Seppo Juhani Ruohonen was a Finnish operatic tenor and voice pedagogue born on April 25, 1946, in Turku. He received his musical training under Lea Piltti before studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he obtained degrees in opera and voice with the highest honors. Ruohonen made his professional debut in 1969 in Turku as Don José in the opera Carmen. He was a principal tenor with the Finnish National Opera and was attached to Oper Frankfurt from 1978 to 1994. Throughout his career, which spanned over four decades and included more than 100 major roles, he performed at the Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Savonlinna Opera Festival. From 1999 to 2004, he served as a professor of opera coaching at the Sibelius Academy. In 2011, Ruohonen was awarded the Pro Finlandia medal. He died of stomach cancer on March 1, 2020, in Vantaa.
