Event info

Due to the state of the pandemic in Iceland as well as abroad, the decision has been made to cancel the Iceland Symphony Orchestra's and Icelandic Opera's production of Wagner's Die Walküre, which was to take place as part of the Reykjavík Art Festival in Harpa on 24th and 26th February 2022.  
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Richard's Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung is without doubt one of the most ambitious operatic works in the history of Western music. It comprises four separate operas, which Wagner based not only on the German Nibelungenlied but also on the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, and Völsunga Saga, which he had in German translation. He worked for a quarter-century on the Ring cycle, which puts his genius as composer and librettist on full display.

The story line of The Valkyrie comes largely from Völsunga Saga. A tempest is raging, and Siegmund seeks shelter in the home of Sieglinde and her husband, Hunding. He and Sieglinde fall in love, and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, daughter of Wotan, disobeys her father by helping Siegmund in his bid to fight a duel with Hunding. Wotan punishes her by stripping her of her divine status as a Valkyrie, transforming her into a mortal woman. He condemns her to lie sleeping on the mountain surrounded by flames until an intrepid hero awakens her with a kiss.

This opulent musical drama is one of the masterpieces of the 19th century, and the famous Ride of the Valkyries is well known to most music lovers. This is the first time The Valkyrie has been performed in its entirety in Iceland and the first time since 2002 that a full Wagner opera has been programmed.

Soprano Iréne Theorin sings Brünnhilde, a role she has sung at the Staatsoper Berlin with conductor Daniel Barenboim. Wotan is sung by Ólafur Kjartan Sigurðarson, and the Valkyries are performed by a stunning group of Icelandic singers.

The orchestra is conducted by Eva Ollikainen, Iceland Symphony's Chief Conductor. The opera director, Julia Burbach, is on the permanent staff at London's Covent Garden. Tal Rosner is a BAFTA-winning video designer and director who has worked at the National Theatre in London and Lincoln Center in New York.

The Valkyrie is a collaborative effort of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Icelandic Opera, and the Reykjavík Arts Festival and is a co-production from the Opéra National de Bordeaux.

The performance takes five hours with two intermissions (45 and 30 minutes).

CONDUCTOR
Eva Ollikainen

DIRECTORS
Julia Burbach og Tal Rosner

VIDEO
Tal Rosner

CAST
Iréne Theorin Brünnhilde
Christopher Ventris Siegmund
Jamie Barton Fricka
Claire Rutter Sieglinde
Ólafur Kjartan Sigurðarson Wotan
Kristinn Sigmundsson Hunding
Lilja Guðmundsdóttir Helmwige
Sigrún Pálmadóttir Gerhilde
Margrét Hrafnsdóttir Ortlinde
Sigríður Ósk Kristjánsdóttir Waltraute
Agnes Thorsteins Siegrune
Guja Sandholt Roßweiße
Hildigunnur Einarsdóttir Grimgerde
Svanhildur Rósa Pálmadóttir Schwertleite