Reykjavík

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER MAKES HER HARPA DEBUT

Harpa welcomes Anne Sofie von Otter for her long-awaited Icelandic debut, joined by her close artistic partner Bengt Forsberg, guitarist Fabian Fredriksson and Icelandic soprano Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir.

Anne Sofie will bring her celebrated Christmas programme to Icelandic audiences. Works by Schubert, Wolf, Sibelius, Bach, Fauré, Ravel, Pärt and others come together in a programme that moves between the reflective stillness of the Nordic winter and the warmth and familiarity of the festive season.


The concert also marks the launch of Ópus Reykjavík, a new artistic event series founded by Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, which aims, among other things, to foster creative collaborations between outstanding international artists and Iceland’s artistic community. The concert is presented jointly by Ópus Reykjavík and Harpa.

The concert will take place in Norðurljós, with limited seating available.

 

DUE TO HIGH DEMAND, AN ADDITIONAL CONCERT WITH ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER HAS BEEN ADDED AT 6:00 pm ON DECEMBER 10! GENERAL TICKET SALES FOR THE 6:00 pm CONCERT WILL OPEN ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 AT 9:00 AM.




Renowned for her unparalleled and multi award-winning discography, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter’s creative versatility has seen her work with legendary artists ranging from the late greats of Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado and Giuseppe Sinopoli to Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright.

An ever-evolving repertoire has played a key role in sustaining Swedish-born von Otter’s international profile, from an early position as the superlative Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) of her generation, to her acclaimed creation of Leonora in the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel at Salzburger Festspiele and Royal Ballet & Opera. Performance highlights in later seasons include as Madame de Croissy in Oliver Py’s staging of Dialogues des Carmélites at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, as Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) in Christof Loy’s production at Bayerische Staatsoper, and as L’Opinion Publique (Orphée aux Enfers) in Barrie Kosky’s staging at Salzburger Festspiele. Adding further to an already impressive catalogue of opera repertoire, more recently there have been role debuts as the Countess (Pique Dame) at La Monnaie under Nathalie Stutzmann and Adelaide (Arabella) at Teatro Real under David Afkham.

Equally recognised as a concert and recital singer of exceptional gifts, von Otter’s career has taken her around the globe as a regular presence on the world’s most prestigious stages excelling in a diverse repertoire including works by Mahler, Berlioz, Bach and Kurt Weill, and her expansive Lieder recordings range from classics by Schubert, Schumann, Wolf and Mahler, through lesser-known compilations from Cécile Chaminade, Korngold, Peterson-Bergen and Stenhammar.

Anne Sofie von Otter is one of today’s most recorded artists with an incomparable catalogue built across a career now spanning more than four decades at the top of her profession. A lengthy and exclusive relationship with Deutsche Grammophon produced a wealth of acclaimed recordings including the GRAMMY-winning Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Claudio Abbado, Handel’s Ariodante, Giulio Cesare and Hercules with Marc Minkowski and a collaboration with pop legend Elvis Costello on For the Stars. On Naïve Classique, her double CD of Mélodies and Chansons, Douce France, received the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. von Otter immortalized many of her operatic characters on disc: Octavian with Bernard Haitink and the Staatskapelle Dresden and on DVD with Wiener Staatsoper under Carlos Kleiber; Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) under James Levine; La clemenza di Tito and Orfeo ed Euridice under Sir John Eliot Gardiner; and Ariadne auf Naxos under Giuseppe Sinopoli. Her latest album Berlin! Berlin! Berlin! Kabarett und Exil is an eclectic recital of musical numbers spanning the music of 1920s to 1940s Germany in collaboration with the Salon Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin and Adam Benzwi is released on BIS.



An award-winning soprano and visual artist, Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir was named Singer of the Year in the Classical and Contemporary Music category at the 2021 Icelandic Music Awards. A former ensemble member of Theater Basel and a 2025/26 ECHO Rising Star, she has appeared at leading European opera houses and concert halls including Staatsoper Berlin, Theater Basel, the Elbphilharmonie, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Philharmonie de Paris. She recently made a major international breakthrough in contemporary opera with her acclaimed portrayal of the title role in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, presented in its Austrian premiere in Vienna, where her performance was widely praised for its dramatic precision and vocal virtuosity. This season she continues her close engagement with new music through two major staged world premieres: Hania Rani’s If I Do Not Return and Bryce Dessner’s Herakles Mad to libretto by Anne Carson, in collaboration with the Icelandic visual artist Ragnar Kjartansson.

“Anne Sofie has been a role model for me ever since I began studying singing. Her curiosity, sincerity and the beauty of her voice have had a profound influence on me and shaped me as both a singer and an artist. To now have the opportunity to welcome her to Reykjavík and sing alongside her therefore holds a very special meaning for me. I could not imagine a better beginning for Ópus Reykjavík.”

— Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir

Bengt Forsberg has long been one of the most highly regarded and sought-after pianists of his generation and has enjoyed a fruitful artistic partnership with Anne Sofie von Otter spanning several decades. Together they have recorded numerous acclaimed albums that have attracted international attention and received a wealth of awards and honours, including celebrated recordings of songs by Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius and Franz Schubert, among many others.

Forsberg’s repertoire is exceptionally broad, and he has devoted particular attention to music by forgotten and lesser-known masters of the past. His repertoire includes solo piano works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Emmanuel Chabrier and Kaikhosru Sorabji, while his recordings also feature works by composers including Godard, Boëllmann, Koechlin, Pierné and Alfvén.

He has collaborated with numerous artists in art song and chamber music, most notably, in addition to Anne Sofie von Otter, violinist Nils-Erik Sparf and cellist Mats Lidström.

Promoter: Harpa

Anne Sofie von Otter

Bengt Forsberg

Fabian Fredriksson

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir

Christmas Concert with Anne Sofie von Otter

Harpa er tónlistar- og ráðstefnuhús við höfnina í Reykjavík, með salina Eldborg og Norðurljós.

Harpa

Ari Ólafsson og Dísella Lárusdóttir bjóða til hátíðlegra jólatónleika þar sem klassísk tónlist og sígild jólalög koma saman í fallegri dagskrá.

Á tónleikunum verða fluttar ljúfar jólaperlur, ásamt stórbrotnum aríum og lögum úr heimi söngleikja og klassískrar tónlistar. Tónlist sem við þekkjum, elskum og tengjum við jólahátíðina.

Setjumst niður og njótum tónlistar sem kemur okkur í hið sanna jólaskap.

Promoter: Svarthvítt

Ari Ólafsson

Dísella Lárusdóttir

Jólaljós - Hátíðartónleikar Ara Ólafs og Dísellu

Release Concert
Song of the People: Songs by Gylfi Th. Gíslason

Andri Björn Róbertsson bass-baritone, Dísella Lárusdóttir soprano, Elmar Gilbertsson tenor, Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir mezzosoprano, and Helga Bryndís Magnúsdóttir piano perform a selection from a new set of two CDs containing nearly all of Gíslason's songs, 20 songs that are widely known, including some national treasures, and 11 other songs that have not been heard before. The CDs will be available. Beautifully illustrated, the poetry will be projected onto a large screen. Thorvaldur Gylfason presents the programme.

Promoter: Þorvaldur Gylfason

Andri Björn Róbertsson

Elmar Gilbertsson

Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir

Helga Bryndís Magnúsdóttir

Sunday Classics: Songs by Gylfi Th. Gíslason

Barbara Hannigan and pianist Bertrand Chamayou offer a unique concert in the Norðurljós Hall. This concert has been a global success in recent years, and Icelandic music lovers are now finally getting the chance to enjoy it. The works in the programme all originate from the interaction between nature and the myths that humanity has created in an attempt to understand the world. The music comes from three different masters, but two of them, Messiaen and Scriabin, are traditionally considered some of the most original and influential composers of the 20th century. Added to this is the music of American composer and improviser John Zorn, who always manages to evade definitions and surprise his listeners. The concert was named as one of the best concerts of the year in New York by the music journalists of the New York Times in 2024, and the newspaper's review said that Hannigan and Chamayou conjured up an epic world of female energy and creativity.


Soprano
Barbara Hannigan

Piano
Bertrand Chamayou

Program
Olivier Messiaen Chants de Terre et de Ciel
Alexander Scriabin Poème Nocturne
Alexander Scriabin Vers la flame
John Zorn Jumalatteret

Promoter: Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

Barbara Hannigan

Bertrand Chamayou

Chants de terre et de ciel

Poème nocturne

Vers la flamme

Jumalatteret

A Mystical Journey - Recital Weith Hannigan and Chamayou

It's not every day that a performance of J. S. Bach's great feat, the St. Matthew Passion, is undertaken, but in 2027 it will be 300 years since its premiere. The Iceland Symphony Orchestra will perform this masterpiece of Western music, accompanied by a number of soloists and choirs under the direction of Benedikt Kristjánsson. He is Iceland’s foremost interpreter of Bach's vocal music and is sought after as such throughout Europe. Here, he leads the orchestra in addition to singing the role of the evangelist. Benedikt will be accompanied by many of Iceland’s leading singers, along with a select group of foreign soloists. Three choirs participate in the performance of this magnificent work, which takes about three hours to perform. This is a concert that no music lover can afford to miss.

Conductor and tenor
Benedikt Kristjánsson

Baritone
Anton Haupt
Oddur Arnþór Jónsson

Soprano
Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir

Countertenor
Reginald Mobley

Tenor
Sveinn Dúa Hjörleifsson

Choirs
The Langholtskirkja Choir
The Motet Choir
School Choir of Kársnes


Program
Johann Sebastian Bach St. Matthew Passion

Promoter: Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

Choir and song in Reykjavík

10. Dec

18:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

Christmas Concert with Anne Sofie von Otter

Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzosopran

Bengt Forsberg, klaver

Fabian Fredriksson, guitar

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, sopran

10. Dec

18:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

10. Dec

20:30

Harpa

Reykjavík

Christmas Concert with Anne Sofie von Otter

Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzosopran

Bengt Forsberg, klaver

Fabian Fredriksson, guitar

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, sopran

10. Dec

20:30

Harpa

Reykjavík

13. Dec

19:30

Harpa

Reykjavík

Jólaljós - Hátíðartónleikar Ara Ólafs og Dísellu

Ari Ólafsson

Dísella Lárusdóttir

13. Dec

19:30

Harpa

Reykjavík

17. Jan

16:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

Sunday Classics: Songs by Gylfi Th. Gíslason

Andri Björn Róbertsson, bassbaryton

Dísella Lárusdóttir, sopran

Elmar Gilbertsson, tenor

Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir, mezzosopran

Helga Bryndís Magnúsdóttir, klaver

17. Jan

16:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

13. Feb

17:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

A Mystical Journey - Recital Weith Hannigan and Chamayou

Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

Barbara Hannigan, soprano

Bertrand Chamayou, piano

13. Feb

17:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

18. Mar

19:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

The St. Matthew Passion

Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands

Anton Haupt, baritone

Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir, soprano

Reginald Mobley, countertenor

Sveinn Dúa Hjörleifsson, tenor

18. Mar

19:00

Harpa

Reykjavík

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