Aino Ackté

Aino Ackté was born on April 23, 1876, in Helsinki into an eminent musical family. Graduating with highest honors from the Paris Conservatoire in 1897, she made a sensational debut at the Paris Opéra as Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, performing there for six seasons.

Ackté conquered New York's Metropolitan Opera (1904–1906) and Covent Garden in London, where in 1910 she starred in the sensational British premiere of Richard Strauss's Salome under Thomas Beecham; Strauss declared her his ideal Salome. In 1912, inspired by the medieval stone walls of Olavinlinna Castle in the Saimaa lake district, Ackté founded the Savonlinna Opera Festival, creating Finland's most celebrated international cultural institution.