Music: Raimo Kangro and Andres Valkonen
Libretto: Andres Jaaksoo
Lyrics: Andres Jaaksoo and Leelo Tungal

In the autumn of 1980, a rock opera “Nordic Maiden” was staged in Vanemuine, starring Silvi Vrait, Vello Toomemets, and Tõnu Kilgas, and the then extremely popular ensemble “Fix”.  The music director of the opera was Endel Nõgene, directed by Ülo Vilimaa.

One of the main characters, Tõnu Kilgas who was playing the Prophet, reminisces:

In terms of its content, “Nordic Maiden” was in full contradiction with the ideology of that time. The dissent was nicely hidden in the libretto of the opera, but it was still quite understandable. Thinking about the KGB snitches sitting in the hall, they were not total idiots either, so of course, we got into a lot of trouble. The play became such a hit that the students were about to demolish the theater building during the performance. It was impossible to get tickets. The “Nordic Maiden” became a cult piece. In terms of music, it was also really cool and beautiful. There were incredibly beautiful melodies in the performance.” (“Where’s the joke here?” Publishing House Tänapäev 2011)

As unbelievable as it seems, the favorite of its time has not been performed for Estonian music lovers for more than thirty years. The fact that the music of the opera has so far only been kept at the Estonian Theater and Music Museum only in a manuscript probably also plays a role here. Pervasive topics of the opera such as the responsibility of choice, warning for the stagnation caused by limitations, in addition, engaging music, smart libretto, and wonderful song lyrics are definitely worth it. We are grateful to Raimo Kangro, who left us unjustly early, and we will do our best to bring the work addressing evergreen topics and at the same time being the first Estonian rock opera to the audience.

The concert is in two parts, with a duration of 2 hours

In cooperation with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Male Choir and Estonian National Opera

The restauration of sheet music is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Estonian Cultural Foundation.