Kaire Vilgats (born 11 January 1976
Kaire Vilgats: mulle võib julgelt tänaval juurde astuda, humoorikad seigad mulle meeldivad!) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n vocalist and actress, known for numerous roles in stage musicals. Over the years, she has repeatedly participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

as a backing vocalist for Estonian entries.

Early life

Kaire Vilgats was born and spent her childhood in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet o ...

, a resort town in the south-west of Estonia, where she also went to school. She learnt the accordion in a music school before taking classes in singing.

Career

Vilgats has later been trained in pop-jazz singing at the Georg Ots Music School 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 ' ...

, with

Silvi Vrait Silvi Vrait (28 April 1951 – 28 June 2013) was an Estonian singer and music teacher. Biography Vrait was born in Kehra in 1951 to Einar "Edward" Wright, a Minnesota-born American of Finnish ancestry and his Estonian wife Senta (née Schönbe ...

as her vocal coach. In 1999, Vilgats was awarded third place in the

Kaks takti ette "Kaks takti ette" was an Estonian television programme, where young vocalists competed each other. The programme lasts 1972–2007. The programme was broadcast on Eesti Televisioon. Notable participants Silvi Vrait, Anne Veski, Marju Länik, Siir ...

contest for young singers, organized by

Estonian Television Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televis ...

. The winner of that season was an Estonian rock star,

Tanel Padar Tanel Padar (born 27 October 1980) is an Estonian people, Estonian singer and songwriter. He is best known internationally for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the ''Kaks takti ette'', a biennial televised ...

, with

Eda-Ines Etti Eda-Ines Etti (, born 26 May 1981), also known as simply Ines, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Etti represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song " Once in a Lifetime", placing fourth. Until their win the following ...

in second position. The same year, she was cast in the company of the Estonian production of the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

'' La Cage aux Folles'' which was her theatre début. A series of supporting roles in musicals were to follow. Kaire Vilgats has been the musical director of the Estonian Puppet Theatre in

, where she composed music for children's musicals and plays, like, ''The Little Witch'' by

Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (sometimes spelled as Otfried Preussler; both ; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German literature, German Children's literature, children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books ...

. In 2006, she was nominated for an Estonian theatre prize for the supporting role of Amps in the musical ' but did not win.

Roles

* 2000: ''

Tanz der Vampire ''Dance of the Vampires'' is a musical remake of the 1967 Roman Polanski film of the same name (known as ''The Fearless Vampire Killers'' in the USA). Polanski also directed this musical’s original German-language production (titled ). The mus ...

'' (Magda) * 2000: '' Little Shop of Horrors'' (Crystal) * 2000: '' Zorba'' (Storyteller) * 2001: ''

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves th ...

(Betty from Boston) * 2001: ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (Mme Thenardier, understudy) * 2002: ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'' (Gigi) * 2003: ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' (Golde) * 2004: '' Crazy for You'' (Irene Roth) * 2006: '' Fame'' (Esther Sherman) * 2006: ' (Amps) * 2006: '' Lumekuninganna'' (Snow Queen) (Grandmother/Snow Queen) * 2007: ''

Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...

'' (Carlotta) * 2008: ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' (Reno Sweeney) * 2008: '' Buratino senitundmatud seiklused'' ("Buratino`s Yet Unknown Adventures") (Malviina) * 2011: '' Libahunt'' ("The Warewolf") (Grandmother) * 2011: '' The Beauty and the Beast'' (Teapot) * 2011: '' Karlsson katuselt'' ("Karlsson on the Roof") (Hildur Sokk), drama * 2012: '' Seljatas sada meest'' ("Overcame a Hundred Men") (Maria Loorberg), drama * 2013: ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...

'' (Dragon) * 2014: '' Koerhaldjas Mia'' (Dog-Fairy Mia) (Christmas Mom) * 2015: '' Billy Elliiot'' (Mrs Wilkinson) * 2015: '' Karlsson katuselt'' ("Karlsson on the Roof"), (Hildur Sokk) * 2016: '' Mamma Mia'' (Rosie Mulligan / Tanya Chesham-Leigh) * 2017: ''

'' (Mme Thenardier) As a chorist, Vilgats has appeared in ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * Evita (1996 film), ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * Evita (2008 film), ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * Evita (album), ''E ...

'', '' La Cage aux Folles'', ''

Georg Georg may refer to: * Georg (film), ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also

* George (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

'' and ''Mort''. She is also a voice actress and vocal coach.

Other credits

Kaire Vilgats is a backing vocalist for different Estonian pop acts, such as

Anne Veski Anne Veski (born Anne Vaarmann; 27 February 1956) is an Estonian pop singer who has recorded music in both her native language as well as Russian. Biography Anne Veski was born as Anne Vaarmann in Rapla, Estonia. She graduated from the musica ...

Ivo Linna Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer. Eurovision Song Contest and Eesti Laul He represented Estonia alongside Maarja Liis Ilus in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo with the song " Kaelakee Hääl" (The Sound ...

Maarja Maarja is an Estonian feminine given name. It is considered to be the Estonian form of the name ''Maria'' (and therefore ''Mary''). The name is common in Estonia, and may refer to any of the following persons: *Maarja-Liis Ilus (born 1980; some ...

. With 7 appearances, she is holding the record of biggest number of participations in the

for Estonia. In 2000 and 2002, she sang backing vocals for the Estonian and Maltese songs, and did the same for Estonia at 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019 contests. The 2020 contest in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

she was to attend as a backing singer got cancelled due to the pandemic spread of coronavirus. Vilgats provided her vocals for the album ''Family. We are Family'', released in 2003 as a cooperative effort of several popular vocalists, such as Nele-Liis Vaiksoo and

Lauri Pihlap Lauri Pihlap (born 9 March 1982 in Tallinn) is an Estonian pop and R&B singer and hip hop artist. In 2000 he joined the band 2XL (later Soul Militia). In 2007 he started its solo career under the name Lowry. His debut album's name is "Split Pe ...

. She has also performed with the Estonian Police Orchestra and a number of other orchestras and groups. Kaire Vilgats has been open about her weight problems and has therefore given patronage to sporting events, like Tartu Maraton in which she successfully participates. She has co-hosted and participated in TV-shows, ''

Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' (Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was f ...

'' among many. In 2021, she had a small role in the Ergo Kuld directed comedy film ''Jahihooaeg''.

Personal life

Vilgats is a mother of three children, two sons and a daughter. She is divorced from a music producer Johannes Lõhmus. Vilgats' mother is Ester Vilgats, a news journalist for

Estonian Public Broadcasting Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also * ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilgats, Kaire 1976 births Living people 21st-century Estonian women singers Estonian stage actresses Estonian musical theatre actresses Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Estonia Estonian pop singers People from Pärnu 21st-century Estonian actresses Eesti Laul contestants Tallinn Georg Ots Music School alumni