The first drama production performed on this stage was Hamlet by W. Shakespeare. The first opera was Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, performed as a part of the opening ceremony of the building. However, it was not until 1922 that the first full-evening performance of a ‘real ballet’, was staged; it was the premiere of Coppélia by Léo Delibes, directed by Victorina Krieger (Kriger) from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow who also danced the main part.
Today, the theatre hall has 840 seats. The seats are divided between the stalls, two balconies, and boxes.
The stage of the Estonia Theatre measures 350 m2 and the hall 260 m2. The fly tower is 21 metres high. The revolving stage is 13 metres in diameter. The stage is equipped with 42 bars for hanging sets.
The Stage, 1913
The Stage, 2024
The painted ceiling
Before World War II, the ceiling in the theatre hall was unpainted (white). A unique painted ceiling by Evald Okas, Elmar Kits, and Richard Sagrits was completed in 1947. The painters were still students at the time of painting the work but all of them would become highly acclaimed Estonian artists later on. The authors even included themselves in the painting (seen from the hall, E. Okas is on the white balcony to the right, R. Sagrits on the lower middle balcony, and E. Kits across from them, holding a beer tankard.
The Ceiling, 2024