Opera gives tenor Gunnar Björn a permanent post

Gunnar Björn Jónsson is among four singers appointed to permanent positions at the Opera, mbl.is reports. Two more singers are due to join around the new year, making Gunnar the only tenor among the six. He says the position will allow him to focus exclusively on singing.

Before studying voice, the 39-year-old trained as a master mason and worked in construction while taking on singing assignments. “I’ve moved in and out of singing projects in recent years, so I’ve sometimes been in formal wear and sometimes in my mason’s overalls,” he said. “I haven’t buried my trowel completely, though.”

Gunnar grew up in Svalbarðseyri by Eyjafjörður. He began singing lessons with Michael Clarke in Akureyri in 2007 and moved to the capital region in 2011. He then studied for three years under opera singer Kristján Jóhannsson.

A masterclass with Kristján in Akureyri in the summer of 2011 proved a turning point, Gunnar said. He had not seriously considered moving south before then, but the experience deepened his interest in singing and gave him confidence that he could seek Kristján’s guidance.

Gunnar spent two years in Italy, from 2014 to 2016, gaining experience, and took on work in Germany in 2025. He has also released his first album, Gunnar Björn Jónsson Sings With The Classical Wall of Sound. It came out on 15 September, the day he started at the Opera, and features 10 Italian and Icelandic songs and arias.

Musicians from the Bogotá Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic played on the album. They recorded in a studio while Gunnar sang from home. Singer Geir Ólafsson, who has spent considerable time in Colombia, recommended the recording producer. Óttar Felix Hauksson and others encouraged Gunnar to make the album and helped with funding.