ORATORIO AND OPERA GALA
Pille Lill (soprano)
Aare Saal (baritone)
Soloists of the International Rapla Singer's Summer Academy
pianist/coach Simone Marziali (IT)
singers also coached by Monika Hauswalter
PILLE LILL is one of the most well-known opera singers in Estonia today. She has graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT) with two professions – choir conducting and opera singing. She continued her studies in the master’s program of the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Prof. J. Peters) and defended her master’s degree at the Helsinki Sibelius Academy (Prof. L. Linko-Malmio). In 2004-2011 she furthered her skills in the context of doctoral studies at EAMT (Prof. Jaakko Ryhänen) and in 2005-2006 in the lied class of the University of Karlsruhe (professors Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmuth Höll). In addition, she has taken part of several world-famous musicians’ master classes (Elisabeth Söderström, Irwin Gage, Emma Kirkby, Mauriz Sillem, Wilma Vernocchi etc.) P. Lill has performed as an opera, oratorio and chamber singer in many countries. She has sung the lead role in close to 30 operas and she has cooperated with several reputed conductors. She has done many recordings for the Estonian National Broadcasting and her voice is perpetuated on a number of CD-s. P. Lill has been rewarded with the Big Dipper award for Best Female Singer (1996), she has been a laureate for Georg Ots Prize (2002), she has been a grantee of the Wagner Society Scholarship (1998) and a 3rd class honoree of the Order of Bishop Platon (2005). She has also been awarded with the UNICEF Bluebird Award (2009), the Estonian Cultural Endowment Award (2014), 4th class Order of the White Star (2016) and Esther of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Estonia of Estonia. P. Lill was a vocal teacher in EAMT from 1997 to 2013 (assistant professor from 2003) and she has given master classes in many countries (Germany, Russia, Finland, Belarus, Latvia etc.) P. Lill was a board member of Estonian Composers’ Union from 2003-2009, she is a board member of the Estonian Chamber of Culture and the Finno-Estonian Culture Fund. She is also the founder and creative director of the Pille Lill Music Foundation from 2003.
AARE SAAL is a graduate of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in opera singing (Ivo Kuusk, Virgilijus Noreika, Jaakko Ryhänen). He has attended master classes with Gino Bechi and Rolando Panerai in Italy. A. A. Saal has won first prize in the international competition "Rossini and Donizetti Voices" (1996, Italy) and he is a member of the G. Rolando Bach Competition (1996, Italy). Otsa. G. Saal Prize (1997). In 1989, A. Saal made his debut in the G.G. Saal Competition. Saal appeared at the RO Estonia in the title role in Mozart's opera 'The Marriage of Figaro'. She has sung over 40 opera and operetta roles in both Estonia and Vanemuine productions, as well as in the Latvian National Opera, Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre, Florence City Theatre, Stockholm Dramatic Ensemble and Malmö Opera and Music Theatre. Major roles include title roles in Verdi's Nabucco, Mozart's Don Giovanni, Tchaikovsky's Yevgeny Onegin, Verdi's Rigoletto, Figaro (Rossini's The Barber of Seville), Escamillo (Bizet's Carmen), Belcore (Donizetti's Armujook), Verdi's Don Carlo (Ernani), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Renato (Masquerade), Amonasro (Aida), Yeletsky (Tchaikovsky's "Padaemon"), Valentin (Gounod's "Faust"), Count Almaviva (Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"), Dandini (Rossini's "Cinderella"), Marcello (Puccini's "Boheem"), Edwin (Kálmán's "Silva"), Achillas (Handel's "Julius Caesar"), The Third Guest and the American Soldier (Türi's "Wallenberg"), Severo (Donizetti's "Poliuto") and others. His repertoire includes a wide range of solo works from Estonian, Russian and Italian music. A. A. Saal works as a vocal pedagogue for G. G. Saal. A. Saal works as a music teacher at the G. Ots Music School.
SIMONE MARZIALI studied classical piano at the Fiesole Music School, early music at the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, and opera conducting at the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna. Marziali has received first prizes in many national and international piano competitions, including the J. S. Bach competition in Sestri Levante and the "Città di Stresa International Piano Competition". For over 12 years, he served as the principal repetiteur and assistant conductor at the Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago and has worked in various theaters worldwide, such as the Verdi Theatre in Pisa, Goldoni Theatre in Livorno, Giglio Theatre in Lucca, Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo, Avignon Opera in France, Opera Australia in Melbourne, NHK in Tokyo, "Luciano Pavarotti" in Modena, Palma de Mallorca Opera, Teatro Campoamor of Oviedo, and others. Marziali has collaborated with renowned singers such as Placido Domingo, Raina Kabaivanska, Katia Ricciarelli, Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato, Nicola Martinucci, Patrizia Ciofi, Norma Fantini, Stefania Bonfadelli, and many more. He has also worked as an assistant conductor with Alberto Veronesi, Kery Lynn Wilson, Roberto Tolomelli, Antonio Pirolli, Massimo de Bernart, and Andrea Licata. Due to his extensive experience, he is highly regarded as an accompanist and vocal coach for opera singers from around the world who come to study with him. He organizes and teaches in numerous masterclasses with famous singers and artistic directors, including Stefania Bonfadelli, Cristina Park, Marco Balderi, Franco Trinca, Gundula Hintz, and others. Some of his masterclasses have taken place at the Ariadimusica Music School in Rome with Stefania Bonfadelli, at the PLFM Contest in Tallinn, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in Rome, Lucca, Gubbio, and Andria with Cristina Park and M° Marco Balderi, at the Rahmaninov School in St. Petersburg, at the Helikon Opera and Lemeshev School in Moscow, and recently at the "Carlo Bergonzi Academy" of Busseto with Alberto Gazale, Fabio Armiliato, Elisabetta Fiorillo, Ugo Tarquini, Alberto Paloscia, and others. Marziali has conducted Aida on a tour in the major theatres of Belgium and the Netherlands in a prestigious production directed by Francesco Bellotto (artistic director of the Donizetti Theatre in Bergamo) and with set designs by Angelo Sala (former director of productions at La Scala in Milan). Another highly acclaimed and reviewed production was Butterfly at the Lirico Theatre in Casciana Terme. In 2022, he successfully conducted Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo and La Bohème by G. Puccini at the Taranto Opera Festival. Marziali is a highly sought-after maestro and vocal coach worldwide, having taught at the Ariadimusica School of Music in Rome since 2016, the PLFM Contest in Tallinn, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in Rome, Lucca, Gubbio, and Andria with Cristina Park and M° Marco Balderi, at the Helikon Opera in Moscow, the Rahmaninov School in St. Petersburg, and others. He currently teaches at the Carlo Bergonzi Academy in Busseto, where he collaborates with internationally renowned artists and singers. He is frequently invited to serve on juries at important international opera competitions. Marziali founded the music agency Musikos in Florence, which represents world-renowned singers and international young talents. http://www.musikos.it/
MONIKA HAUSWALTER, originally from Estonia, works as a voice teacher in various opera houses and festivals in Finland, Germany, and other countries, including the Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka, the Gut Immling Opera Festival in Germany, the Rapla Church Music Festival in Estonia, and others. M. Hauswalter has made a name for herself as a "voice corrector," and her extensive knowledge of anatomy and vocal physiology makes her a recognized teacher for both singers pursuing international careers and those facing technical difficulties. Her students perform in many major opera houses, including the Finnish National Opera, the Komische Oper in Berlin, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Bremen Opera, the Nuremberg State Opera, the Wiesbaden State Opera, the Mainz State Opera, the Darmstadt State Opera, the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, the Brussels Opera, and the Lisbon Opera, to name a few. M. Hauswalter has studied opera singing at five different music universities: Tallinn, Helsinki, Bern/Biel, Zurich, and Karlsruhe. In addition to her opera singer diploma, she has obtained a degree as a vocal teacher. She serves as a jury member in several important competitions, including the international Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (qualification round in Helsinki), the international Lions Singing Competition at the "Gut Immling" opera festival, and the Jugend Musiziert Competition in Germany. Since 2013, M. Hauswalter has worked as an artist consultant at IOA Management.