Asta Vihandi (born Asta Kronberg; 21 July 1929 – 5 March 1993) was an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

n opera and operetta soprano, stage and film actress, and dancer whose career began in 1947 at the age of eighteen. Vihandi's longest engagement was at the

Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Nat ...

, which lasted from 1950 until 1985. Later in life, she worked as an administrator for the National Philharmonic of the Estonian SSR.

Early life and education

Asta Vihandi was born Asta Kronberg in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...

to August and Lilli Kronberg (''née'' Zoo). She had one sibling. Vihandi attended primary and secondary schools in Tartu, graduating from Tartu Secondary School No.5 in 1947. In 1946, she studied ballet at the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

Ballet Studio, and also took singing lessons in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

under the instruction of

vocal pedagogue Vocal pedagogy is the study of the art and science of voice instruction. It is used in the teaching of singing and assists in defining what singing is, how singing works, and how proper singing technique is accomplished. Vocal pedagogy covers a ...

Klaudia Taev Klaudia Taev (13 April 1906 in Saaremaa – 7 June 1985 in Pärnu) was an Estonian vocal pedagogue. Born into a teacher’s family on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, she studied as an opera singer at the Tallinn Conservatoire, under the tu ...

and under instruction of Linda Saul and Elsa Maasik in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

Career

Stage

In 1947, shortly after graduating from secondary school, Vihandi began a year-long engagement at the Vanemuine theatre in Tartu as a soprano choral singer. The following year, she joined the

Endla Theatre Endla ( et, Endla teater) is a professional theatre in city of Pärnu, Estonia. The theatre was opened in 1911. The first performance was "Libahunt" ("Werewolf") by Estonian writer August Kitzberg. The Estonian Declaration of Independence was p ...

in Pärnu as an actress, dancer, and choral singer, leaving in 1950. Vihandi's longest engagement was as a ''

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage per ...

'' with the

in Tallinn, from 1950 until 1985, leaving to become an administrator of the National Philharmonic of the

Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an National delimitation in ...

(now, Eesti Kontsert).

Film

In addition to roles as an opera singer and stage actress, Vihandi also appeared in a number of roles in film, beginning with a leading role of Elizaveta Lomonosova in the 1955 Aleksandr Ivanov-directed Russian language

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

drama ''

Mikhaylo Lomonosov ''Mikhaylo Lomonosov'' (russian: Михайло Ломоносов) is a 1955 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Ivanov. Plot The film tells about the great Russian scientist Mikhailo Lomonosov, who, after completing his studies in Germany, retur ...

''. Notable appearances in

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 16 ...

films include the role of Heli in the 1957 drama ''Pöördel'', the role of Luisa in the 1958 drama ''Esimese järgu kapten'', and the role of Teele in the 1960 historical drama ''Perekond Männard''. All three of which were produced by Tallinna Kinostuudio (now,

Tallinnfilm Tallinnfilm is the oldest surviving film studio in Estonia. It was founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, and was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was forced into the Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet Occupation (1940–1941) ' ...

) and directed by Vihandi's second husband Aleksandr Mandrõkin. In 1972, she had a small role in the popular Sulev Nõmmik-directed comedy television film ''

Noor pensionär ''A Young Retiree'' ( et, Noor pensionär) is a 1972 Estonian comedy film directed by Sulev Nõmmik and written by himself and Enn Vetemaa. Together with ''Viimne reliikvia'', ''Siin me oleme!'' and ''Mehed ei nuta'', ''Noor pensionär'' is one o ...

'' for Eesti Telefilm.

Personal life

In 1947, at age eighteen, Asta Kronberg married singer, actor, and photographer Oskar Vihandi. The couple divorced in 1958. Later, she married director Aleksandr Mandrõkin. Vihandi had one child. She died in 1993, aged 63, and was interred at the

Forest Cemetery A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

in the

Pirita Pirita is one of the eight administrative districts ( et, linnaosa) of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Pirita occupies a relatively big area, but compared to other districts of Tallinn its population of 17,592 (as of 1 November 2014) is relati ...

district of Tallinn.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vihandi, Asta 1929 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Estonian women opera singers Estonian operatic sopranos Estonian film actresses Soviet film actresses Burials at Metsakalmistu 20th-century Estonian actresses Actresses from Tartu