Variations of Name | Aino Ackté | Aino Achte | Aino Ackté-Renvall | Aino Ackté-Jalander |
Biography | Aino Ackté was a Finnish soprano. She was the first international star of the Finnish opera scene after Alma Fohström, and a groundbreaker for the domestic field.
She studied singing under her mother's tutelage until 1894 when she entered the Paris Conservatory, studying under Edmond Duvernoy and Alfred Girodet. Her debut at the Paris Grand Opera was in 1897 in Faust. In 1904 she was engaged by the New York Metropolitan Opera where she remained until 1906. She created the title role of Richard Strauss's Salome at its local premieres in Leipzig (1907) and London (1910).
In 1911, Ackté, Oskar Merikanto, and Edvard Fazer founded the Kotimainen Ooppera. She was to act as its director in 1938-39. After parting ways with the National Opera, Ackté organized an international Savonlinna Opera Festival beginning in 1912 until 1930. |