Soprano Tefta Tashko Koço (1910-1947) was born in Fayoum, Egypt, where her parents had emigrated from the end of the 19th century. In 1921 the family moved to Korçë, and in 1927 Tefta left for Montpellier to learn singing. Between 1932 and 1936 she studied at the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Déclamation in Paris. When she returned to Albania permanently in 1936, apart from her programmes of operatic and chamber music, she also dedicated a great deal of effort to concentrating on learning and performing the Albanian urban lyric songs. She recorded twice for Columbia in Italy, in 1937 and 1942, a selection of the classical vocal repertoire and 45 Albanian urban lyric songs. Tefta was esteemed by national and foreign critics as “a lyric soprano of an excellent training, with a clear and healthy tone, with a cristaline intonation, brilliant vocal technique, discreet gestures and delightful phrasing” (Gllas, Beograd, 14 November 1945). Nearly five years before her death, Tefta and her husband, Kristo, had a son named Eno.
The year 2020 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Albanian soprano Tefta Tashko Koço. Albanians share happy moments when listening to her voice. Her crystal singing and pure tones resonate with the Albanian cosmogony. People continue to listen Tefta’s repertoire, where she so perfectly captures the spirit of the pieces.
Feeling interested and excited, people ask themselves: How could she reach such great heights?
Tefta reached the heights of her profession because since an early age she was captivated by the art of singing. ‘For Tefta, singing was like a chemical element which was part of the fabric of her essential physical and spiritual make-up’. Singing was her favourite activity by which she encouraged the emancipation of Albanian society during the time she lived.
TEFTA TASHKO KOÇO (1910‒2020).docx
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