Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

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, an ...

. The company is based 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 Armas Elie ...

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 '' ...

. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian National Opera", which was adopted in 1998. The company produces a lively and varied season which includes

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

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 ...

s and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its ...

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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

s with over 500 people currently working at the Estonian National Opera.

History

The song and drama society "Estonia" was founded in 1870. This was the beginning of what has become the current-day Estonian National Opera ( et, Rahvusooper Estonia). Play-acting was taken up in 1871, although

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

as a tradition did not really come into being until 1895, when the society began to direct song plays, folk plays and comedies, usually with singing and dancing. By the start of the 20th century more serious drama was being staged. In 1906, the society became the basis for the professional theatre called "Estonia" founded by the directors and actors

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 (organization), "Estonia" theatre society. 1900s he was related to establish professional ...

and

Theodor Altermann Theodor Altermann (24 November 1885 – 1 April 1915) was an actor, theatre director and producer in the Russian Empire. His father was Jüri Altermann, his mother was Miina Nurm. Sources * Bernhard Linde, "Theodor Altermann" – Looming ...

. This remained tied to the "Estonia" society and the Estonian Theatre "Estonia" Limited Liability Company, founded in 1908, until 1940, at which time they were disbanded under the Soviet rule in Estonia as part of "the bourgeois remnant" and the theatre was nationalized. Revel opera

*1907 – first operetta staged,

Hervé Hervé is a French masculine given name of Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinization was '' Charivius''. Anglici ...

's ''

Mam'zelle Nitouche ''Mam'zelle Nitouche'' is a vaudeville-opérette in three acts by Hervé. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Albert Millaud. This story of a respectable musician, transforming himself into a songwriter at night, is partly inspired by the life o ...

'' *1908 – first opera staged, Kreutzer's ''

Das Nachtlager in Granada ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' (''The Night Camp in Granada'') is a romantic opera in two acts by Conradin Kreutzer. The libretto is by based on Johann Friedrich Kind's 1818 drama of the same name. Performance history The premiere of a first ve ...

'' *1911 – the first Estonian operetta staged, Adalbert Wirkhaus's ''St John's Night'' *1922 – the first full evening ballet performance,

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm� ...

's ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Étie ...

'' *1928 – the first Estonian opera,

Evald Aav Evald Aav ( – 21 March 1939) was an Estonian composer born in Tallinn, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire. He studied music composition there with Artur Kapp and wrote primarily vocal music to words in the Estonian language. In 1928 he com ...

's '' Vikerlased'' (The Estonian Vikings) *1944 – the first Estonian ballet,

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 ...

's '' Kratt'' The opera company is also known as the

after the building it occupies in downtown Tallinn. This was built as a national effort under the leadership of the "Estonia" society in 1913 and was opened to the public on 24 August of the same year. The opera house itself was bombed by Soviet air raids on 9 March 1944. It was reopened after the war in 1947. Estonian painters

Richard Sagrits Richard Sagrits (19 December 1910 in Karepa – 11 December 1968 in Tallinn) was an Estonian painter. Sagrits (with Elmar Kits and Evald Okas) painted the ceiling of the Estonian National Opera in the style of Socialist Realism in 1947. His ...

Elmar Kits Elmar Kits ( 1913 – 24 March 1972) was an Estonian painter.Ants Juskhttp://www.epl.ee/news/kultuur/elmar-kits-andekas.d?id=51141267/ref> References 1913 births 1972 deaths People from Tartu People from the Governorate of Livonia 20 ...

and

Evald Okas Evald Okas (28 November 1915 – 30 April 2011) was an Estonian painter, probably best known for his portraits of nudes. Biography Okas was born in Tallinn, where he began his artistic career while studying at the State Art School. With the a ...

painted the ceiling in

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

in the style of

Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

."Estonia laemaal – sisult sotsialistlik, vormilt rahvuslik "
Plays were staged in "Estonia" until 1949 when the drama troupe was disbanded, after which "Estonia" continued purely as a

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. The company celebrated its centenary in 2006. The celebration was carried out in a newly renovated opera house. Directors *

Aarne Viisimaa Aarne Viisimaa (born as Arnold Peeter Visman; 25 November 1898, Sangaste – 2 October 1989, Stockholm) was an Estonian operatic tenor and opera director. He was notably the director of the Estonian National Opera from 1927 to 1944. As an op ...

(1927–1944) Chief conductors * (1906–1908) *

Adalbert Wirkhaus Adalbert Wirkhaus (17 May 1880 Väägvere, Sootaga Parish, Tartu County – 19 December 1961 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA) was an Estonian composer and conductor. He was the first Estonian professional conductor. Life Wirkhaus' father was th ...

(1908–1912) *

Raimund Kull Raimund Kull (3 October 1882 – 10 October 1942) was an Estonian conductor and composer. Born in Narva, at the time part of the Russian Empire, Kull studied trombone at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1900 until 1906. He then worked as an ...

(1912–1942) *

Juhan Aavik Juhan Aavik (29 January 1884, in Holstre, Kreis Fellin, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 26 November 1982, in Stockholm, Sweden) was an Estonian composer. Aavik studied music composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He l ...

(1925–1933) * Verner Nerep (1942–1944) * (1942–1951) * (1951–1963) *

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

(1963–1975) *

Eri Klas Eri Klas (7 June 1939 – 26 February 2016) was an Estonian conductor. Klas was born into a Jewish family in Tallinn. His mother was pianist Anna Klas. His father, Eduard Klas, was killed in 1941, during the Holocaust.''Eesti Entsüklope ...

(1975–1994) *

Paul Mägi Paul Mägi (born 13 October 1953) is an Estonian conductor in concert and opera and is also an academic teacher and violinist. He has commissioned works for the Estonian National Opera. Life and music Born in Tallinn (then Soviet Union), Mägi ...

(1995–2002) * Jüri Alperten (2002–2004) * Arvo Volmer (2004–2012) * Vello Pähn (2012–2019) * Arvo Volmer (2019–)

References

External links

Estonia National Opera official website
{{authority control Estonian opera companies Culture in Tallinn

History

See also

References

External links