Kivi backs Estonia Opera House extension as internal tensions persist

Artist, politician and Estonia National Opera council member Signe Kivi hopes the theatre’s planned extension will go ahead and internal tensions will be resolved, ERR reported. “We want passions to stay on stage during performances at Estonia,” she said in an interview on the programme Plekktrumm.

Kivi has served on the opera house’s council since 2023. She said she had supported the extension from the outset, but was concerned about proposals to build a separate new venue because she did not know what would happen to the historic opera house.

Five years ago, Estonia’s parliament designated the extension as a nationally important cultural project. Kivi said the project had not yet progressed far, in part because projects on the list must be built in sequence and the work must meet heritage protection requirements.

A recent procurement covering three possible locations for the extension and its space requirements attracted six bids. Kivi said two came from highly regarded architecture firms, which she saw as a sign that the project was feasible. She added that funds for the extension were available through the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and were continuing to grow.

Kivi said the existing building had important historical value, but limited the possibilities for contemporary opera and ballet. She cited constraints on sound and the space needed for ballet performances. She also pointed to the Rakvere Ukuaru Music House, which was on the same list of cultural projects and has already been built.