Lunchtime concerts at Hafnarborg

Vidar Gunnarsson will perform at a lunchtime concert in Hafnarborg on Tuesday, 24 February at 12 noon, accompanied by pianist Antónia Hevesi.

The concert entitled Love and prayers Vidar will perform well-known Italian arias by W. A. Mozart, G. Donizetti and G. Verdi.

This will be the first lunchtime concert of the new year, but earlier this concert season, Elmar Gilbertsson, Hlín Pétursdóttir, Kristján Jóhannsson and Hanna Þóra Guðbrandsdóttir performed. In March, soprano Sigrún Pálmadóttir will perform an Italian programme, and in April, it is the Hafnarfjörður native Sigurður Skagfjörð who will perform a well-chosen selection of works.

Vidar Gunnarsson, bass, studied music at the Reykjavík College of Music under the guidance of Garðar Cortes and later undertook postgraduate studies with Dr Folke Sällström in Stockholm from 1981 to 1984. After completing his studies, he sang regularly at the Icelandic Opera from 1984 and the National Theatre from 1985.

Vidar was engaged as an opera singer at the Kammeroper and Schönbrunner Schloßtheater in Vienna in 1989-1990 and was a permanent member of the State Theatre in Wiesbaden from 1990 to 1995. Vidar has sung in opera houses throughout Europe, and has performed as a soloist with Icelandic and international choirs, as well as with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Among the roles that Viðar has sung are Colline in The Bohemian Life, Father Guardiano in At the mercy of fate, Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Il Re and Ramfis in Aida, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, the title role in Boris Godunov, as well as various roles in various Wagner operas. Viðar sang the role of the first brother in The Magic Flute at the Icelandic Opera in the autumn of 2011, Ferrando in The Troubadour Autumn 2012, Zuniga in Carmen Autumn 2013, Bishop Brynjólf in Ragnheiði in spring 2014 and Karl V in the Icelandic Opera's production of Don Carlo, in autumn 2014.

Antonia Hevesi The pianist has been the artistic director of the lunchtime concerts at Hafnarborg from the very beginning, and has chosen many of the country's leading singers to perform with him.

During the spring term of 2015, the Hafnarborg lunchtime concerts will be held on the last Tuesday of the month.

The concert starts at 12 noon and will last for about half an hour. It is open to everyone, subject to capacity. The venue opens at 11:30 a.m.