Irma Tervani

Irma Tervani, born Achté, was a Finnish mezzo-soprano, the daughter of the conductor Lorenz Nicolai Achté and sister of the soprano Aino Ackté. She studied with her mother and at the Paris Conservatoire under Edmond Duvernoy, and made her debut at the Dresden Royal Opera in 1908 as Dalila in Samson et Dalila. She created the Third Maid in the premiere of Strauss's Elektra in 1909, was acclaimed as Carmen in Frankfurt in 1910, and appeared in Finland that year in the premiere of Merikanto's Elinan surma. She remained with the Dresden company until her retirement in 1932, and married the theatre director Paul Wiecke in 1916.