Kristinn Sigmundsson

Lauded for his portrayal of Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier that he “dealt in revelations,” the Financial Times further praises Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson, “His tone dark and his dynamic range broad, he exuded raw power, crusty lust and comic bravado, all reinforced by a trace of gravitas.”  In the 2023/24 season, Mr. Sigmundsson returned to San Francisco Opera as Heinrich der Vogler in Lohengrin, as well as for the Priest in the U.S. premiere of Saariaho’s Innocence. He also returns to LA Opera for the Chamberlain in The Dwarf. Last season he joined LA Opera for Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro, sang Fasolt in Das Rheingold with the Atlanta Opera, and made his Utah Opera debut as Daland in The Flying Dutchman. He recently joined the Enescu Festival as the Chamberlain in The Dwarf, the Royal Opera House Muscat as Monterone in Rigoletto, New National Theatre Tokyo for Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, and returned to Bayerische Staatsoper for La Roche in Capriccio. He also recently  returned to Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie as Ghost in Dusapin’s Macbeth Underworld, joined Indiana University Opera for Gurnemanz in Parsifal, Houston Grand Opera for Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Daland in The Flying Dutchman, San Francisco Opera for Vodnik in Rusalka, Den Norske Opera for Dansker in Billy Budd, the Edinburgh International Festival for Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and Atlanta Opera for Daland in The Flying Dutchman.

Other recent performances include returns to Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie for La Roche in Capriccio, Staatsoper Hamburg to reprise Melchthal in Guillaume Tell, Teatro Regio Torino for Sarastro in The Magic Flute and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Rocco in Fidelio. He also sang Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Sigmundsson recently joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Hunding in excerpts of Die Walküre, Staatsoper Hamburg for Melchthal in Guillaume Tell and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, the Caramoor International Music Festival for Rocco in Fidelio at, Íslenska óperan for Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, the Grant Park Music Festival for Méphistophélès in La damnation de Faust, and returned to the Cincinnati May Festival for Music Director James Conlon’s final season in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater.

He also joined LA Opera for its trilogy of Beaumarchais operas as he sang Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Louis XVI in Corigliano’s 2017 Grammy-winning The Ghosts of Versailles, and Doctor Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro. He also sang King Philip in Don Carlo with Íslenska óperan and returned to both the Ravinia Festival as Daland in The Flying Dutchman and the Cincinnati May Festival for Haydn’s Creation. As one of the world’s most sought after basses, Mr. Sigmundsson has sung nearly his entire repertoire with the Opéra National de Paris. His performances at the Metropolitan Opera include Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Hundig in Die Walküre, Rocco in Fidelio, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, and Vodnik in Rusalka. He has sung leading roles regularly with the Staatsoper Wien, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Semperoper Dresden, where his most recent performances include Méphistophélès in La damnation de Faust. Other engagements include Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni in Munich, Berlin and New York; Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, König Heinrich in Lohengrin and Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Berlin; Rocco in Fidelio in New York and Houston; Daland in The Flying Dutchman in San Francisco and Strasbourg; Fasolt in Das Rheingold in Houston; Creonte in Medea in Salzburg; Gurnemanz in Parisifal in Cologne and Florence; Zaccaria in Nabucco in Copenhagen and Beijing, King Heinrich in Lohengrin in Madrid, San Fancisco, Los Angeles, and with the Bayerische Staatsoper both in Munich and on tour to Japan; King Marke in Tristan und Isolde in Santiago, Dallas, and Berlin; Hunding in Die Walküre in Naples, Venice and Köln; Landgraf in Tannhäuser in Geneva, Amsterdam and Tokyo; Méphistophélès in La damnation de Faust; La Cuisinière in L’amour des trois oranges in Florence; König Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier in San Francisco; König Heinrich in Lohengrin and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Munich; Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Naples; Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro and Walter in Luisa Miller at the Cincinnati May Festival; and Sarastro in The Magic Flute in Houston, San Francisco, Toulouse, and Santiago.

His concert performances include collaborations with many of the world’s leading conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, James Conlon, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Charles Mackerras, Christoph von Dohnányi, Jeffrey Tate, Christoph Eschenbach, Ivor Bolton, and Marc Minkowski. Among his discography are commercial recordings of Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflöte with Arnold Östman (Decca) and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten (Deutsche Grammophon). With Frans Brueggen he has recorded both Bach’s St. John Passion and the St. Matthew Passion (Phillips). He has recorded Schumann’s Faustszenen with Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi) and Fidelio with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis.

In the early part of his career he performed principally in his native Iceland before joining the Hessische Staatstheater in Wiesbaden. His initial training was as a biologist and he taught for a few years before becoming a singer, studying first at the Reykjavik Academy of Singing and then at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria.