The Latvian “nightingale” Elfrīda Pakule

One of the great 20th century Latvian opera voices

Historical sound recordings are treasures that, since the end of 19th century, inform us about musical life, about performers and about musical interpretation. We would like to tell you about one of the great 20th century Latvian opera voices, a coloratura soprano, whose recording legacy is a powerful witness to her remarkable voice. On hearing her recordings today, even with so many brilliant and talented singers all around us, one can agree with the sensation and excitement created by the press in the 1930s about the “Latvian Nightingale”.

Elfrīda Pakule, unknown author, 1948 Elfrīda Pakule’s (1912-1991) path to the opera stage was forged with slow and patient work, but fame and success came fast and was spectacular. In 1930 in Rīga, Latvia, the owner of an excellent tenor voice Pauls Sakss (1899-1966) agreed to become Elfrīda’s vocal teacher, with the provision that she fully submitted to his teaching regime.

The rules were as follows:

• scales practice only for the first 2 years
• it was forbidden to learn by listening to the recordings of other singers
• Elfrīda had a very wide vocal range (up to C of 4th octave) and to achieve evenness throughout her range, she was not permitted to sing higher than F or G of 3rd octave

After eight years of private teaching, P. Sakss finally permitted Elfrīda to make her debut in a radio broadcast, accompanied by symphonic orchestra. And so on May 3, 1938 her first public performance took place. The public and critical reaction was undivided – it was a sensation! High praise was given to her vocal technique as well as her musical talent.