Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir
grew up in Reykjavík and studied at the Hochschule für Musik 'Hanns Eisler' Berlin. During her studies she made her debut at the Berlin State Opera in the title role of Wolfgang Mitterer's 'Snow White', followed by her Papagena debut in Mozart's 'The Magic Flute'. After taking on the role of the Angel in Olivier Messiaen's 'St. Francois d'Assise' at Theater Basel, she is an ensemble member at the house and has sung in 'Rigoletto' (Gilda), 'St. Matthew Passion', 'Carmina Burana' and Philip Glass' 'Einstein on the Beach', among others. She has interpreted leading roles in several world premieres, including 'Der Hetzer' by Bernhard Lang at Theater Dortmund, 'Persona' by Anda Kryeziu at Gare du Nord and 'Tolleranzia' by Alex Chorny at Deutsche Oper Berlin. She was awarded Singer of the Year in the Classical and Contemporary Music category at the Icelandic Music Awards 2021 and was selected to represent Iceland as one of the 16 participants in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition 2021. A passionate interpreter of song, she was a participant in the first SongStudio at Carnegie Hall in 2019 under the direction of world-renowned soprano Renée Fleming. She is a Young Artist with Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now and Britten-Pears, as well as a prizewinner of the 2019 Haydn International Competition and the 2015 Perotti International Competition. She was also a participant at the prestigious Orsay-Royaumont Academy.