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 Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

where she worked as a voice teacher.

Biography

Born in

, 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. Her sister Alma paid for her studies in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

(1886–87) after which she studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

under Pauline Viardot. After appearing in a concert in Helsinki in 1887, she made her operatic début as Margarete in Gounod's ''

Faust (opera) ''Faust'' is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play ''Faust et Marguerite'', in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust, Part One''. It debuted at the ...

'' 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 ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' and ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fohstrom, Elin 19th-century Finnish women opera singers Finnish operatic sopranos 1868 births 1949 deaths Singers from Helsinki People from the Grand Duchy of Finland