{{Short description|Estonian opera singer (1911–1990)}} {{Infobox person | name = Tiit Kuusik | image = <!-- An image of Tiit Kuusik, if available --> | caption = <!-- Caption for the image, if provided --> | birth_date = {{birth date|1911|09|24}} | birth_place = Pärnu | death_date = {{death date and age |1990|08|15|1911|09|24|mf=yes}} | death_place = Tallinn | other_names = Dietrich Kuusik | occupation = Opera singer | years_active = 1938-1988 | awards = {{unbulleted list|Honored Artist of the Estonian SSR (1945)|Two Stalin Prizes (1950, 1952)|People's Artist of the Estonian SSR (1952)|People's Artist of the USSR (1954)|Order of Lenin (1956)|Order of the Badge of Honour (1965)|Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971)|Order of Friendship of Peoples (1981)|Order of the October Revolution (1986)}} }} '''Tiit Kuusik''' (born '''Dietrich Kuusik'''; 24 September 1911 – 15 August 1990) was an Estonian opera singer (baritone).<ref name="ETBL">{{cite web |title=Kuusik, Tiit - Eesti Entsüklopeedia |url=http://etbl.teatriliit.ee/artikkel/kuusik_tiit3 |website=etbl.teatriliit.ee |access-date=17 June 2021}}</ref>
Kuusik was born in Pärnu. He studied at Pärnu Boys' Gymnasium, played violin, cello and percussion in the school's dance orchestra and sang in the school's boys' choir, first as a tenor, later as a bass (taught by Heinrich Meri). Before entering the conservatory, he also performed light music in the same orchestra. After graduating from gymnasium, he took singing lessons from Elene Rebas. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Estonia Seltsi fond |url=http://www.erkf.ee/allfondid/estonia-seltsi-fond |access-date=2026-04-22 |website=Sihtasutus Eesti Rahvuskultuuri Fond |language=et}}</ref>
In 1938 he graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory. 1938–1939 he was a soloist at the Vienna Volksoper, 1942–1943 at the Staatstheater Kassel, and 1944–1988 at the Estonia Theatre.<ref name="ETBL" />
Several films have been made about him, including ''Laulab Tiit Kuusik'' (1973, Tallinnfilm).<ref name="ETBL" />
Kuusik died in 1990 in Tallinn.
== Awards and honors == * Honored Artist of the Estonian SSR (1945) * Two Stalin Prizes (1950, 1952) * People's Artist of the Estonian SSR (1952) * People's Artist of the USSR (1954) * Order of Lenin (1956) * Order of the Badge of Honour (1965) * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1971) * Order of Friendship of Peoples (1981) * Order of the October Revolution (1986)<ref name="ETBL" />
==Opera roles== {{Expand section|date=June 2021}}
* Silvio (Leoncavallo's "Pajatsid", 1938 in Estonia Theatre) * Escarnillo (Bizet's "Carmen", 1938) * Tonio (Leoncavallo's "Pajatsid" 1939, 1942, 1946, 1948,1954 and 1978)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuusik, Tiit}} Category:1911 births Category:1990 deaths Category:Musicians from Pärnu Category:People from Kreis Pernau Category:Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1959–1963 Category:Operatic baritones Category:Estonian music educators Category:Soviet male opera singers Category:Soviet music educators Category:20th-century Estonian male opera singers Category:Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Category:Academic staff of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Category:People's Artists of the USSR Category:People's Artists of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Category:Honoured Artists of the Estonian SSR Category:Recipients of the Stalin Prize Category:Recipients of the Estonian SSR State Prize Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin Category:Recipients of the Order of the October Revolution Category:Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Category:Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Category:Burials at Metsakalmistu
{{Estonia-musician-stub}}