Emmy Achté
Emmy Achté | |
---|---|
Born | Oulu |
Died | Helsinki |
Occupation | Opera singer |
Spouse(s) | Lorenz Nikolai Achté |
Children | Aino Ackté |
Emmy Charlotta Achté née Strömer (1850–1924) was an operatic mezzo-soprano, the first prima donna of the Finnish Opera. She performed in Helsinki from 1873 to 1879, excelling in dramatic roles. She was also a voice teacher for over 40 years, starting an opera class at the Helsinki Institute of Music.[1][2]
Biography[]
Born in Oulu on 14 November 1850, Emmy Strömer studied singing in Helsinki under Emilie Mechelin. From 1869 to 1873, she received further training in Stockholm under Fredrika Stenhammar (1838-1880) and in Paris under Jean-Jacques Masset.[1][3] In 1875, she married Lorenz Nicolai Achté, the conductor of the Finnish Opera.[4] When Kaarlo Bergbom opened the Finnish Opera in 1873, Achté played all the main mezzo-soprano roles until 1879. These included Azucena in Il trovatore, Valentine in Les Huguenots and Pamina in The Magic Flute.[2] She also gave concerts in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany and in 1878 sang at the opera in Gothenburg as a guest star. She is also remembered for her work as a voice teacher over a period of 40 years from 1874.[1] In the early 1880s, she studied further in Dresden under Eugen Hildach.[2] In 1892, Achté performed in Sibelius' choral symphony Kullervo[5] and in 1896, she played Chatelaine in his Jungfrun i tornet.[6]
Achté served as a teacher at her husband's Cantor-Organist school. After his death in 1900, she headed the establishment until 1922. From 1910 to 1913, she ran a private opera school and in 1912 she initiated an opera class at the Helsinki Institute of Music.[1] From 1910, she also taught drama and song at Helsinki's Swedish Theatre, directing a number of operas from 1912.[7]
Emmy Achté was the mother of the internationally famous opera singers Aino Ackté and Irma Tervani. She died in Helsinki on 2 December 1924.[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e Hillila, Ruth-Esther; Hong, Barbara Blanchard (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3.
- ^ a b c "Emmy Ackté 60 år" (in Swedish). Nya Pressen. 14 November 1910. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Achté, Emmy Charlotta" (in Swedish). Nordisk familjebok. 1904. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Lorenz Nicolai Achté". Geneanet. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ Sirén, Vesa (principal editor); et al. (2005-07-03). "Jean Sibelius, The Music – Kullervo". The Sibelius Project. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
- ^ "Jungfrun i tornet (The Maiden in the Tower), one-act opera". Jean Sibelius. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Achté, E. Ch" (in Swedish). Nordisk familjebok: supplement. 1922. p. 23. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- 19th-century Finnish women opera singers
- Finnish operatic mezzo-sopranos
- 1850 births
- 1924 deaths
- Singers from Helsinki
- People from Oulu