Viktor Gurjev (29 August 1914

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

– 11 October 1985

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 ...

) 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 opera singer (

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) and pedagogue. In 1951 he graduated from

Tallinn State Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

in singing speciality. 1937-1940 he was a member of Vassili Kirillov mandolin ensemble. 1942-1944 he belonged to Estonian SSR State Artistic Ensembles. 1944-1950 he sang with the

Estonian National Male Choir Estonian National Male Choir () is an Estonian male choir. As of about 2020, it is the largest full-time professional male choir in the world. The choir was founded in 1944 by Gustav Ernesaks. At the beginning, the choir was named as ''Estonian ...

. 1949–1968 he was a 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 1956 until 1963, he taught at the Tallinn Music School. From 1970 until 1982, he was the rector of

Awards

* 1954: Estonian SSR merited artist * 1960: Estonian SSR people's artist ()

Opera roles

* duke (Dargomõžski's "Näkineid", 1949) * Alfredo (Verdi's "Traviata", 1950 and 1962) * Lenski (Tšaikovski's "Jevgeni Onegin", 1950 and 1966)

References

1914 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Estonian male opera singers Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Rectors of universities in Estonia Musicians from Riga Estonian people of Russian descent Burials at Metsakalmistu Soviet opera singers {{Estonia-musician-stub