Welcome to the 151st season of Vanemuine!

Currently, the programme for the 151st season of the Vanemuine Theatre is available up to January 2021 instead of the customary full season. However, already the autumn brings as many as 9 premières – 6 new drama productions, an operetta soirée, a children’s ballet and a musical. 

New drama productions include Libra by Russian dramaturge Evgeny Grishkovets (première on August 28), staged at the Harbour Theatre by Tiit Palu. The Comedy About a Bank Robbery (by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields) that narrowly missed its première at the Grand Building in March will reach the stage on September 3 under Ain Mäeots. Nothing, an adolescent angst drama based on Janne Teller’s novel will offer a compelling experience to our younger viewers. With Johan Elm as stage director, it will premiere on October 3 at the Harbour Theatre. Good People, a tragicomedy by Mart Kadastik and Ain Mäeots about life-altering choices will premiere on November 21 with stage director Ain Mäeots at the helm. From December 5, our programme will include Scott McPherson’s family drama Marvin’s Daughters at the Small Building, staged by Tiit Palu.

The Vanemuine Theatre, Ugala Theatre and the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy will join forces to bring you Peer Gynt, a production dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of choreographer and stage director Ida Urbel. The stage director of Peer Gynt is Karl Laumets and the premières will take place on November 7 at the Ugala Theatre and on November 12 at the Small Building of the Vanemuine Theatre.

The drama department has even more news, as 6 new actors will be joining the ensemble: fresh graduates of the Drama School of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Lena Barbara Luhse, Maarja Johanna Mägi, Kaarel Pogga, Ken Rüütel, and Oskar Seeman; and Saara Nüganen from the Endla Theatre.

Our music department will kick the season off with the operetta soirée An Evening with Lehár (musical director and conductor Endel Nõgene, première at the Small Building on August 21), followed by a genuine feel-good musical Sister Act (composer Alan Menken, musical director and conductor Taavi Kull). The stage director Samuel Harjanne is already familiar to the musical fans of the Vanemuine Theatre as the director of Les Misérables. Sister Act will premiere on November 28 at the Grand Building.

This autumn, the dance department will focus on children with the ballet Tilda and the Dust Angel based on Estonian writer Andrus Kivirähk’s book by the same title. The première is on October 24 at the Small Building. The choreographer and stage director of the production is Mare Tommingas, the composer Vaiko Eplik. 

From this season, the Vanemuine Theatre has a new music director and chief conductor – Risto Joost. On September 4, he will conduct the season’s opening concert of the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra and the Vanemuine Concert Hall. The Advent Concert will take place on December 20 at St John’s Church in Tartu (conductor Martin Sildos). As always, we will wrap the year up on December 30 with the New Year’s Eve Ball of the Vanemuine Theatre.

Our theatre will go on tour with Tiit Palu’s comedy Hi, Darling!: on September 20 at the Rakvere Theatre and on September 23 at the Ugala Theatre. On November 16, we shall give a guest performance with Peer Gynt directed by Karl Lauments at the Estonian National Opera.

Welcome to Vanemuine theatre!