Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir (; born 8 August 1955), better known as Diddú (), is an Icelandic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and songwriter. Educated at the

Reykjavík College of Music The Reykjavík College of Music () is an Icelandic gymnasium (junior college) and music conservatory founded in 2017. It was created by the merger of the graduate levels of (also known as Reykjavík College of Music) and (Conservatory of the Ic ...

and the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

in London, she began her singing career in the 1970s as a vocalist for the popular

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

and pop group Spilverk Þjóðanna. She subsequently turned to classical music, particularly ''

Lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er'' and operas. Diddú's most recent album, ''Hvert Örstutt Spor'' (''Each Tiny Step''), was released in 2005.

Early life and education

The second of seven children of Hjálmtýr E. Hjálmtýsson, a bank clerk, and Margrét Matthíasdóttir, a writer, Diddú was born on 8 August 1955 and raised in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. She studied at the Reykjavík College of Music, and afterwards at the

in London where she received a degree (1979–1984) and a postgraduate diploma (1985).Programme of ''An Evening at the Barbican Centre with Cortes : With a Very Special Guest Diddu; the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gardar Cortes'',

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London, England, and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings a ...

, London, 26 September 2007. She also had private singing lessons in Italy between 1987 and 1988.

Career

Diddú began her singing career as a vocalist with the

and pop group Spilverk Þjóðanna between 1975 and 1978 and made numerous recordings of folk and popular music, before turning her focus to classical music, particularly ''

er'' and operas. With the Icelandic Opera she has performed the parts of Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'', Gilda in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Papagena and the Queen of the Night in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', Lucia in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'', Violetta in '' La traviata'', Adina in ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'' and Rosalinda in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

''. She was a guest singer as Susanna in ''The Marriage of Figaro'' in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

, Norway, and as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'' in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden (1992). In Icelandic. She has also sung the role of Olympia in ''

Les contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' at the

National Theatre of Iceland The National Theatre of Iceland (NTI) (, pronounced ) in Reykjavík, is the national theatre of Iceland. The theater, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson, was formally opened on 20 April 1950. Since 2020, the artistic director of The National Thea ...

in Reykjavík. In 1994, Diddú appeared in ''Bíódagar'' (''Movie Days'') by Icelandic film director

Friðrik Þór Friðriksson Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (born 12 May 1954; pronounced ), sometimes credited as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, is an Icelandic film director and producer. Biography Fridriksson started his film making career with experimental films and documentar ...

, playing the mother of a young boy living in the 1950s who is engrossed with American movies. In 2001, Diddú performed at a special concert in Beijing, China, in the Forbidden City Concert Hall. The concert was held to commemorate 30 years of relations between Iceland and China. On 26 September 2007, Diddú was a special guest of

Garðar Thór Cortes Garðar Thór Cortes (pronounced , born 2 May 1974) is an Icelandic tenor of Icelandic and English parentage. A former child actor, Garðar subsequently trained as a singer in Vienna, Copenhagen and London. He has performed various leading tenor ...

at a concert at the

in London with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cortes's father, Garðar Cortes. She performed "Il Bacio" ("The Kiss"), "Mein Herr Marquis" from

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

's ''

'', the

cavatina (Italian for "little song") is a musical term, originally meaning a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of the air. It is now frequently applied to any simple, melodious air, as distinguished from brilliant ...

"Casta diva" from Bellini's ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

'', and "É strano... sempre libera" from

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's ''La traviata''; and sang in duet with Garðar Thór Cortes in " O soave fanciulla" from

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', in a duet from act 1, scene 5, of Verdi's ''Rigoletto'', and in " The Prayer" by

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...

Personal life

Diddú's husband is musician Þorkell Jóelsson (born 28 May 1952). Her father, Hjálmtýr E. Hjálmtýsson (5 July 1933 – 12 September 2002), had roles in the Icelandic comedies ''Með allt á hreinu'' (''On Top'', 1982), ''Löggulíf'' (''A Policeman's Life'', 1985) and ''Karlakórinn Hekla'' (''The Men's Choir'', 1992).. Retrieved 1 November 2007. Diddú's youngest brother,

Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson (born 16 March 1970), known internationally as Páll Óskar and Paul Oscar, is an Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey. He had a musical childhood, singing at private functions, with choirs and for media ...

, is a

pop singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, songwriter and disc jockey.

Selected works

Discography

*''Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir Sópran'' (1992) *''Töfrar'' (Magic, 1994) *''Jólastjarna'' (Christmas Star, 1997) *''Klassík'' (Classical, 1998) *''Ljós Og Skuggar'' (Light and Shadows, 2000) *''Óskastund'' (A Moment for a Wish, 2001) *''Fuglar Tímans'' (Birds of Time, 2003) *''Hvert Örstutt Spor'' (Each Tiny Step, 2005)

Notes

Sources

*
Diddú at 12 Tónar
Retrieved 30 October 2007.

External links

Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Church of Akureyri website
In Icelandic.
Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Félag Íslenska Leikara (Icelandic Actors Association) website
In Icelandic. *.
Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Íslenska óperan (Icelandic Opera) website
In Icelandic.
Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the website of Salurinn concert hall in Kopavogur, Iceland
In Icelandic.
Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at Tónlist.is, an on-line portal for Icelandic music
In Icelandic.
Diddú at Tonlist.com, the English version of Tónlist.is

Diddú performing at the National Theatre of Iceland
broadcast on the US radio variety show ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'' with

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

on 20 May 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diddu Icelandic operatic sopranos 20th-century Icelandic actresses Reykjavík College of Music alumni Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama 1955 births Living people Icelandic film actresses Knights of the Order of the Falcon