The Estonian National Opera’s company, orchestra and technical team arrived in Vilnius today to continue the cultural cooperation initiated by the heads of the Baltic opera houses in March last year. Under the cooperation agreement, the national opera houses of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are presenting performances in all three Baltic countries in turn. This week, Lithuanian audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy Claude Debussy’s opera Pelléas et Mélisande and the ballet Light from the End of the World by Jevgeni Grib and Alisson Kruusmaa, performed by the Estonians. Both performances are be sold out.

The partnership between the national opera and ballet theatres of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was born out of the theatre leaders’ desire to foster the creative sector in the Baltic states and enrich cultural cooperation across the region. This includes guest performances, co-productions, exchanges of artists and conductors, as well as concerts. One of the key aims of the cooperation is to present Baltic culture jointly on the international stage.

According to Ott Maaten, Director General of the Estonian National Opera, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are generally seen internationally as a single region, and the unity of the area also increases its visibility abroad. “Interest in the Baltic states has grown noticeably, and the distances between the opera houses are relatively short. This makes it possible even for large theatres with casts and crews numbering in the hundreds to travel, while also giving audiences the opportunity to enjoy the work of all the Baltic opera houses.”

Cultural cooperation across the Baltic states continues at full speed. Already this weekend, Estonian audience will be able to see the ballet Coppélia and the opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, while at the beginning of May the Latvian National Opera and Ballet will bring here the ballet La Esmeralda. The cooperation will continue in September with the first Baltic Opera Gala in Tallinn.