Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company 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 Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. 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 History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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 ...

s and operettas/

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 Character (arts), charac ...

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 (). 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 to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

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 and Theodor Altermann. 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. *1907 – first operetta staged, Hervé's '' Mam'zelle Nitouche'' *1908 – first opera staged, Kreutzer's '' Das Nachtlager in Granada'' *1911 – the first Estonian operetta staged, Adalbert Wirkhaus's ''St John's Night'' *1922 – the first full evening ballet performance, Léo Delibes's '' Coppélia'' *1928 – the first Estonian opera, Evald Aav's '' Vikerlased'' (The Estonian Vikings) *1944 – the first Estonian ballet, Eduard Tubin's '' Kratt'' The opera company is also known as the Estonia Theatre 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, Elmar Kits and Evald Okas painted the ceiling in tempera in the style of Socialist Realism."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 theatre, 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, ...

. The company celebrated its centenary in 2006. The celebration was carried out in a newly renovated opera house. Directors * Aarne Viisimaa (1927–1944) Chief conductors * (1906–1908) * Adalbert Wirkhaus (1908–1912) * Raimund Kull (1912–1942) * Juhan Aavik (1925–1933) * Verner Nerep (1942–1944) * (1942–1951) * (1951–1963) *

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

(1963–1975) * Eri Klas (1975–1994) * Paul Mägi (1995–2002) * Jüri Alperten (2002–2004) *

Arvo Volmer Arvo Volmer (born November 4, 1962, in Tallinn) is an Estonian conducting, conductor. Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. From 2004 to 2013 he was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the ...

(2004–2012) * Vello Pähn (2012–2019) *

(2019–)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Estonian opera companies Culture in Tallinn

History

See also

References

External links