Estonian soprano Mirjam Mesak is a current member of the Bayerische Staatsoper ensemble, where she has left an indelible impression in roles from Iolanta to Musetta. In September 2022, she portrayed the leading role in Axel Ranisch’s film “Orphea in Love” which premiered at the Bavarian State Opera – proving that the soprano possesses not only an “outstanding voice” (Crescendo) but is also a skilled actress. The film was subsequently released in cinemas throughout Germany.

 

In the 2026/27 season, Mesak makes her American debut for Dallas Opera performing the title role of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen in a revival of Barrie Kosky's production, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume. She makes a further company debut for Santa Fe Opera, reprising the role of Female Courtier in Brett Dean’s acclaimed new opera Of One Blood, staged by Claud Guth and conducted by Adam Hickox. Mesak created the role last season at the Bayerische Staatsoper where Of One Blood had its world premiere under musical director Vladimir Jurowski. Her roles in Munich this season include Adele in Barrie Kosky’s production of Die Fledermaus conducted by Jurowski and Flower Maiden in Wagner’s Parsifal, directed by Pierre Audi and conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. She also returns to the role of Mimi in Puccini’s La bohème at Theater Vanemuine in Estonia.

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Recent concert performances include an Operetta Gala at the Kissinger Sommer Musikfestival with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Mihail Gerts, Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski and with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kristiina Poska, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Oldenburg State Orchestra conducted by Hendrik Vestmann, and a Summer Gala concert with the Prague Philharmonia and Rastislav Štúr.

 

In Estonia, Mesak appears regularly with the Estonian National Opera, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra. She made her role debut as Mimi at the Theatre Vanemuine in 2025. In recent seasons, she has appeared as a soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No.2 with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under Neeme Järvi and in Berg’s Sieben Frühe Lieder with the Estonian Festival Orchestra under Paavo Järvi. In 2023, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Estonian composer Rudolf Tobias, Mesak recorded Tobias’s Oratorio Joonas with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, released by Ondine Records in November 2025. In the same month, Harmonia Mundi released a recording of Mesak’s 2024 performance of Rachmaninov’s The Bells at London’s Royal Festival Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Vassily Petrenko.

 

Mesak is a graduate of London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama where she studied under Prof. Rudolf Piernay. She has performed as a soloist in several of London’s renowned concert halls including the Barbican, Milton Court Concert Hall (as part of the London Symphony Orchestra’s ‘This is Rattle’ festival), Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall.

 

Her portrayal of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with the Bayerische Staatsorchester conducted by Alevtina Ioffe earned Mirjam unanimous critical acclaim for her ability to bring an ‘unbelievable amount of depth’ to the character (Bachtrack) and can also be found on DVD.

 

Mirjam Mesak is a graduate of Guildhall School of Music & Drama (First Class Honours) where she studied under the tutelage of Prof. Rudolf Piernay. She has performed as a soloist in several of London’s renowned concert halls such as the Barbican Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall (including as part of the LSO’s ‘This is Rattle’ festival), Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall.

 

In 2019 she was awarded with the Bavarian Art Prize in the section of Performing Arts (Bayerische Kunstförderpreis in Der Sparte Darstellende Kunst) and in 2024 with the Annual Award from the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

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