The concert will have a truly festive feel, featuring classic Christmas music mixed with beautiful carols and music from different eras, including works by Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf, Jean Sibelius, J. S. Bach, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel and Arvo Pärt.

The concert also marks the beginning of Ópus Reykjavík, a new art event series by Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir, whose goal is, among other things, to promote creative collaboration between excellent artists and the Icelandic art scene. The concert is a collaborative project between Ópus Reykjavík and Harpa. The concert will take place in the Northern Lights and seating is limited.

TICKET SALES START ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1ST AT 10 AM.

Anne Sofie von Otter is one of the most versatile and admired singers of her generation and has been at the forefront of the international music scene for four decades. Her repertoire is unusually extensive and varied, she has sung in the most prestigious and sought-after opera houses in the world. She has received awards numerous times for her interpretation of ballads from different eras and has worked closely with musicians from diverse fields, including Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. Her recording catalogue is particularly impressive, as she is one of the most recorded artists of our time, having released more than a hundred acclaimed albums, the vast majority for Deutsche Grammophon. She has received four Grammy Awards and several nominations for the same awards, as well as countless other awards and recognitions. Anne Sofie von Otter is an artist in constant development and constantly faces new challenges. She has worked with a large group of contemporary composers, including in the summer of 2026 she sang one of the leading roles in Passion of the Common Man by Daníel Bjarnason to great acclaim, the world premiere of which took place at the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria.

Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir is a multi-award-winning soprano and artist. She has performed in many of Europe's leading opera and concert halls, including the Staatsoper Berlin, Theater Basel, Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Philharmonie de Paris, and was selected as an ECHO Rising Star artist on behalf of Harpa in the winter of 2025 – 2026.

Álfheiður Erla attracted much attention for her interpretation of Alice in Wonderland in Unsuk Chin's opera of the same name at Theater an der Wien last winter. This winter she will sing in two brand new stage productions to be staged at Theater Basel; If I Do Not Return by Hania Rani and Herakles Mad by Bryce Dessner, created in collaboration with Ragnar Kjartansson with a libretto by Anne Carson.

As previously mentioned, the concert is a collaboration between Harpa and Ópus Reykjavík, the new art event company of Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir.

“Anne Sofie has been a role model for me ever since I began my singing studies. Her curiosity, sincerity and the beauty of her voice have had a profound impact on me and shaped me as a singer and artist. To now be able to welcome her to Reykjavík and sing with her has a special meaning for me. I couldn’t think of a better start for Ópus Reykjavík.”

— Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir

The day after the concert, Anne Sofie von Otter will offer masterclasses that will be a collaboration between the Iceland Academy of the Arts, the Icelandic National Opera and Ópus Reykjavík.

Bengt Forsberg has been one of the most respected and sought-after pianists of his generation for many years, and has had a fruitful collaboration with Anne Sofie von Otter for decades. They have recorded a number of acclaimed albums that have attracted worldwide attention and garnered countless awards and recognitions, including award-winning albums of songs by Edvard Grieg, Jean Sibelius and Franz Schubert, among many others. Forsberg's repertoire is very extensive, but he has paid special attention to the music of forgotten and little-known masters from the past. His repertoire includes solo piano works by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Charles-Valentin Alkan, Emmanuel Chabrier and Kaikhosru Sorabji, and his recordings also include works by Godard, Boëllmann, Koechlin, Pierné and Alfvén.

He has performed with a number of artists as an interpreter of lyrical songs and chamber music, including Anne Sofie von Otter, Nils-Erik Sparf, violinist, and Mats Liström, cellist.