Oliver Kuusik (tenor) studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and obtained his master’s degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he also completed the opera studio.
From 2008 to 2017, Kuusk was the principal soloist of the Estonian National Opera, and since 2017 he has been working as a freelance musician. His repertoire includes over 50 operatic roles, most notably Faust (Gounod’s Faust), Alfredo (Verdi’s La Traviata), Nemorino (Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore), don Ramiro (Rossini’s La Cenerentola), Nicias (Massenet’s Thaïs), Christian (Tamberg’s Cyrano de Bergerac), Ferrando (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), don Ottavio (Mozart’s Don Giovanni), Rinuccio (Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi), Sesto and Goffredo (Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo), Walther (Wagner’s Tannhäuser), Fenton (Verdi’s Falstaff), and others. Oliver Kuusik is also a sought-after chamber and oratorio soloist and has performed tenor parts in major works such as Dvořák’s and Mozart’s Requiems, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and others.
Kuusik has won numerous prizes, including first prize in the Hendrik Krumm’s singers’ contest (2006), third prize and a special prize for his performance of German music at the 5th Klaudia Taev International Competition for Opera Singers (2007) and the Crystal Shoe Grand Prix for vocal development and successful roles (2010). On two occasions (2011 and 2015), Kuusik was awarded the SEB Audience Prize at the Estonian National Opera. In 2020 he was one of the nominees for the Music Award of Estonian Theatre.
