Emilie Mechelin (8 April 1838 – 22 December 1917) was a Finnish

operatic soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to A5 in choral music, or to ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. She was the first singing teacher of the Helsinki School of Music (later to become

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...

Early life and education

Johanna Sofia Emilie Mechelin was born to an upper-class family in

Hamina Hamina (; , , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, region, and formerly ...

in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, the eldest of five children of ''

Valtioneuvos Valtioneuvos (Finnish language, Finnish for “counsellor of state”, ) is a Finnish title of honor awarded by the President of Finland to elder statesmen. It is one of two titles (the other being vuorineuvos) in the highest class of State of Finl ...

'' ('Councillor of State') Gustaf Johan Mechelin and Amanda Sagulin. One of Emilie's brothers is

Leo Mechelin Leopold Henrik Stanislaus Mechelin (24 November 1839 – 26 January 1914), known as Leo Mechelin, was a Finland, Finnish politician, professor, Liberalism, liberal reformer and businessman. A leading defender of the autonomy of the Grand Duchy ...

, who later became an economist, academic and statesman. Mechelin trained in Paris in 1865–67 and 1869–70 under leading

s of the time, including

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García,FitzLyon, p. 15, referring to the baptismal name. Thbirth recorddigitized a ...

. In 1873–74 she was taught in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Signe Hebbe Signe Amanda Georgina Hebbe (30 July 1837 – 14 February, 1925) was a Swedish operatic soprano and instructor. Life Signe Hebbe was born in Värnamo to the journalist Vendela Hebbe and Clemens Hebbe. Education In 1848, at the age of ele ...

. She also studied for a time in Germany.

Career

Although there was no permanent opera house in Finland at the time, Mechelin performed at the

Swedish Theatre The Swedish Theatre () is a Swedish-language theatre in Helsinki, Finland, and is located at the Erottaja () square, at the end of Esplanadi (). It was the first national stage of Finland. History The first theatre in Helsinki, '' Engels Te ...

and the in at least six productions. She also performed at the

Royal Dramatic Theatre The Royal Dramatic Theatre (, colloquially ''Dramaten'') is Sweden's national stage for "spoken drama", founded in 1788. Around one thousand shows are put on annually on the theatre's five running stages. The theatre has been at its present lo ...

in Stockholm, as well as touring extensively in Finland and

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Mechelin taught singing from early on, with her pupils including Emma Engdahl-Jägerskiöld, Emmy Achté and Ida Basilier-Magelssen. In 1882, Mechelin was appointed the first teacher of voice at the Helsinki School of Music (''Helsingin Musiikkiopisto''), which post she held until 1885, when she moved to

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo) and later to Stockholm to continue her teaching career. In the latter part of her career, Mechelin gave up singing almost entirely, dedicating herself instead to giving private lessons. She occasionally performed at concerts until the age of 60, by which time her voice had changed to

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

References

External links

Repository of contemporary newspaper coverage of Emilie Mechelin
at Finnish National Library (digitised; in Finnish and Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mechelin, Emilie 19th-century Finnish women opera singers Musicians from the Grand Duchy of Finland Sopranos from the Russian Empire Finnish sopranos People from Hamina 1838 births 1917 deaths