About PromFest

PromFest is Estonia’s most distinctive opera festival. What makes it unique is that the entire festival programme is conceived and created by the organisers themselves, rather than being assembled from existing productions, as is common practice at most festivals.

PromFest is also home to Estonia’s only international competition for young opera singers, the Klaudia Taev Competition, which was first held in 1996 and remains the festival’s central event. According to available information, it is the only international opera competition of its kind that allows its winners to fulfil their artistic aspirations by choosing the opera role they would most like to perform at a future festival.

The winner of the previous Klaudia Taev Competition plays a decisive role in shaping the next festival programme, as the choice of the new opera production is based on the role they wish to perform. This unique concept ensures that each PromFest production is created specifically to showcase and support the development of outstanding young opera talent.

The opera production is undoubtedly the most eagerly anticipated event of the PromFest programme. A distinctive feature of PromFest is that each new production offers a talented Estonian artist the opportunity to make their debut as an opera director. Through this initiative, the Estonian theatre community has gained many outstanding opera directors, including Linnar Priimägi, Marko Matvere, Mati Unt, Anu Lamp, Mai Murdmaa, Jüri Nael, Teet Kask, Andrus Vaarik, Üllar Saaremäe, and Marta Aliide Jakovski, among others.

PromFest productions to date include Verdi’s Rigoletto (2003), Rubinstein’s Demon (2005), Bizet’s Carmen (2007), Massenet’s Thaïs (2009), Verdi’s Attila (2011), Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride (2013), Verdi’s Aida (2015), Verdi’s La Traviata (2017), Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (2019), Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia (2021), Massenet’s Cendrillon (2023) and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur (2025).

Each new opera production is created in collaboration with young singers and is designed to attract and engage new generations of audiences. The PromFest creative team seeks to broaden the boundaries of the opera genre through innovative artistic approaches, creating productions that resonate with contemporary audiences while remaining true to the essence of opera.

The new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia will be the thirteenth opera production presented by PromFest. The title role has been chosen by and will be performed by the winner of the most recent Klaudia Taev Competition (2025), Ukrainian soprano Vlada Koieva.

In addition to the competition rounds and the new opera production, the festival programme will include a masterclass led by the Chair of the Jury, as well as concerts, exhibitions and lectures designed for young singers.

Over the years, Pärnu has welcomed jury members and leading professionals from some of Europe’s and the world’s most renowned opera houses, individuals who shape developments in the international opera world and who, through PromFest, have become familiar with both Pärnu and Estonia. The festival has hosted such internationally acclaimed opera personalities as Barbara Hendricks, Irina Arkhipova, Sergey Leiferkus, Alexander Vedernikov and Evgeny Nesterenko, as well as distinguished artists including the Lithuanian bass Vladimiras Prudnikovas, Mariinsky Theatre tenor Alexander Dedik and the legendary Estonian bass Mati Palm.

PromFest has also provided young singers with the opportunity to learn from some of the most celebrated opera artists of our time. Masterclasses have been led by such legendary singers as Edda Moser, Dolora Zajick, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Maria Guleghina, Ileana Cotrubas, Vesselina Kasarova, Karan Armstrong, Luana DeVol and Cynthia Makris.

The festival is the fulfilment of a long-held dream of its founder and artistic director, Erki Pehk. It is built around a unique concept: a clearly defined framework is offered to the director, participants are encouraged to dream boldly, and the entire festival team works together to turn those dreams into something meaningful, original and artistically valuable.

PromFest was established to expand creative opportunities for young opera singers, bring leading opera artists to Estonia, and strengthen Estonia’s presence in the international opera community. In doing so, the festival contributes to cultural tourism and helps introduce younger generations of Estonians to the world of opera.

Over the years, PromFest has collaborated with the Pärnu City Orchestra, Endla Theatre, Pärnu Arts House and Pärnu Concert Hall, and it will continue to do so in the future. The festival has become an important cultural event for the city of Pärnu, enriching the region’s cultural life and offering both local audiences and visitors the opportunity to experience opera at the highest artistic level.