About me

I'm Iris Candelaria (b. 1995), a Finnish-Spanish soprano.

I graduated with a Master’s degree in Opera from the Sibelius Academy in 2022 under the tutelage of Annika Ollinkari, and since then I have been building my career on both Finnish and international stages.

​

Competition success has been an important stepping stone in my career: I won the Timo Mustakallio Competition in 2019, and in 2023 I was awarded both 1st Prize and the Audience Prize at the Lappeenranta Singing Competition.

In 2025, I received the prestigious Grand Prize of the Finnish Cultural Foundation in recognition of my work.

​

I made my operatic debut in 2022 at the Finnish National Opera as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Since then, I have performed there in several roles, including Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Valencienne (Lehár: The Merry Widow), Adele (J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus), Constance (Poulenc: Dialogues des Carmélites), and Voce dal cielo (Verdi: Don Carlo).

​

At the Savonlinna Opera Festival, I have appeared as the High Priestess (Verdi: Aida), Pamina (Mozart: Die Zauberflöte), and Zerlina (Mozart: Don Giovanni).

In summer 2026, I will return to Savonlinna to sing Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.

​

My concert repertoire spans a wide range of French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Finnish art song and opera.

I have performed at Finland’s most significant festivals, including the Helsinki Festival, Mikkeli Music Festival, Joroinen Music Festival, and the Lead! Festival in Fiskars, as well as appearing as a soloist with orchestras such as the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, and the Lappeenranta City Orchestra.

​

I made my international debut in summer 2025 at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, singing the role of Antigone in Enescu’s Œdipe.