The ceremony of laying the cornerstone of the Estonia Theatre was planned to coincide with the 7th Song Festival in 1910. As was the custom at opening ceremonies of important buildings, the celebratory event would include speeches and choral singing. In the then official spirit of Russification, however, the Governor Korostovets banned Estonian-language speeches on the occasion. Since that meant that the cornerstone ceremony of an Estonian theatre would be held in Russian, the stone was set in the courtyard wall instead, amid deafening silence. There it was buried in debris during the March Bombing of 1944 and was lost for a long time. It was only in 1991, during the reconstruction of the courtyard (originally a summer garden) into a winter garden, that the stone was noticed in the back of a dump truck. The cornerstone is currently displayed for the guests at the restaurant of the Estonia Theatre.
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The opening performance in 1913 did not go as smoothly as planned. The sets designed by the theatre designer Roman Nyman were still being painted and the interior works in the building were being finished. The worst trouble was caused by lighting equipment which refused to work for two hours at the premiere. The audience waited patiently regardless, relishing the opportunity provided by the delay to admire the luxuries of the new theatre building. The play was a long one as well, so the performance went on until two in the morning and was followed by a festive dinner for the audience of the opening performance.
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In 1922, the concert hall of the Estonia Theatre hosted the World Weightlifting Championship, a two-day event.
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Approx. 450 people work at the Estonia Theatre, over half of whom belong to the creative team.
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The time allocated for making costumes for a production is roughly two months. Around 100–150 costumes, all headgear, and 20–30 pairs of footwear are made within this period.
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Depending on the shoe model, the dancer’s feet, and their repertoire, a ballet dancer wears out around 4–30 pairs of pointe shoes a year, sometimes more.
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Large soft backdrops may require 1,000–1,500 m2 of fabric and tens of litres of paint, even up to 100 litres.
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The theatre includes its own guesthouse, primarily for housing guest soloists and directors.