Lepalaan: No soloist from the National Opera takes vocal lessons from me
Helene Lepalaan, head of the casting department at the Estonian National Opera, denies accusations of corruption and giving vocal lessons to soloists, stating that a criminal investigation found no signs of corruption.
Following an article published in Eesti Ekspress on June 25, Helene Lepalaan, head of the casting department at the Estonian National Opera "Estonia," faced serious accusations which she calls slander. In an interview with Klassikaraadio, Lepalaan said that no one had indicated to her that there was any problem with her behavior, and the singers themselves did not attempt to resolve the conflict with her.
The published article opened a Pandora's box: years of accumulated resentment among National Opera employees spilled out in almost all media, and suddenly everyone had something to say about the theater. While the opera's general director Ott Maaten had already given several interviews, Lepalaan, who was even suspected of corruption, had remained silent. It is now known that a criminal investigation was not opened because no signs of a crime were found in Lepalaan's actions.
Asked how she felt when it emerged that the National Opera had essentially filed a report against her with the police, Lepalaan replied: "First, I must clarify one thing. This whole process has been described in various ways, but in reality, many of these statements are incorrect. The only reliable fact I received from our lawyer Maike Maiste is that the National Opera 'Estonia,' based on claims published in the press, contacted the police to verify these claims, which we essentially learned from the press. The National Opera did not file a complaint specifically against Helene Lepalaan; no accusation was made against me. The information based on these claims was simply forwarded to the police for verification."
"I was informed at the National Opera that first, a comprehensive survey would be conducted among the theater's singers, and then the obtained information would be handed over to the police. For my part, I submitted a detailed explanation of my pedagogical activities to the board of the National Opera, as detailed as possible, including a chronological account of what actually happened," she said.
"According to the final police document, the investigation did not find circumstances confirming the suspicions of corruption mentioned in the article," Lepalaan explained.
The second accusation against her concerned vocal lessons. Asked how many soloists of "Estonia" are currently taking vocal lessons under her guidance, Lepalaan replied: "Honestly, none of the soloists of 'Estonia' are currently taking vocal lessons from me. There was one such case two years ago, at the end of April 2024, when one of the leading soloists of 'Estonia' came to me for advice or feedback (I will not name them)." According to her, this person has been performing lead roles for 10 years.
"First of all, there can be no question that he did not have roles or that he got roles because of this. We had exactly six lessons. No other soloist from the theater 'Estonia' has taken paid vocal lessons from me," she noted.
