Elin Fohström-Tallqvist, stage name Elina Vandár, (22 September 1868 – 19 April 1949) was a Finnish operatic soprano who performed in Finland, Russia, the Baltic countries, Germany and Italy at the end of the 19th century. After a relatively short but successful singing career, she returned to Helsinki where she worked as a voice teacher.[1]

Elin Fohström
Black-and-white photo of Fohström holding a baby wrapped in a blanket. She smiles down at the baby while the baby looks at the camera.
Fohström and her daughter Inger, 1902
Born(1868-09-22)22 September 1868
Helsinki, Finland
Died19 April 1949(1949-04-19) (aged 80)
Helsinki, Finland
Spouse
Hjalmar Tallqvist
(m. 1897)
RelativesAlma Fohström (sister)
Musical career
Also known asElina Vandár
GenresOpera
Occupation(s)Operatic soprano, teacher

Biography

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Born in Helsinki, Fohström was the daughter of August Fridolf Fohström (1828–1893), a rich Swedish-speaking Finnish merchant, and his wife, Henriette Sofia Stenqvist (1834–1918). One of seven children, she was the sister of cellist Ossian Fohström and fellow opera singer Alma Fohström.[2] Her sister Alma paid for her studies in Florence (1886–87) after which she studied in Paris under Pauline Viardot.[1]

After appearing in a concert in Helsinki in 1887, she made her operatic début as Margarete in Gounod's Faust (opera) in 1889. From 1893, she toured Italy, Russia, and the Baltic countries. She received excellent reviews for the operas she performed in Germany in 1897. That year she married Hjalmar Tallqvist, performing in Roméo et Juliette, The Barber of Seville and Carmen in Zürich where her husband was teaching at the university. She then retired from the stage, performing only in benefit concerts. She spent her later years as a voice teacher in her native Helsinki where she died on 19 April 1949, aged 80.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hillila, Ruth-Esther; Hong, Barbara Blanchard (1997). Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 379–. ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3.
  2. ^ Fors, Ilona (2002). "Alma Fohström - von Rode 1856 - 1936" (PDF) (in Finnish). University of Helsinki Library. Retrieved 21 June 2017.