Ackté, Aino (1876–1944)

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Ackté, Aino (1876–1944)

Finnish soprano. Name variations: Aïno Ackté or Ackte. Born in Helsinki, Finland, on April 23, 1876; died in Nummela on August 8, 1944; daughter of Lorenz Nikolai Ackté (a baritone and conductor) and Emmy Strömer Ackté (a soprano); sister of Irma Tervani (1887–1936, a leading mezzo-soprano); studied with her mother before entering the Paris Conservatoire, 1894; studied with Duvernoy.

Aino Ackté made her 1897 debut at the Grand Opera in Paris as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust. Subsequently, she interpreted many parts with great success, including Elsa in Lohengrin, Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, Benjamin in Méhul's Joseph, and other leading roles. Under the baton of Sir Thomas Beecham, she was triumphant as the first British Salome in Strauss' opera. Ackté helped found the Finnish National Opera and was its director from 1938–39. Two volumes of her autobiography were published: the first in 1925, the second in 1935.

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