About me

Annabel Soode (born 2004) is a vocal artist based in Tallinn and Berlin, exploring the structures of art music and the soundscape of today. She is currently studying classical singing at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under the guidance of Monika Hauswalter, and continues her studies with Professor Anna Samuil at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. In 2025, she was awarded the Estonian Young Singer Prize.

Recently, Annabel made her debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Vanemuine Theatre in Tartu, Estonia. In the same year, she premiered several new works with the contemporary music ensemble Alekton, and performed as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Krönungsmesse, as La Contessa in excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro, and as the Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte. Earlier in the year, she participated in the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in Dublin. In June, she was awarded the Jane Carty Memorial Prize at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition. Annabel is also a participant in the Estonian television competition for young classical musicians, Stars of Classical Music (Klassikatähed).

In November 2024, Annabel Soode premiered at the Estonian new music festival AFEKT, performing Einike Leppik’s audiovisual work Essential Fears and Fabrizio Nastari’s mono-opera A Student’s Tale together with the Italian new music ensemble L’Arsenale and accordionist Momir Novakovic. Earlier that year, in August 2024, she made her opera debut in the leading role of Heba in Raasulapsuke, a new opera by Malle Maltis, in Narva, Estonia. In May 2024, she took part in a choreographic opera-installation directed by Sofia Filippou and composed by Ben Osborn, performed at the Ungru Castle ruins. During the 2023/2024 season, Annabel was selected for the LIFT mentor program for young musicians, organized by the Estonian State Concert Institute, Eesti Kontsert.

In November 2024, she also performed with the Narva City Symphony Orchestra, and in August 2023 appeared with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra under Kaspar Mänd in Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations. She has also performed with the Estonian National Opera at the Vana Tallinn Gala under conductor Arvo Volmer.

In the 2025/26 season, Annabel will appear at the Estonian National Opera as Lapák (the dog) and Datel (the woodpecker) in Leosh Janáchek’s The Cunning Little Vixen (Príhody lishky Bystroushky).

Since 2021, Soode has given Lied-duo concerts with pianists including Piia Paemurru, Kärt Ruubel, Rose Thomas, Jakob Teppo, and Sofia Khvichia, among others. In her recital programs, she often seeks to create a dialogue between newly composed works and the established classical repertoire.

Annabel Soode has received numerous accolades, including a special prize and first place in the Estonian youth singing competition Võluhääl (Magic Voice). She was awarded the Tallinn Talent Prize in both 2021 and 2023, won first prize at the Estonian Vocalists’ Competition in 2022, and took third place at the Vello Jürna Competition later that same year.

Alongside her vocal studies, Annabel studied violin and viola at the Tallinn Old Town School, where she performed with the Tallinn Old Town School String Orchestra under Rasmus Puur. As a soloist, she has appeared in Estonia, Sweden, the Basque Country, Poland, Italy, the United States, and Brazil. She has also studied at Hanna Liina Võsa’s Musical School and taken part in drama productions at Estonian theatres, including Cinematheater and Varius Theatre. In addition, she has collaborated on children’s projects with the Estonian National Opera.

Growing up, she often performed with her father’s string quartet and has explored a wide range of musical genres, from folk and musical theatre to jazz and classical music.

In the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons, Annabel was a recipient of the Elfrida and Erich Rämmeld Memorial Fund Scholarship for young opera singers at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.