Urta: Ingibjörg Azima sets Gerður Kristný's poem

Urta is a work by Ingibjörg Azima, written in 2024 and 2025, that sets Gerður Kristný's narrative poem of the same name, published as a book in 2022. The poem tells of the poet's foremother and her hard struggle to survive on the Strandir coast of the Westfjords a little over a century ago; urta is the Icelandic word for a female seal. The work is scored for soprano, piano, horn, timpani and percussion, and was first performed at Reykjavík Opera Days in Hafnarhúsið in October 2025. Tickets go on sale nearer the date.