Icelandic Grammy award winner Dísella Lárusdóttir loves hiking in Iceland

Soprano singer Dísella Lárusdóttir is one of Iceland’s brightest stars. She just won a Grammy award for her magnificent performance in Phillip Glass’s acclaimed opera Akhnaten, which was put on stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The opera is based on the Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaten, and Dísella plays Queen Tye, the mother of the Pharoah.

Versatile Dísella

The Grammy-award crowns Dísella’s already illustrious career. She graduated from Westminster Choir College in 2005. Dísella was a finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is a famous singer in Iceland and beyond and does not restrict herself to classical music. When I was reading about her, I was astounded to find out that Dísella was once the keyboard player in the now-defunct Icelandic pop group Land & Synir (Land & Sons). I will not go into detail but it suffices to say that is a “little” different from opera singing at the Metropolitan! It also goes to show that we all have our things from the past.

Dísella is the third Icelander to win a Grammy. In 2020, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir won a Grammy for the epic soundtrack to the HBO series Chernobyl. In 2002 S. Husky Höskulds won a Grammy for engineering the lovely album Come Away With Me with superstar singer Norah Jones.

Hey Dísella, congratulations on winning a Grammy. That must have felt great! Where and when can my readers see you next time on stage?

Thank you so much 🙂 Yes, it’s safe to say it was incredible. I am so ecstatic and yet still in disbelief that it happened! I am actually currently in NY about to start rehearsing Akhnaten again.  It is a revival of the show we did in 2019 that won us the Grammy. It will premier on May 19th and run through June 10th.

What are your favorite Icelandic musicians or composers?

I have a very wide range of people I admire, from Icelandic classical composers like Jorunn Viðar or Sigvaldi Kaldalons to Björk or Sigur Rós.  But an all-time favorite would probably be Gunnar Þórðarson, though. He is a crucial figure in my life (and a favorite, of course), but he was the first person to give me a job as a singer and support the idea of doing this for a living.  I was singing pop music with him at that time, but he has since written an opera, Ragnheiður.  It is a stunning opera, filled with beautiful lyrical lines and melodic genius.  I love him as a pop composer and a classical composer.

What are your favorite places or activities in Iceland?

I love hiking – even though I don’t do it as much of it as I want to.  The reason for that is simply that I cant take off for too long as I have 3 young kids at home (that I have to leave occasionally for months at a time) so mom guilt has me staying at home when I am in Iceland and only taking “short” hikes (Ulfarsfell, Helgafell, Esja…) while they are at school/daycare instead of the whole day hikes I would like to take.  I still haven’t walked Laugarvegurinn for instance!  I think I must be one out of two ….maybe three Icelanders that haven’t done that!!! haha, I will get time later in my life to hike the way I want 😉  And just to be clear – I don’t regret that, I also love being home for my kids and one of my favorite places in Iceland happens to be my kitchen! Haha

Traveling around Iceland is one of my favorite things to do, especially in the summer – there is nothing quite like it.  Other favorite places would be Ásbyrgi, Þingvellir and Jökulsarlon.  All such magical, tranquil natural wonders.

What is your advice to those who are visiting Iceland for the first time?

Try to travel outside the city and enjoy the raw and beautiful nature, but please be careful and respectful to our nature – she is fragile and dangerous at the same time!  Also keep in mind that if you don’t like the weather, give it a few minutes… 😉