Anita Välkki

Anita Välkki (25 October 1926 – 27 April 2011) was a Finnish dramatic soprano who had an international career in major roles at leading opera houses.

[1] In 1960 her international career began when she appeared as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Välkki appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as Brünnhilde in 1963/64, and her career also took her to Mexico City, Vienna and Philadelphia in roles that included Verdi's Aida and Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana.

[1] Praised for her strong and clear voice and dramatic ability, Välkki also appeared in Finnish operas, creating the role of the Merchant's Wife in The Horseman by Aulis Sallinen at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 1975, and singing in Aarre Merikanto's Juha in Helsinki in 1986.

[3][1] Anita Välkki decided to stay and continue her singing career in her native Finland from the early 1970s on despite being in demand abroad.