Tuesday, 2nd May at 12 We welcome you to the final lunchtime concert of the winter season at Hafnarborg, where Valgerður Guðnadóttir, soprano, perform alongside Antonia Hevesi, pianist and artistic director of the concert series. This time, the concerts are entitled „Musicals: The Golden Age“, and also mark the end of the lunchtime concert series' twentieth season.

Valgerður Guðnadóttir, soprano, graduated from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London in 2000, having previously completed Grade 8 in singing with distinction from the Reykjavík School of Singing. Valgerður began her career as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Icelandic School of Commerce. Following this, she played the role of Dala-Vala in the television play You remember Jörundur directed by Óskar Jónasson and María in West Side Story at the National Theatre aged 18. Valgerður then played the role of Mum in the play of the same name, based on the book by Gunnar Helgason, and was nominated for a Grímma Award for it. She played the role of Maria in Song-fever at the City Theatre, for which she received the Gríma for Singer of the Year in 2009. Among Valgerður's opera roles are Papageno in The Magic Flute, Mercedes in Carmen, the Barber in The Wedding of the Rose and Berta in The Barber from Seville For that role, she received a nomination for the Icelandic Music Awards in 2016.

Valgerður has performed widely as a soloist at home and abroad and has given numerous concerts, including poetry, tango and jazz concerts. She sang at the opening concert of Harpa in 2011 and has appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, for events such as 'Klassíkin okkar', the Vienna Concert, Disney Concerts, the James Bond Gala and the orchestra's Christmas concert. Valgerður sang a solo with The Phantom of the Opera at Harpa, in Kristján Jóhannsson's Christmas concerts and with Frostrósir for many years, to name but a few. She also sang the role of the Seeress in The Prophecy of the Völva by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson with Sinfonia Nord in Hof, Akureyri, and in the Faroe Islands in 2016 and 2018. Valgerður has also lent her voice to Disney characters such as Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid, and has provided the voice-over for countless other cartoons. Valgerður was the Mountain Muse of Reykjavík in 2014 and received an artist's grant for 12 months in 2017.

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.