The Lizard is the latest ballet at the Estonian National Opera

Text Susanna Poikela
Photo Estonian National Opera

The Estonian National Opera has added a new ballet, The Lizard (Estonian: Sisalik), to its repertoire. The work is a ballet composition begun by Estonian composer Lepo Sumera (1950–2000) in 1987, but left unfinished due to major political upheavals, and it never made it to the stage. Now composer Märt-Matis Lill, who was also Sumera’s student for a while, has completed the work based on Sumera’s manuscripts.

The Lizard is set in two parallel worlds: a love story that begins on the set of a film during the war, and the reality behind the scenes, where love takes on a concrete form.

“We have all heard stories where a more sensitive actor goes crazy, and drinks himself to death. You can’t always say that the reason is a role that the person has not been able to let go of, but it has definitely affected the person’s personality. We love talking about hypersensitive people—and The Lizard is about one of them,” says the ballet’s choreographer and director, Marina Kesler.

Märt-Matis Lill, the composer who finished the ballet, describes the composition Sumera started as modern: “The composition of this ballet must have been one of the most prestigious commissions Lepo has received, and it is clear that Lepo has shown his skills with great joy in the first parts. The composition contains numerous fine solutions that must have been very modern in their time.”

“Sumera’s music is very powerful, and gives strong choreographic impulses. It is amazing how modern and relevant this ballet libretto is! This lacks the standard plot of classical operas and ballets, where most of the events are predictable. The Lizard is a story of real people,” describes Kesler.

The Lizard ballet is on the Estonian National Opera’s repertoire until June, and tickets for the ballet can be purchased from the opera’s ticket office or from Piletimaailm.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Ballet Classical Music Dance Estonia Estonian National Opera Lepo Sumera Märt-Matis Lill The Lizard