Ortensia Synnerberg by Fedecki with autograph

Ortensia Synnerberg (1856-1920); Finnish mezzosoprano.
She received her first vocal training in St. Petersburg. In 1875 she made her debut in a concert in Helsinki and then went with a state scholarship for further studies to Milan, where she became a pupil of Francesco Lamperti. In 1877/78 she made guest appearances in Finland -both on stage as in the concert hall- , at London Covent Garden and at the Imperial Opera in St. Petersburg. This was followed by a tour through Italy and in 1881 she performed at the Wiener Hofoper. In 1883 she appeared in Buenos Aires and in Rio de Janeiro. In 1885 she appeared at the court Opera of Moscow in Glinka's operas "Ruslan and Ludmilla" and "A life for the Tsar". In 1890 she participated in a USA tour with the Patti-Opera. In 1891 she created the role of Beppe at the première of Mascagni's "L'amico Fritz". In the years 1896/98 she made guest appearances in Russia (Kiev, Odessa and Rostov) and in Italy ( Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and Naples). Since 1898 she worked as a vocal teacher in Kharkov. After the October revolution of 1917 she lived there in poor conditions.


On the photo she is seen as Dalila in Saint-Saëns' "Samson et Dalila".