Finnish bass-baritone Juha Uusitalo"s first aria album features the best-known arias for male voice from Wagner"s operas, including the popular "Song to the Evening Star" from Tannhäuser. Described by the Financial Times in July 2007 as "a titan (...), with a huge yet cultivated sound and truck-loads of charisma set to conquer the opera world," Uusitalo has quickly established himself as the leading Wagnerian bassbaritone of his generation. In autumn 2007, he sang Wotan at the Vienna Staatsoper in several acclaimed performances, and, under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, he will star in the complete Ring cycle through 2009. In September 2008, Juha Uusitalo will make his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera as John the Baptist in Richard Strauss"s Salome, opposite Karita Mattila in the title role. On his debut album, Juha Uusitalo is accompanied by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of its Emeritus Chief Conductor Leif Segerstam.