The theatre of Estonia dates back to 1784, when August von Kotzebue founded an amateur theatre company in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. Most of the plays at the time were comedies for the amusement for local Baltic German nobility. In 1809 a professional theatre company was established, with its own building in Tallinn, the Tallinna saksa teater. The repertoire was mostly in German but plays in Estonian and Russian were also performed.Culture And Customs of the Baltic States By Kevin O'Connor
/ref> After serfdom was abolished in Estonia in 1816, the first native Estonian musical society, Vanemuine, was established in 1865. The Vanemuine society's staging of

Lydia Koidula Lydia Emilie Florentine Jannsen, ( – ), known by her pen name Lydia Koidula, was an Estonian poet. Her sobriquet means 'Lydia of the Dawn' in Estonian. It was given to her by the writer Carl Robert Jakobson. She is also frequently referred to ...

's ''The Cousin from Saaremaa'' in 1870 marks the beginning of theatrical drama in the Estonian language. The Vanemuine Music and Theatre Society was led by

August Wiera August Daniel Wiera (28 March 1853 Jaama manor, near Tartu – 26 March 1919 Tartu) was an Estonian theatre and music personnel. Under his guidance Vanemuine Cultural Society's theatre collective became semi-professional. With August's help the ...

from 1878 to 1903. In 1906 a new building was erected for the society and the theatre company turned professional under the directorship of

Karl Menning Karl Menning (11 May 1874 in Tartu – 5 March 1941 in Tartu) was an Estonian theatre director, critic and diplomat. In 1902 he graduated from University of Tartu's department of religion. 1906-1914 he was the first theatre director of Vanemuine ...

. Plays by Western writers such as

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

, Gerhart Hauptmann, Russian Maksim Gorky and Estonian August Kitzberg,

Oskar Luts Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...

and

Eduard Vilde Eduard Vilde ( – 26 December 1933) was an Estonian writer, a pioneer of critical realism in Estonian literature, and a diplomat. Author of classics such as ''The War in Mahtra'' and ''The Milkman from Mäeküla''. He was one of the most revere ...

were staged. Also in 1906 the Estonia Music and Theatre Society in Tallinn turned professional under the leadership of Theodor Altermann and

Paul Pinna Paul Pinna (3 October 1884 Tallinn – 29 March 1949 Tallinn) was an Estonian actor and stage director. Since 1899 he started stage activity at the "Estonia" theatre society. 1900s he was related to establish professional Estonia Theatre E ...

. This company later became the

Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Nati ...

References

Arts in Estonia Theatre in Estonia {{estonia-stub