PROGRAMM

2019

PILLE LILL 

is a renowned opera singer and a cultural activist, who started her journey as a musician with piano studies at Pärnu Children's Music School. She has graduated the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater (EAMT) with two specialties – music pedagogy (Prof. A. Vahter) and opera singing (assistant lecturer R. Gurjey). She continued her studies at master’s level at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Prof. J. Peters) and defended her master’s degree thesis at the Helsinki Sibelius Academy (Prof. L. Linko-Malmiö). During 2004–2011 she furthered her skills at a doctorate level at EAMT (Prof. Jaakko Ryhänen) and in 2005-2006 took a German lied class (professors Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll) at the University of Music Karlsruhe. In addition, she has taken part in masterclasses of several world-famous musicians (E. Söderström, I. Gage, E. Kirkby, M. Sillem, W. Vernocchi, G. Hinz etc.). P. Lill has performed as an opera, oratorio and chamber music singer in numerous countries. She has sung lead roles in nearly 30 operas: Mozart (Countess, Marriage of Figaro; Donna Anna, Don Giovanni; Pamina, Magic Flute); Puccini (Mimi, La Bohéme; Cio-cio san, Madama Butterfly; Tosca, Tosca); Verdi (Elisabeth, Don Carlos; Desdemona, Othello; Violetta, Traviata; Elvira, Ernani; Amelia, Un ballo in Maschera; Lady Macbeth, Macbeth; Aida, Aida); Weber – Agathe, Der Freischütz; Wagner – Venus, Tannhäuser; Tchaikovsky – Liza, The Queen of Spades; Mascagni – Santuzza, Cavalleria Rusticana; Tubin – Barbara, Barbara von Tisenhusen, Prokofjev - Fata Morgana, The Love for Three Oranges etc. Her repertory includes a number of soprano parts from grand musical pieces (Mahler - 4. and 8. Symphony; Dvorák, Mozart, Brahms and Verdi - Requiem; Beethoven - 9. Symphony; Tobias - Des Jona Sendung; Shostakovich - 14. Symphony; Sibelius - Kullervo etc.). She has premiered works by many contemporary composers (Sumera, Põldmäe, Kaumann, Pertmann, Pozdejev, Andersson, Reinvere etc.) and cooperated with distinguished conductors (G. Rozhdestvensky, C. F. Cillario, N. Järvi, E. Klas, C. M. Prieto, N. Aleksejev, J. Storgårds, G. Rinkevičius, A. Volmer, M. Kütson, J.Alperten, O. Elts, A. Mustonen, A. Tali, P. Mägi, L. Sirp, R. Joost etc). Her voice is captured on numerous recordings for the Estonian Public Broadcasting and on many CD-s - R. Tobias, Des Jona Sendung (con. N. Järvi/Grammofon AB BIS 1995; DVD, VAI 2009); M. Sink, Christmas Songs (PLMF 2006); L. Sumera, To Reach Yesterday (Megadisc 2005); A. Kapp, Organ and Chamber Music (Eres 2000); J. Torrim, Organ Music/Orgelwerke (Antes 1997). P. Lill has been awarded with the Big Dipper Award for Best Female Singer (1996) and she has been a laureate of the Georg Ots prize (2002), a grantee of the Wagner Society Scholarship (1998) and the 3rd class honoree of the Order of Bishop Platon (2005). She has been rewarded with the UNICEF Bluebird Award (2009), the Music Endowments’ Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment (2014), the 4th class Order of the White Star (2016) and the Esther of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Estonia (2017). From 1997 to 2003 P. Lill was a vocal teacher in the Voice Department of EAMT (assistant professor since 2003), instructed master’s level students in the German lied class (2007-2013) and was the director of the opera studio (2004-2005). She has given master classes in different countries (Estonia, Germany, Finland, Russia, Belarus, Latvia). She has been a part of the jury of the National Vocal Contest (2009, 2013, 2017), St. Petersburg Chopin (2015) and Rachmaninov (2016) International Competition for singers. From 2003-2009 she was a board member of the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians and she is a board member of the Estonian Chamber of Culture and the Finnish-Estonian Culture Fund. In 2003 she founded PLMF Music Trust and she is the creator and leader of PLMF Academia Nova hobby school since 2017.

MASSIMILIANO VIAPIANO

is an eclectic and original musician, choir Master and Maestro di Cappella. He has studied piano, organ and bel canto and finally graduated cum laude in the famous Conservatory of Music Paganini in Genoa. After the degree he went on attending masterclasses about Lieder and Opera repertory with Elio Battaglia, Tom Krause, Rudolf Knoll and Sherman Lowe. He performed in various international events such as the Santa Chiara Festival in Neaples, Les ports du Monde au pays de Saint Malo in France, the String Festival in Vittorio Veneto and the Festival Verdi in Parma. He was soloist in many Italian opera theatres (Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Teatro Carlo Felice and Teatro G. Modena in Genova, Teatro Università in Trapani, Teatro Ventidio Basso in Ascoli Piceno, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Chiabrera in Savona etc.) and abroad (Aida in Tyro and Dvořák Requiem in Istanbul). More recently he performed in Porgy and Bess, Carmina Burana, I Pagliacci and La forza del destino and in Regio Theatre in Parma during Verdi Concerts events. His repertory includes roles such as Il Conte (Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), Paolo Albiani (Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra), Don Parmenione (Rossini’s L'Occasione fa il ladro), Belcore, Dulcamara (Donizetti’s L'Elisir d'amore), Dottor Malatesta (Donizetti’s Don Pasquale), Marcello, Schaunard (Puccini’s La Bohème), Gianni Schicchi (Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi), Abdalà (Pedrotti’s Tutti in Maschera), Porgy (Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess), Publio (Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito), Prologo/Tonio/Taddeo (Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci), Carlo (Verdi’s La forza del destino). He has also performed such grand musical works as Dvořák’s Messa da Requiem, Charpentier’s Te Deum, Perosi’s Messa da Requiem, Schubert’s Messa in sol maggiore, Il Cristo in Vittadini’s L'Agonia del Redentore, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Marinosci’s Grande Via Crucis. He also performs pieces from the Lieder program (Ravel, Wolf, Schubert, Piazzolla, Gardel) and assorted program (opera, classical and neapolitan repertoire). M. Viapiano has won the 1st Prize at the International Opera Competition “Vittoria Caffa Righetti” in Cortemilia, Italy, 1st Prize at the International Opera Competition Giuseppe di Stefano in Trapani, Italy and Special Mention at the International Opera Competition Hericlea Darclée in Braila (Romania).