Vello Viisimaa (1 January 1928 – 14 February 1991) was an Estonian opera singer and stage actor who appeared mostly in operettas.

Biography

Career

Vello Viisimaa was born 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 '' ...

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 ...

, the son of opera singer Aarne Viisimaa and Hilda Marie Viisimaa (''née'' Hansen). He had one older brother, Uno Viisimaa. From 1944 to 1980 he worked 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 ...

, from 1944 to 1949, he was a theater actor and stage manager, and from 1950 to 1980 he was a soloist. He also performed with the

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's princi ...

.''Tallinna Jaani Kogudus, II pihtkonna III personaalraamat; 1919-1940''
ra.ee; accessed 21 December 2015. In addition to his stage roles, Viisimaa appeared in several popular Estonian television comedy films directed by Sulev Nõmmik, such as '' Mehed ei nuta'' (1968) and '' Noor pensionär'' (1972).

Personal life

Vello Viisimaa was first married to Laine Viisimaa (''née'' Tarmo). They had one daughter, Maris Kõrgema Viisimaa, before divorcing. He then married ballerina Teesi Viisimaa (''née'' Mõtus) and the couple had one daughter, Piret Viisimaa. During his later years, he would tutor drama students in Pajusi, where he had a summer home. He died in 1991, aged 63, in

, and was buried at the city's

Metsakalmistu Metsakalmistu (meaning ''Forest Cemetery'') is a cemetery in the Pirita district of Tallinn. Metsakalmistu was originally planned to be a public medieval cemetery. Eduard Vilde was the first to be buried in 1933. The original area of the cemet ...

cemetery.

Legacy

Following his death in 1991, Viisimaa was posthumously awarded the

Meie Mats Meie Mats, named after an Estonian folk song, is a prestigious yearly humour award issued since 1987 and originally initiated by Edgar Spriit, the chief editor of '' Pikker'', a long-time Estonian humour magazine.Maaleht 18 January 2001Kellest ...

Memorial Award. In 2002, the Pajusi Community Center was opened in

Jõgeva County Jõgeva County ( et, Jõgeva maakond or ''Jõgevamaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in eastern part of the country and borders Ida-Viru County to the north-east, Lake Peipus to the east, Tartu County to the south, Viljandi C ...

with a marble memorial plaque of Vello Viisimaa.Õhtuleht. ''Vello Viisimaa sai mälestustahvli''
ohtuleht.ee; accessed 21 December 2015. In 2011, his widow, Teesi Viisimaa, released the biograph
''Vello Viisimaa: Lauldes Vihmas''
published by

Tänapäev Tänapäev is an Estonian publishing house established in 1999 and headquartered in Tallinn. The main subjects it publishes are translated and original fiction, history, politics, biographies and children literature. In the year 2000, Tänap� ...

References

External links

* 1928 births 1991 deaths Estonian male child actors 20th-century Estonian male opera singers Estonian male stage actors Estonian male film actors Male actors from Tallinn Singers from Tallinn Recipients of Meie Mats Burials at Metsakalmistu 20th-century Estonian male actors {{Estonia-actor-stub