"Kratt" 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 ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in four acts by

Eduard Tubin Eduard Tubin ( – 17 November 1982) was an Estonian composer, conductor, and choreographer. Life Tubin was born in Torila, Tartu County, Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire. Both his parents were music lovers, and his fat ...

. It is considered to be the first Estonian ballet. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

is written by

Elfriede Saarik Elfriede Saarik (full name Erika Elfriede Elena Saarik, since 1941 Tubin; 22 May 1916 – 22 October 1983) was an Estonian dancer and stage actress. Career Elfriede Saarik was born in the Karkaraly District of Karaganda in Kazakhstan to Estonian ...

. The ballet is entirely based on folk tunes. The premiere was on 31 March 1943 in

Vanemuine Theatre Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

. The ballet became infamous in Estonia due to the Soviet " March Bombing" of

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 ' ...

in 1944, when the bombing started as the ballet was being performed at the

Estonia Theatre Estonia Theatre is an historic building in Tallinn, Estonia, which houses the Estonian National Opera and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. The original Jugendstil building was designed by Finnish architects Armas Lindgren and Wivi L� ...

, which was heavily damaged right after the theatre had been evacuated. Tubin started to create the ballet already in 1938. 2nd version was created in 1940–1941 and 3rd version in 1960.

References

{{Reflist 1943 ballet premieres Estonian music Theatre in Estonia