Olli Ungvere (born Olga Marie Birk; 17 June 1906 – 12 December 1991) was an

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 ...

n stage and film actress and singer whose career spanned more than sixty years on the stages of most of Estonia's largest theaters.

Early life

Born Olga Marie Birk in Lüütja, Mikitamäe Parish, in

Setomaa Setomaa (; , ) is a region south of Lake Peipus and traditionally inhabited by the Setos, Seto people. The Seto dialect is a variety of South Estonian language, South Estonian. The historic range of Setomaa is located in the territories of pres ...

, she was the youngest of two sisters born to Oskar Alfred Julius Birk and Leeno Nass (''née'' Praggi). Her father was a factory worker in the village of Võõpsu. Her mother also had eight children from a previous marriage who were raised by Unvgere's parents. She graduated from secondary school at

Räpina Räpina (, ) is a town in Põlva County, Estonia. Räpina was administrative centre of Räpina raion from 1950 until 1961, currently it is the administrative centre of Räpina Parish. The oldest commercial enterprise in Räpina is a paper fac ...

Joint Gymnasium in 1924. From 1931 until 1934, she studied singing at the

Heino Eller Tartu Music College The Heino Eller Tartu Music College () is a music school in Tartu, Estonia, founded in 1919. It received its current name in 1971, after the Estonian composer and music teacher Heino Eller, who taught at the school from 1920 until 1940. Tart ...

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 ...

Stage career

In 1931, while still a student at the

Heino Eller Heino Eller (7 March 188716 June 1970) was an Estonian composer and pedagogue, known as the founder of contemporary Estonian symphonic music. Life and career Eller was born in Tartu on 7 March 1887, where he took private lessons in violin and ...

Tartu Music College, she joined the

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 ...

theatre's operetta chorus. She made her stage debut in 1931 in the Oscar Straus operetta ''Marietta''. From 1934 until 1936, she was engaged at the

Ugala Ugala is a theatre in Viljandi, Estonia. The theatre was founded in 1920 opening on January 10 of that year. The first production was Oscar Wilde's "Salome (play), Salome". Ugala's Artistic Directors *1925 - 1926: Andres Särev *1926 – 1928 ...

theatre in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

as an operetta soloist and dramatic actress. From 1937 until 1948, she was engaged at the

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

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 ...

. Her longest engagement was the

Endla Theatre Endla () is a professional theatre in city of Pärnu, Estonia. The roots of the theatre came from Endla Society. The theatre opened in 1911. The first performance was ''Libahunt'' (The Werewolf) by the Estonian writer August Kitzberg. The Es ...

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, where she worked as a performer from 1948 until 1986. Her career in theatre spanned nearly sixty years, making her one of Estonia's most prolific stage performers. During her long stage career, she appeared in productions in works by:

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and I ...

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (, also ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's ...

Erskine Caldwell Erskine Preston Caldwell (December 17, 1903 – April 11, 1987) was an American novelist and short story writer. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native Southern United States, in novels such as '' Tobacco Road'' (19 ...

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

Carlo Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

, among many others. She also appeared in many productions in works by Estonian playwrights and authors; most memorably in productions of works by

Oskar Luts Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright. Biography Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonians, Estonian writer and the author of the national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's parents were born at the Jõepere, Jömper estate, Governorate of Estonia, Russia ...

and

Aarne Üksküla Aarne Üksküla (21 September 1937 Tallinn – 29 October 2017) was an Estonian film and stage actor and theatre instructor. In 1961 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. Career * Rakvere Theatre (1961–196 ...

Film

Olli Ungvere has also appeared in several films, including: the 1981 Raivo Trass directed drama ''Keskpäev'', the 1983 Peeter Urbla directed crime drama ''Suletud ring'', and the 1989 supernatural short ''Mardipäev'', directed by

Jaan Kolberg Jaan Kolberg (born 21 November 1958) is an Estonian film director and producer. Jaan Kolberg was born in Pärnu, where he attended primary and secondary schools. In 1976, he enrolled at Tartu State University, majoring in English. While at univ ...

Death and legacy

Olli Ungvere died in Pärnu in 1991 at age 85. She was buried in the Pärnu Forest Cemetery. In 1946, she was awarded the Merited Artist of the Estonian SSR.Talts, Leida. ''Olli Ungvere''. Eesti Raamat, 1981.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ungvere, Olli 1906 births 1991 deaths People from Setomaa Parish Estonian stage actresses Estonian film actresses Estonian musical theatre actresses 20th-century Estonian women singers 20th-century Estonian actresses