Born on 4 June 1887 in Helsinki, Irma Achté was the daughter of the opera singer
Emmy Achté née Strömer and the conductor
Lorenz Nicolai Achté. Her younger sister,
Aino Ackté, was a celebrated international operatic soprano. First taught by her mother (1905–07), she continued her studies at the
Paris Conservatory under
Edmond Duvernoy (1904–06) and in
Dresden where she made her début at the Royal Opera in 1908 as Delilah in
Saint-Saens's
Samson and Delilah. She also performed in other opera houses in Germany, notably in
Frankfurt in 1910 where her interpretation of
Carmen was particularly intense, attracting wide acclaim. She also starred in
Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice,
Verdi's
Il trovatore and
Aida and in
Wagner's operas. In Finland, she performed in
Oskar Merikanto's opera
Elinan surma in 1910 and in
Carmen in 1912. Tervani retired from the Dresden Opera in 1932 and moved with her family to Berlin where she died on 29 October 1936. She had been married to the theatre director Paul Wiecke since 1916 and had two children. ==References==