Tuesday, 5 September at 12 The lunchtime concerts at Hafnarborg are once again getting under way, but at this first concert of the season, the Hafnfirðingur – and Gaflari – Ivar Helgason, baritone, guest Antonia Hevesi, pianist and artistic director of the concert series. They will then perform arias from operas and operettas by Mozart, Lehár and Kálmán. The title of the concert this time is Sunshine and showers.

Ivar Helgason, baritone, began his career at the age of eleven in the title role of the children's opera The Little Soot-sweeper by Benjamin Britten in a production by the Icelandic Opera, and Ivar has been involved with the stage ever since. He began his singing studies at the Music School in Hafnarfjörður with Eiður Ágúst Gunnarsson and at the Reykjavík School of Singing, he then studied under Bergþór Pálsson and Guðmundur Jónsson. In the autumn of 2001, Ivar began his studies at the musical theatre department of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, a course which requires equal proficiency in singing, acting and dancing. Ivar graduated with distinction in 2003 and had already secured a position at the Raimund Theatre in Vienna for the world premiere of the rock musical. Barbarella by Dave Stewart.

For the next four years, Ivar worked in Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, where he took part in numerous musicals. Most notable among these were the roles of Jean Valjean and Enjolras in The Orphans in two updates and Kaiser Franz Joseph in the musical Elisabeth which was performed seven times a week for a year and a half at the Apollo Theatre in Stuttgart. In 2007, Ívar returned home and began working at the National Theatre until the muse drew him north, where he has since put down roots. Ívar released the Christmas album Christmas lights, where his arrangements, lyrics and songs can be heard. He has also directed and choreographed countless plays and musicals. Ivar completed the LRSM singing teacher's diploma from the Reykjavík School of Singing and has taught classical and rhythmical singing at the school, as well as teaching at the Akureyri Music School for many years. Today he is a freelance artist, as well as teaching tap dance at the STEPS dance school in Akureyri.

Antonia Hevesi, a pianist, has been the artistic director of the lunchtime concerts at Hafnarborg since their inception, and they have been a regular feature of the museum's programme since 2003. There, Antonía has been joined by many of the country's leading singers, with the aim of the concerts being to give visitors the opportunity to enjoy live music at their leisure. The lunchtime concerts are usually held on the first Tuesday of each month during the winter season.

The concert starts at 12 noon and will last for about half an hour. The venue opens at 11:30 am and the concert is open to all, subject to capacity. Admission is free.