Väino Aren (11 August 1933 – 18 April 2023) was an Estonian ballet dancer, actor, and

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

singer.

Career

Born in

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, ...

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

, Aren studied at

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

Ballet Studio in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

. From 1953 until 1955, he studied at the Leningrad Choreographic School. In 1959 he graduated from

Tallinn Choreographic School Tallinn Ballet School () is ballet school in Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea ...

. From 1950 until 1971 (with pauses), he was ballet soloist at

Estonia Theatre Estonia Theatre is an historic landmark building in central Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finl ...

; from 1971 until 1975 operetta soloist and since 1978 a

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

at Estonia Theatre. He also played in films and television series, such as his longstanding role as Kristjan Rosenkampf-Jägerfreund in the

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) () 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 Television'') was launched on ...

drama series ''

Õnne 13 Õnne 13 is an Estonian dramatic TV series that airs on ETV. The series first aired on 30 October 1993 and was written by Astrid Reinla and as of 1996 by Teet Kallas. Rainer Kerge. Vabandage, proua, kas see maja on Õnne tänav 13?'. Õhtule ...

'' from 1993 until his death in 2023.

Personal life

Väino Aren's father was a railway worker and his mother a kindergarten teacher. His older brother was actor

Rein Aren Rein Aren (25 December 1927, in Tartu – 16 May 1990, in Tallinn) was an Estonian actor and ballet dancer known for his work in theatre, film, and television. He was active during the History of the Soviet Union, Soviet era and made significant co ...

. Aren was married to ballerina and frequent stage partner Helju Aren. They were married until her death in 1984. Aren was the partner of opera singer

Anu Kaal Anu Kaal (born Anu Kindlam, 4 November 1940 Tallinn) is an Estonian coloratura soprano singer. In 2001, she was awarded the Order of the White Star. Life She studied at the Tallinna Muusikakool, and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. She s ...

from 1986. Aren died on 18 April 2023, at the age of 89.

References

1933 births 2023 deaths Estonian male ballet dancers Estonian male stage actors Estonian male television actors Estonian male film actors 20th-century Estonian male actors 20th-century Estonian male singers Estonian male musical theatre actors Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 5th Class People from Peipsiääre Parish {{Estonia-actor-stub