Looris appeared on the "Ringvaade" show together with opera soloist Juuli Lill of the Estonian National Opera (Rahvusooper).

The opera house issued a public appeal to the Riigikogu Cultural Affairs Committee on Thursday, stating that if the current lack of funding continues as it is, the sustainability of the national opera is in serious danger.

"Certainly, ERSO provided some impetus, because one thing leads to another," Lill said, referring to an appeal made at the end of September by Olari Elts, chief conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO), also on the orchestra's inability to cope on current wage levels.

"This situation has quietly culminated over time. Prices in our country have risen quite significantly, and people's livelihoods have become very hard," Elts noted.

Head of the National Ballet Linnar Looris said the average gross salary of Estonia Theatre employees was about €1,780 per month.

"In that respect, it is quite meager when we compare it with how much an employee of the Ministry of Culture earns," he said, noting that the average salary at the ministry comes to €3,449 per month. "The money is always there; it's just a matter of where it is directed and what gets prioritized. The state is obliged to care for us, for public broadcasting, and for the National Library, as they have also imposed duties on us — we are doing some very important work that is essential for carrying our nation, our culture, and everything else."

According to Looris, the theater has boosted its own revenues and sought other ways to guarantee its existence and to pay salaries to employees.

"The fact that our salaries are low has been the case for years. In that sense, the state has neglected us," he said. "It is frustrating when people keep looking elsewhere, saying things are better over there. We would like to be able to pay our people decent wages here. Our audience deserves good art that our artists can create. We should be able to keep them here," the ballet director said.

Lill added that her gross monthly salary is €1,845, meaning she takes home about €1,500 a month after tax. She said that opera singers also have to pay for singing lessons abroad, to keep their voices in condition, out of their own pockets.

"We want to be at the international level. After all, we are the state of Estonia — we have our Arvo Pärt, we have our singers — we don't want to remain at an amateur level. We have to improve ourselves, which is quite an expensive undertaking. We have to also maintain a certain professional appearance, because we're on stage. The expenses required to remain competitive in this genre are perhaps a bit higher than those of an average person. Making ends meet has become rather complex," she continued.

Looris added that ballet dancers take home about €1,300, adding that he wants it to be a minimum of €1,900.

"We're not even asking to match the average salary of ministry employees right away, because that might be a bit utopian. But we do deserve it — why should we, as state employees, be considered less valuable than those at the Ministry of Culture? What we're really asking for at this point is an extra €1.5 million to bring the situation to a manageable level."

To earn extra income, dancers and singers have also taken on other jobs. For example, Lill herself said she has worked in a wallpaper store, selling wallpaper and packing goods.

"I learned a backup profession years ago, just in case — you never know how life will go. So I did internships, worked there, and later kept working a bit to earn some extra income. I've been thinking that I'll probably have to do that again this Christmas," she noted.

"Some dancers have even driven for Bolt to make ends meet," Looris added.

"Alongside dancing, with all the rehearsals and performances, we really don't have the time to take on other work. Our job is continual — we are always practicing, because the repertoire is huge. But we still have to fill our wallets somehow, otherwise we can't manage at all."

Whether their appeal will bring any change, neither Looris nor Lill were able to forecast.

"Estonians tend to be somewhat negative, and if someone earns even less than we do — in whatever field, in whatever company, public or private — they'll probably think it means everything's fine with us, that we are doing well. So I don't really expect much support. Maybe a couple of years from now we'll be back in this studio saying, 'remember when we talked about this?' and it'll still be the same issue. We'll keep raking this over, because I think Estonians don't really value their high culture. Even when they try their best, the kind of support that actually matters — I'm afraid is not quite there," Looris reflected.

A significant proportion of National Ballet dancers are foreign nationals from countries including the U.K.

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