Finnish bass-baritone Tuomas Pursio studied singing at the Sibelius Academy in his natal Helsinki and participated Masterclasses with Tom Krause, Laszlo Polgar, and is recently studying with prof. Elisabeth Werres. He joined the International Opera Studio in Zurich, where he also performed in several productions of the opera house.
In 1996, he started his international career as a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. From 2000 until 2002 he was an ensemble member of the Erfurt Theatre and subsequently joined the ensemble of the Leipzig Opera, where his many parts have included the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Andrej Kovrine in a world premiere of Philippe Hersant’s The black Monk, Wurm/Luisa Miller, Plumkett/Martha, Escamillo/Carmen, Leporello/DonGiovanni, Figaro/Le Nozze di Figaro, Musiklehrer/Ariadne auf Naxos, Förster/Schlaue Füchslein, Mephisto/Faust, Scarpia/Tosca and Amfortas/Parsifal.
Mr. Pursio has appeared as a guest at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Baden-Württembergische Staatsoper Stuttgart, Berliner Philharmonie, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Glyndebourne Festival, Finnish National Opera as well as in Hannover, Heidelberg, Bremen, Augsburg, Bielefeld, Zürich, Lausanne, Nice, Antwerpen, Tokio and Bern. Since 2003, he has been singing regularly at the Savonlinna Oper Festival.
Tuomas Pursio has worked in opera and concert together with such conductors as Riccardo Chailly, Adam Fischer, John Fiore, Philip Jordan, Axel Kober, Franz Welser-Moest, Nello Santi, Ulf Schirmer, Hans Wallat, Osmo Vänskä, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Marek Janowski, Anthony Bramall, Ralf Weikert, Frank Beermann, Axel Kober, Serge Baudo and Marcello Viotti.
Together with the Philharmonische Werkstatt Schweiz and Mario Venzago he recorded Robert Schumann´s Manfred, A DVD of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera
under Riccardo Chailly is now also available as well as a CD of Wagner's Meistersinger with Marek Janowski.