these concerts go.
I: Why did you decide not to do any other shows in Europe?
T: Right after I was asked to perforn in Russia, I got calls from other places as well, but I didn't have more than a couple of months time for this tour and I also wanted to keep it relaxed, not a show and traveling every night. Russia just fit into plans and to the ideology of this christmas. But I got invitations from many other countries, but they'll just have to be patient and wait for me, maybe in 2008. At least that's the original idea.
I: How about after christmas and holiday, what will you do next spring?
T: I'll have some time off in the beginning of next year, going on a vacation with my husband and in the spring we'll start to work on my solo album, I'm actually working on it right now. We'll head to the studio in March to record the first songs, so I'll have a lot of work on the spring and the whole year.
I: Thank you for the interview.
T: Thank you.
Translation by Afrodite
I: Thank you for the interview.
T: Thank you.
Translation by Afrodite