Tuesday, 1 September at 12 We welcome you to the first lunchtime concert of the new term at Hafnarborg, where... Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir guest Antonia Hevesi, pianist and artistic director of the concert series.

Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir, a mezzo-soprano, graduated from the Reykjavík School of Singing and undertook postgraduate studies in Germany and the Netherlands. Hildigunnur has also completed a BA in Creative Music Media from the Iceland Academy of the Arts. She has been prominent on the choral music scene and has sung solo roles in Messiah and Judas Maccabeus by Handel, as well as Passion According to Matthew, St John's Passion and The Christmas Oratorio by Bach and Guðbrand's Mass by Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir. She has also sung as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Symphony Orchestra, the Brák Baroque Ensemble, Caput and the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, and has premiered numerous works, such as those by Hreinn Hákonarson, Ingibjörgu Ýri Skarphéðinsdóttur, John Speight and Kolbein Bjarnason.

Recently, Hildigunnur sang a duet with the soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan at a concert by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and also took part in the work. Ritual at Harpa alongside the world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She received the 2023 Icelandic Music Awards for Vocal Performance of the Year in the Classical and Contemporary Music category. Hildigunnur was recently appointed to the newly established National Opera and will play the role of Mistress Quickly in the Opera's production of Falstaff after Verdi in the spring of 2027.

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.