{{Short description|Icelandic soprano and songwriter}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{EngvarB|date=February 2020}} {{Icelandic name|Sigrún ''or'' Diddú|male}} '''Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir''' ({{IPA|is|ˈsɪɣrun ˈçaulmtʰi(ː)sˌtouʰtɪr̥|pron}}; born 8 August 1955), better known as '''Diddú''' ({{IPA|is|ˈtɪtːu|pron}}), is an Icelandic soprano and songwriter. Educated at the Reykjavík College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, she began her singing career in the 1970s as a vocalist for the popular folk and pop group Spilverk Þjóðanna. She subsequently turned to classical music, particularly ''Lieder'' and operas.

Diddú's most recent album, ''Hvert Örstutt Spor'' (''Each Tiny Step''), was released in 2005.

==Early life and education== The second of seven children<ref>Diddú's siblings are Ásdís (born 21 August 1954), Lucinda Margrét (born 7 June 1957), Matthías Bogi (born 25 May 1959), Johanna Steinunn (born 19 February 1962), Arnar Gunnar (born 11 February 1964) and Páll Óskar (Paul Oscar) (born 16 March 1970): {{cite web|title=Sigrun Hjalmtysdottir|url=http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|publisher=Barnaskoli Vestmannaeyja|accessdate=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020182623/http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/Vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|archive-date=20 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> of Hjálmtýr E. Hjálmtýsson, a bank clerk, and Margrét Matthíasdóttir, a writer, Diddú was born on 8 August 1955<ref name="Vestmannaeyjar">{{cite web|title=Sigrun Hjalmtysdottir|url=http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|publisher=Barnaskoli Vestmannaeyja|accessdate=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020182623/http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/Vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|archive-date=20 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> and raised in Reykjavík. She studied at the Reykjavík College of Music, and afterwards at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she received a degree (1979&ndash;1984) and a postgraduate diploma (1985).<ref name="Vestmannaeyjar"/><ref name="Cortes Programme">Programme of ''An Evening at the Barbican Centre with Cortes : With a Very Special Guest Diddu; the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gardar Cortes'', Barbican Centre, London, 26 September 2007.</ref> She also had private singing lessons in Italy between 1987 and 1988.<ref name="Vestmannaeyjar"/>

==Career==

Diddú began her singing career as a vocalist with the folk and pop group Spilverk þjóðanna between 1975 and 1978 and made numerous recordings of folk and popular music,<ref>{{cite web|title=Diddu|url=http://12tonar.c.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=53|publisher=12 Tónar|accessdate=1 October 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722020905/http://12tonar.c.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=53|archivedate=22 July 2011}}</ref> before turning her focus to classical music, particularly ''Lieder'' and operas. With the Icelandic Opera she has performed the parts of Susanna in ''The Marriage of Figaro'', Gilda in ''Rigoletto'', Papagena and the Queen of the Night in ''The Magic Flute'', Lucia in ''Lucia di Lammermoor'', Violetta in ''La traviata'', Adina in ''L'elisir d'amore'' and Rosalinda in ''Die Fledermaus''. She was a guest singer as Susanna in ''The Marriage of Figaro'' in Trondheim, Norway, and as Gilda in ''Rigoletto'' in Gothenburg, Sweden (1992).<ref name="Icelandic Opera">{{cite web|title=Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir|url=http://www.opera.is/article.asp?catID=57&ArtId=78|publisher=Íslenska óperan (Icelandic Opera)|accessdate=2 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030513234015/http://www.opera.is/article.asp?catID=57&ArtId=78|archive-date=13 May 2003|url-status=dead}} In Icelandic.</ref> She has also sung the role of Olympia in ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' at the National Theatre of Iceland in Reykjavík.<ref name="Cortes Programme" />

In 1994, Diddú appeared in ''Bíódagar'' (''Movie Days'') by Icelandic film director Friðrik Þór Friðriksson,<ref>Sometimes credited as Fridrik Thor Fridriksson.</ref> playing the mother of a young boy living in the 1950s who is engrossed with American movies.<ref>{{IMDb title|0109273|Bíódagar}}. Retrieved 1 October 2007.</ref>

In 2001, Diddú performed at a special concert in Beijing, China, in the Forbidden City Concert Hall. The concert was held to commemorate 30 years of relations between Iceland and China.

On 26 September 2007, Diddú was a special guest of Garðar Thór Cortes at a concert at the Barbican Centre in London with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cortes's father, Garðar Cortes. She performed "Il Bacio" ("The Kiss"), "Mein Herr Marquis" from Johann Strauss II's ''Die Fledermaus'', the cavatina "Casta diva" from Bellini's ''Norma'', and "É strano... sempre libera" from Verdi's ''La traviata''; and sang in duet with Garðar Thór Cortes in "O soave fanciulla" from Puccini's ''La bohème'', in a duet from act 1, scene 5, of Verdi's ''Rigoletto'', and in "The Prayer" by Carole Bayer Sager.<ref name="Cortes Programme" />

Diddú worked frequently with the pianist Anna Guðný Guðmundsdóttir, ever since their student years at Guildhall in London. They gave countless concerts together, and in 2002 celebrated 20 years of collaboration with a concert in the Salurinn Concert Hall, including works by Olivier Messiaen, Richard Strauss, Thea Musgrave, and Frank Bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 March 2002 |title=Eins og flís við rass |url=https://timarit.is/page/3434415?iabr=on#page/n29/mode/1up/search/didd%C3%BA%20%22anna%20gu%C3%B0n%C3%BD%22 |access-date=1 November 2025 |work=Morgunblaðið |pages=30}}</ref>

==Personal life== Diddú's husband is musician Þorkell Jóelsson (born 28 May 1952).<ref name="Vestmannaeyjar"/><ref>Þorkell Jóelsson is often transliterated "Thorkell Joelsson".</ref> Her father, Hjálmtýr E. Hjálmtýsson (5 July 1933 – 12 September 2002),<ref>{{IMDb name|1445564|Hjálmtýr Hjálmtýsson}}. Retrieved 1 November 2007.</ref> had roles in the Icelandic comedies ''Með allt á hreinu'' (''On Top'', 1982),<ref>{{IMDb title|0177924|Með allt á hreinu}}. Retrieved 1 November 2007.</ref> ''Löggulíf'' (''A Policeman's Life'', 1985)<ref>{{IMDb title|0241696|Löggulíf}}. Retrieved 1 November 2007.</ref> and ''Karlakórinn Hekla'' (''The Men's Choir'', 1992).<ref>{{IMDb title|0107307|Karlakórinn Hekla}}. Retrieved 1 November 2007.</ref> Diddú's youngest brother, Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, is a pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey.

==Selected works== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2020}} <!--Please arrange chronologically.--> {| class="wikitable" |- !Year !Production !Role |- valign="top" |align="center"|1992 |''Rigoletto'' (Verdi) Gothenburg, Sweden<ref name="Icelandic Opera"/> |Gilda |- valign="top" |align="center"|2006 |''Le Pays'' (1912) (Guy Ropartz) Reykjavík Arts Festival 2006, Reykjavík Art Museum, Reykjavík<ref>{{cite web|title=Reykjavik &ndash; ''Le Pays'' &ndash; French Opera|url=http://www.efa-aef.org/Calendar/eventdetail.cfm?urlEvent=20618&urlFestival=62|publisher=European Festivals Association|year=2006|accessdate=1 October 2007}}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> | |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' (Offenbach) National Theatre of Iceland, Reykjavík |Olympia |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''L'elisir d'amore'' (Donizetti) |Adina |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''Die Fledermaus'' (Johann Strauss II) |Rosalinda |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Donizetti) |Lucia |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''The Magic Flute'' (Mozart) |Papagena/The Queen of the Night |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''The Marriage of Figaro'' (Mozart) |Susanna |- valign="top" |align="center"|''[unknown]'' |''La traviata'' (Verdi) |Violetta Valery |}

==Discography== {{BLP unreferenced section|date=February 2020}} *''Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir Sópran'' (1992) *''Töfrar'' (Magic, 1994) *''Jólastjarna'' (Christmas Star, 1997) *''Klassík'' (Classical, 1998) *''Ljós Og Skuggar'' (Light and Shadows, 2000) *''Óskastund'' (A Moment for a Wish, 2001) *''Fuglar Tímans'' (Birds of Time, 2003) *''Hvert Örstutt Spor'' (Each Tiny Step, 2005)

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite web|title=Sigrun Hjalmtysdottir|url=http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|publisher=Barnaskoli Vestmannaeyja|accessdate=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020182623/http://vestmannaeyjar.ismennt.is/Vefir/comenius/people/diddu.htm|archive-date=20 October 2007|url-status=dead}} *[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20071211173159/http://12tonar.c.is/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=53 Diddú at 12 Tónar]. Retrieved 30 October 2007.

==Further reading== *{{cite web|url=http://www.jcarreras.com/articles/2001/etc042101a.stm|title=José Carreras in Reykjavik|year=2001|publisher=Reykjavik.com (reproduced on JCarreras.com : The Unofficial José Carreras Website)|accessdate=1 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040319121329/http://www.jcarreras.com/articles/2001/etc042101a.stm|archive-date=19 March 2004|url-status=dead}} *{{cite magazine|title=Little Show on the Prairie|url=http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_life/?cat_id=16571&ew_0_a_id=205875|magazine=Iceland Review|date=18 May 2006|accessdate=1 October 2007}}

==External links== *[http://www.akirkja.is/?obj=sida&id=176&uid=0,104 Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Church of Akureyri website]. In Icelandic. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060228111933/http://www.actors-union.is/felagar/SigrunHj.htm Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Félag Íslenska Leikara (Icelandic Actors Association) website]. In Icelandic. *{{IMDb name|0387143|Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir)}}. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20030513234015/http://www.opera.is/article.asp?catID=57&ArtId=78 Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the Íslenska óperan (Icelandic Opera) website]. In Icelandic. *[https://web.archive.org/web/20040131070902/http://www.salurinn.is/default.asp?page_id=1411 Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at the website of Salurinn concert hall in Kopavogur, Iceland]. In Icelandic. *[https://archive.today/20070701025609/http://www.tonlist.is/Music/ViewBiography.aspx?AuthorID=2782 Diddú (Sigrún Hjálmtýsdóttir) at Tónlist.is, an on-line portal for Icelandic music]. In Icelandic. *[https://www.icelandicmusic.com/Music/ViewArtist.aspx?AuthorID=2981 Diddú at Tonlist.com, the English version of Tónlist.is]. *[http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2006/05/20/ Diddú performing at the National Theatre of Iceland], broadcast on the US radio variety show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' with Garrison Keillor on 20 May 2006.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Diddu}} Category:Icelandic operatic sopranos Category:20th-century Icelandic actresses Category:Reykjavík College of Music alumni Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Icelandic film actresses Category:Knights of the Order of the Falcon