Vana Tallinn Gala

Liviko presents:

VANA TALLINN GALA

August 30, 2025

Conductor: Kaspar Mänd
Soloists: Mirjam Mesak (soprano), Elena Brazhnyk (soprano), Kai Rüütel-Pajula (mezzo-soprano), Heldur Harry Põlda (tenor), Tamar Nugis (baritone), Dragutin Matić (baritone, Serbia), Beatriz Macias (flute)
Host of the evening: René Soom
Estonian National Opera Orchestra

Kaspar Mänd: "The programme of this concert – inspired by the name of the famous liqueur – takes us on a journey into the more distant past of Tallinn’s musical and theatrical life. The opening work is Ludwig van Beethoven’s overture to August von Kotzebue’s play “The Ruins of Athens”. At the turn of the 18th to 19th century, August von Kotzebue was a leading figure and influential shaper of Tallinn’s cultural scene. Alongside many other pursuits, he managed an amateur theatre and played a key role in initiating the construction of a theatre in Tallinn. Well acquainted with theatrical developments abroad, Kotzebue was commissioned in 1811 – upon the opening of the Royal City Theatre of Pest in Hungary (later the German Theatre of Pest) – to write a trilogy of plays, for which Ludwig van Beethoven composed the music. Kotzebue and Beethoven were thus likely in active correspondence, with Beethoven’s letters addressed to Reval (Tallinn) or Jerlep (Järlepa Manor). A year later, Kotzebue was appointed director of the Tallinn theatre.

The concert will feature musical numbers from some of the most popular operas in the theatre’s repertoire of the time: Weber’s “Der Freischütz”, which remained in the programme for decades and was performed over a hundred times; Wagner’s “Lohengrin”, first staged in Tallinn in the 1883/84 season and the most frequently performed of Wagner’s operas here. You will hear arias that have left an indelible mark on our audiences, such as the famous Iago monologue from Verdi’s “Otello”, immortalised by Georg Ots. The programme also includes lesser-known gems from operas that have yet to grace the local stage."