Mati Kõrts

He studied at the Tallinn conservatory with Viktor Gurjev, with Gurjev's son Rostislav, and then in Riga with Jānis Sproģis. He began in the choir of the Tallinn opera theater in 1981, while continuing his studies until 1990; from 1986 on, he was a soloist in Tallinn, and from 1998, he sang as a freelance artist both at the Tallinn opera and the Vanemuine Theater in his native Tartu. He retired from the stage in 2012, to become a voice teacher in Tallinn.

His repertory included roles like Lenskij, des Grieux (Manon), Tamino, Alfredo, Almaviva, Fenton, Faust, Edgardo, Macduff, Don Ottavio, but also, quite surprisingly, Grigorij and Don José and, on the other hand, a lot of comprimario parts like Guillot de Morfontaine, Cassio, Triquet, Spalanzani or Don Basilio (in Nozze of course). He was probably as active on the concert podium as on the operatic stage, singing a great many masses, oratorios and cantatas.