The Icelandic bass Unnsteinn Árnason has recently sung roles including Sarastro in Innsbruck and the Imperial Commissar in ‘Madama Butterfly’ in Iceland and at the Bregenz Festival. In 2021/22, he enjoyed great success as Polyphemus and Achilles in the world premiere of the children’s opera ‘Odyssée’ by Leonard Evers at Zurich Opera.
From 2017-2021 he was an ensemble member at the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck. After his debut as Sparafucile in Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in the 2019-20 season, he was able to convince in as Eremit in Carl Maria von Weber’s “The Marksman” and as Kuligin in “Katja Kabanowa”.
Before that, the young bass had already appeared in Innsbruck as Reinmar von Zweter in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser”, as Egon von Wildenhagen in “Der Vetter aus Dingsda”, as Luther and Crespel in “The Tales of Hoffmann”, as Zuane in “La Gioconda”, Lord Tristan in “Martha”, as well as Raimondo in “Rienzi”, Zuniga in “Carmen”, Pietro in “Simon Boccanegra”, Barnaby Tucker in “Hello Dolly”, Lothario in “Mignon” and Masetto in “Don Giovanni”.
For his interpretation of Dr. Kofner in Menotti’s “The Consul” he was awarded the Austrian Music Theatre Prize in 2019 in the category of Best Young Male Performer.
As a participant in the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival in 2016 he sang the technician Niklas Zettel in Purcell’s “The Fairy Queen for Children”. In the same year he had great success at the Vienna Chamber Opera as Loudspeaker in Viktor Ullmann’s “Emperor of Atlantis”.
The young artist made his stage debut in Vienna in 2014 at the Schoenbrunn Palace Theatre as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s “Cosí fan tutte”. In 2015 he was successful in a university production as Simone in G. Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi”. As part of isaOperaVienna at the Schoenbrunn Palace Theatre, the bass also convinced his audiences as Bartolo in “Le nozze di Figaro” and as prison warden Frank in Johann Strauss’ “The Bat”.
Unnsteinn Árnason received his first vocal training at the Reykjavik Academy in 2008 with Alexander Ashworth and then with Gardar Thor Cortez. He was a scholarship holder of the “Vilhjálmi Vilhjálmssyni Memorial Foundation” for outstanding achievements in the field of singing and 1st prize winner of the competition for young soloists of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra.
Afterwards the young bass completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Univ.-Prof. Karlheinz Hanser.
09/2024
