BRÍM

 Tjarnarbíó theater, Reykjavík

March 2025

Art, money, and nepotism are the main themes in Brím, the new opera composed by Friðrik Margrétar-Guðmundssons and written and directed by Adolf Smári Unnarsson.

After graduating from a prestigious arts academy in the Netherlands, Nína Brím is invited to open a new show in a big gallery back home in Iceland. Her talents don't lie far away, as she is the only daughter of Karl Brím, one of Iceland's most beloved painters from the latter half of the 20th century—who sadly passed away when Nína was a child. Nína dives into the work, but right after the opening, she becomes sceptical. The audience is left to ponder why she was invited back to Iceland. Why are her sculptures on display? What is being shown, and for whom?

Brím is an operatic bildungsroman that plays both with form and content. Using live projection, moving music, and humour, we follow Nína Brím as she finds her footing in the art world, sculpts her identity, and comes to terms with her heritage.

Brím is a fresh, poignant and humourous opera featuring many of Iceland's top singers. Friðrik Margrétar-Guðmundsson is Iceland's most promising composer and has received awards for his work in classical and pop music. Brím is Friðrik and Adolf's second collaboration, but their first opera, Ekkert er sorglegra en manneskjan, received seven nominations at the Icelandic Theater Awards and won two.