Biography
Georg Ots (March 21, 1920 – September 5, 1975) was an Estonian singer, actor, and People's Artist of the USSR (1960).
Before studying singing with Estonian baritone Aleksander Rahnel in Yaroslavl, where a cultural center for evacuated Estonians was established behind the Eastern Front, Ots was a young Navy officer who escaped a sinking ship and was taken prisoner in Russia. He was released a year later and, upon returning home, auditioned for the conservatory in Tallinn. Simultaneously, he joined the chorus at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. His solo opera debut was a minor role in Eugene Onegin (1944). He soon became one of the most revered singers in Estonia and Finland and was also admired throughout Russia.
Ots frequently performed at major opera houses across the former Soviet Union, particularly beloved at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. His repertoire featured roles such as Eugene Onegin, Yeletzky, Escamillo, Renato, Don Giovanni, Papageno, Rigoletto, Iago, Porgy, Figaro, and the title role in Kabalevsky's Colas Breugnon. He sang in Estonian, Russian, Finnish, German, Italian, and French, and was fluent in all six languages. Ots’s most renowned role, closely associated with him, was the lead character in Anton Rubinstein's opera The Demon. The libretto, based on Mikhail Lermontov's famous epic poem, was once banned due to its storyline involving a forbidden romance between a dark angel and a Georgian princess. Ots's portrayal of the angel captivated audiences and garnered enthusiastic acclaim, further popularizing Lermontov's controversial poem.
Ots's popularity peaked in 1958 with the release of the Lenfilm Studios musical Soviet film Mister X, adapted from Imre Kalman's operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin. He also starred in Between Three Plagues, a film based on Jaan Kross’s historical novel about Balthasar Russow, a notable Estonian writer and chronicler. Ots enjoyed performing songs by Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, and other Russian composers, as well as interpreting Estonian folk songs. His voice was broadcast on radio and TV throughout the Soviet Union, and his records sold out rapidly.
He also had successful performances across various European countries. After his death in 1975 from a brain tumor, the Tallinn Music School was named in his honor (now Georg Otsa nimeline Tallinna Muusikakool). In 1997, Russian scientists named a newly discovered minor planet 3738 Ots (1977 QA1) after him. Ots was married three times (to Margot Ots (née Laane, later Heinsoo), Asta Ots (Saar), and Ilona Ots (Noor)) and had two daughters and a son: daughter Ülle Malken (Ots) and son Ülo Ots with Asta Ots, daughter Mariann Randmaa (Ots) with Ilona Ots, and two adopted sons, Hendrik Ots and Jüri Ots.
In November 2005, the musical Georg, based on his life, premiered in Tallinn, and on October 5, 2007, the film Georg, also based on his life, was released.
