ASNAKECH 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
