The Icelandic mezzo-soprano Arnheiður Eiríksdóttir received the award for “Rising Star” at the International Opera Awards in Munich last autumn. She also received the Thalia Award as “Opera Singer of the Year 2023” in the Czech Republic for her interpretation of Oktavian in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and was nominated for the same award a year later following her debut as the Composer from Ariadne auf Naxos.
Since 2020, she has been a permanent soloist with the Czech National Theater where she has performed, alongside the roles of Oktavian and the Composer, roles such as Charlotte in Werther, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Varavara in Kát’a Kabanova and more.
In the upcoming 2026/27 season, she will add the role of Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande to her repertoire in a production directed by Christoph Loy at her home theatre in Prague, as well as Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She will also perform the role of Isolier in a production of Rossini’s Le Comte Ory, organised by the Association of Friends of Musical Talents. Other highlights of the season include Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Tomáš Hanus, as well as Dvořák’s Biblical Songs with the Prague Philharmonia and Petr Altrichter.
In previous seasons, she has appeared as a guest at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Norwegian National Opera in Bergen, the Daegu Opera House in South Korea, the Cologne Opera, and the Icelandic Opera in Reykjavík.
Arnheiður has performed as a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia, the South Bohemian Philharmonic in Budweis, the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic, the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, the EinKlang Philharmonic in Münster, the Košice Philharmonic in Slovakia, and the Silesian Philharmonic.
She graduated with a final diploma from the Reykjavik College of Music and earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under the guidance of Univ. Prof. Sebastian Vittucci. She also pursued her Master’s studies there until she was offered a position in the opera studio of the Cologne Opera, where she was a member from 2018–2020.
