Reyk­javík Op­era Days: A Thin Ven­eer on a Fiery Pool

The Chamber Opera Þunnt skæni á logandi vök (A Thin Veneer on a Fiery Pool) was originally composed to a libretto by an Australian author and first performed in Reykjavík in 2021 while the world was still grappling with the Covid pandemic. It was later performed in Australia in 2023. The opera deals in a philosophical and dramatic way with the devastating bushfires which are the greatest natural threats throughout Australia.

Two years ago, it was decided to make the opera more relevant to Icelandic reality. Magnea J. Matthíasdóttir was approached to create a new libretto, in the form of a long poem. As in the original Australian version, fire was still the subject-matter, but the threat here in Iceland is not from forest fires, but volcanic eruptions, as the inhabitants of the Reykjanes peninsula in Southwest Iceland can attest to after the upheavals of the past few years. The poem deals with fire, both from the bowels of the earth as well as from above: a black blanket which can either be cooling lava or else the burnt forests and scorched land. The poem is written from the perspective of the the land and Nature, the eternal Gaia, herself, describing both the end and also new beginnings. I leave it to the listener to decide whether mankind is a part of the new beginning – or not.

In August, the chamber opera was performed in the old abandoned storage-tanks at Raufarhöfn, north-east Iceland, which gave a new dimension to the experience. Far from forest fires, far from volcanic upheavals, yet at the same time, a raw environment. Now it will be performed at the Reykjavík Opera Days in Harpa, where a cinematic and photographic exhibition by Ásdís Thoroddsen creates an inspiring setting for the work.

The opera is performed by soprano Hallveig Rúnarsdóttir with the chamber ensemble Camerarctica.

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