ANNALIISA PILLAK is a mezzo-soprano who began her vocal studies at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School in Ludmilla Dombrovska-Keisi’s singing class and continued at the Sibelius Academy, where she graduated in 2006 under the guidance of Annika Ollinkari. Pillak has furthered her training at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan (with Sonja Turchetta, Stelia Dozi, 2005) and with Renate Behle in Hamburg, as well as participating in numerous masterclasses. In Estonia, Pillak made her debut on the stage of the Estonian National Opera as Sesto in Mozart’s opera “Titus’ Mercy” concert performance (2006). Her roles on theater stages have included Cinderella (Rossini’s “Cinderella”), the Second Diplomat (Tüür’s “Wallenberg”), Rinaldo (Handel’s “Rinaldo”), Nicklausse/Muse (Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann”), Larina and Olga (Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”), Kristi (Tubin’s “The Parson of Reigi”), Woman (Lill’s “The Fire Sermon”), Witch (Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel”), Dorabella (Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”), Cherubino (Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro”), the Second Lady (Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”), Dryad (R. Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos”), Lisetta (Haydn’s “Il mondo della luna”), Juula (Varres’s “Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan”), Public Opinion (Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld”), Pierotto (Donizetti’s “Linda di Chamounix”), and others. Pillak is also a highly regarded Lied singer and has performed as a soloist with various orchestras. Additionally, she has an extensive sacred repertoire. In 2012, a concert performance titled “Diiva,” an experimental production starring Pillak, premiered with Paavo Piik, and it has since been presented in over 90 successful performances at various theater and music festivals. In the upcoming 2023/2024 season, Annaliisa Pillak can be heard in the role of Tolomeo in Handel’s opera “Julius Caesar” and as Berta in the performance of “The Barber of Seville.”