The Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter sings in Harpa for the first time. The pianist Bengt Forsberg, her partner in recital for decades, and the guitarist Fabian Fredriksson play with her, and the Icelandic soprano Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir is their guest. The programme sets Christmas music beside songs from different periods, among them Schubert, Hugo Wolf, Sibelius, Bach, Fauré, Ravel and Arvo Pärt. Von Otter has sung opera and song for four decades, made most of her records for Deutsche Grammophon, and worked with Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. In the summer of 2026 she sang one of the principal roles in Daníel Bjarnason's Passion of the Common Man, first performed at the Bregenzer Festspiele. Álfheiður Erla was Harpa's ECHO Rising Star for 2025 to 2026 and sang the title role in Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland at the Theater an der Wien. The concert opens Ópus Reykjavík, the series she founded, and is presented jointly with Harpa.
Performers
- Anne Sofie von Ottermezzo-soprano
- Bengt Forsbergpiano
- Fabian Fredrikssonguitar
- Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttirsoprano