Hrolfur Saemundsson initially studied singing at the Reykjavik Vocal Academy before completing his MA in Music at the New England Conservatory in Boston in 2002.

He has performed extensively in operas and on the concert platform in Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Luxemburg, the UK, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the US, as well as in his native Iceland. Since 2009, he has worked mainly in Germany. His most important roles thus far are title role Macbeth, Germont La traviata, Miller Luisa Miller, Rodrigo Don Carlo, Ford Falstaff, Escamillo Carmen, Wolfram Tannhäuser, Kurwenal Tristan und Isolde, Beckmesser Die Meistersinger, Lord Ruthven Der Vampyr, Father Hänsel und Gretel, Sharpless Madame Butterfly, Schaunard and Marcello La Bohème, Onegin Eugene Onegin, Figaro Il barbiere, Ori in the acclaimed new opera Au Monde by Philippe Boesmans, Il Conte Le nozze di Figaro, title role Don Giovanni and Papageno Die Zauberflöte.

In the coming season he will sing Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos, Telramund Lohengrin, Germont La Traviata, and the title role Don Giovanni.

He has made CD recordings, most notably of the music of Sir John Tavener to much acclaim, as well as Mahler’s 8th Symphony and two albums of Icelandic song. He has performed on radio and on television, both in Iceland and the UK.

Hrolfur was the Icelandic Wagner Society’s singer of the year, and has been nominated to the Icelandic music awards.