architect estonian national opera
Tallinn ( or ) is the capital and largest city of Estonia . It is situated on the northern coast of the country , on the shore of the Gulf of ___MASK35___ , south of Helsinki , east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg . From the 13th century until 1918 ( and briefly during the Nazi occupation of Estonia from 1941 to 1944 ), the city was known as Reval . Tallinn occupies an area of and has a population of 443 , 894 . Approximately 32 % of Estonia ' s total population lives in Tallinn . Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century and later developed into a concert dance form in ___MASK77___ and Russia . It has since become a widespread , highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology . It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres . Becoming a ballet dancer requires years of training . Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world , which have historically incorporated their own cultures to evolve the art . A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past . Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes ( like lawyers ' wigs or military officers ' spurs ), but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings . Traditions can persist and evolve for thousands of years  the word " tradition " itself derives from the Latin " tradere " or " traderer " literally meaning to transmit , to hand over , to give for safekeeping . While it is commonly assumed that traditions have ancient history , many traditions have been invented on purpose , whether that be political or cultural , over short periods of time . ___MASK85___ academic disciplines also use the word in a variety of ways . The Gulf of ___MASK35___ is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea . It extends between ___MASK35___ ( to the north ) and Estonia ( to the south ) all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia , where the river Neva drains into it . Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn . The eastern parts of the Gulf of ___MASK35___ belong to Russia , and some of Russia ' s most important oil harbours are located farthest in , near Saint Petersburg ( including Primorsk ). As the seaway to Saint Petersburg , the Gulf of ___MASK35___ has been and continues to be of considerable strategic importance to Russia . Some of the environmental problems affecting the Baltic Sea are at their most pronounced in the shallow gulf . Opera ( English plural : " operas "; Italian plural : " opere " ) is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text ( libretto ) and musical score , usually in a theatrical setting . In traditional opera , singers do two types of singing : recitative , a speech - inflected style and arias , a more melodic style . Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre , such as acting , scenery , and costumes and sometimes includes dance . The performance is typically given in an opera house , accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble , which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor . Stockholm ( or ) is the capital of Sweden and the most ___MASK99___ city in the Nordic countries ; 932 , 917 people live in the municipality , approximately 1 . 5 million in the urban area , and 2 . 3 million in the metropolitan area . The city is spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren , by the Stockholm archipelago and the Baltic Sea . The area has been settled since the Stone Age , in the 6th millennium BC , and was founded as a city in 1252 by a Swedish statesman Birger Jarl . It is also the capital of Stockholm County . ___MASK35___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK35___ , is a sovereign state in Northern Europe . A peninsula with the Gulf of ___MASK35___ to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west , the country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest , Norway to the north , and Russia to the east . Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of ___MASK35___ . ___MASK35___ is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia , which also includes Scandinavia . ___MASK35___ ' s population is 5 . 5 million ( 2014 ), staying roughly on the same level over the past two decades . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region . In terms of area , it is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union . Helsinki is the capital and largest city of ___MASK35___ . It is in the region of Uusimaa , in southern ___MASK35___ , on the shore of the Gulf of ___MASK35___ . Helsinki has a population of , an urban population of 1 , 214 , 210 , and a metropolitan population of over 1 . 4 million , making it the most ___MASK99___ municipality and urban area in ___MASK35___ . Helsinki is located some north of Tallinn , Estonia , east of Stockholm , Sweden , and west of Saint Petersburg , Russia . Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities . Armas Eliel Lindgren ( 28 November 1874  3 October 1929 ) was Finnish ___MASK14___ , professor and painter . The Jugendstil building was designed by Finnish architects ___MASK41___ and ___MASK81___ . It was built as a national effort with the leadership of Estonia society in 1913 and was opened to the public on 24 August . At the time , it was the largest building in Tallinn . Saint Petersburg is Russia ' s second - largest city after Moscow , with five million inhabitants in 2012 , and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea . It is politically incorporated as a federal subject ( a federal city ). Situated on the Neva River , at the head of the Gulf of ___MASK35___ on the Baltic Sea , it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May . In 1914 , the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd , in 1924 to Leningrad , and in 1991 back to Saint Petersburg . Between 1713  1728 and 1732  1918 , Saint Petersburg was the imperial capital of Russia . In 1918 , the central government bodies moved to Moscow . ___MASK81___ ( 20 May 1872  27 December 1966 ) born as Olivia Mathilda Lönn was a Finnish architect . She was the first woman to be awarded the honorary title of " Professor " by the Finnish Association of Architects . Concert dance ( also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the ___MASK44___ ) is dance performed for an audience . It is frequently performed in a theatre setting , though this is not a requirement , and it is usually choreographed and performed to set music . The Italian Renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance , a period of great cultural change and achievement that began in Italy during the 14th century and lasted until the 16th century , marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe . The term Renaissance is in essence a modern one that came into currency in the 19th century , in the work of historians such as Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt . Although the origins of a movement that was confined largely to the literate culture of intellectual endeavor and patronage can be traced to the earlier part of the 14th century , many aspects of Italian culture and society remained largely Medieval ; the Renaissance did not come into full swing until the end of the century . The ___MASK20___ word " renaissance " (" Rinascimento " in Italian ) means " Rebirth ", and the era is best known for the renewed interest in the culture of classical antiquity after the period that Renaissance humanists labeled the Dark Ages . Estonian National Opera is the national opera company of Estonia . The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn . The theatre has had several names throughout its existence . The latest one being `` The Estonian National Opera '' , which was adopted in 1998 . The company produces a lively and varied season which includes operas , ballet ' s and operettas / musicals with over 500 people currently work at the Estonian National Opera .