Asnaketch Worku

Asnaketch Worku, also known by the French spelling of her name Asnatqèch Wèrqu (also spelled "Asnaqetch", "Asnakech" and "Worqu", "Werku", etc.; Ge'ez አስናቀች ወርቁ "Āsnāḳeč Werḳū" or "Worḳū", pronounced|wɔrkʼu, Amharic: "she surpassed," "His gold") is a famous Ethiopian singer. Her trademark is the "krar", a traditional Ethiopian plucked lyre. In 2003, Buda Musique released "Ethiopiques 16: The Lady With the Krar," a compact disc which compiles Asnaketch's recordings from the mid-1970s.

Buying her first Kirar for only 25 cents, Asnakech taught herself how to play and began performing in small bars and cabarets. She was the first actress in Ethiopia, making her debut in 1952 at the City Hall Theatre. Despite her long and distinguished career on the stage, Asnakech is known primarily not for her career as an actress, but for her skills with the Kirar and her quick wit and inspired improvisations. Asnakech worked at the National Theatre for 30 years before retiring in the 1980s

ee also

*Gigi (singer)