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City Guide  - Reykjavik  - Culture
Culture

Reykjavik's cultural life came under an intense spotlight when the city was designated one of the European Cities of Culture for the year 2000 and by all accounts the test has been passed with flying colours. The cold weather and short winter days may have been a pressing spur towards artistic creativity but, whatever the cause, there is no doubt about Reykjavik's wide and varied cultural life. Two excellent free guides to what's going on in the ciy are Reykjavik this month and What's On In Reykjavik, both available at the Tourist Office and leading hotels.

Music: In winter, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra performs every alternate Thursday at 2000 in Háskólabió (across from the Saga Hotel). Tickets cost from IKr1200 (tel: 545 2500; fax: 562 4475; e-mail: sinfonia@sinfonia.is; website: www.sinfonia.is). Salurinn, a new concert hall in Kópavogur at Hamraborg 6, also hosts regular recitals and concerts; ticket prices are from IKr1200 (tel: 570 0400; fax: 570 0401). The Icelandic Opera, Ingólfsstraeti, in Garmia Bió (tel: 551 1475), performs lunch operas on Wednesday at 1215; ticket prices are IKr1500. One of the best sopranos in the country, Signy Saemundsdottir, often sings at these events.

Björk, who broke onto the international music scene with the group Sugarcubes in 1986, is one of Reykjavik's most famous daughters. Her solo album Debut (1993) went on to become an international bestseller. Jazz lovers should aim to visit Reykjavik during the first week of September, when the annual Reykjavik Jazz Festival, an increasingly prestigious event on the international jazz scene, takes place. Many of the gigs are at Kaffi Reykjavik, Vesturgata 2 (tel: 562 5530 or 562 5640).

Theatre: Serious theatre-goers wanting to check out Icelandic drama should head for the National Theatre at Hverfisgata (tel: 551 1200) or the Reykjavik City Theatre at Listabraut near the Kringlan shopping centre (tel: 568 8000). Tickets start at IKr1500 at the National Theatre and IKr2200 at the Reykjavik City Theatre. A lively, young amateur theatre group, Loftkastalinn, is based at Hédinshúsid by Vesturgata (tel: 552 3000 (box office) or 530 3030 (information)); tickets start from about IKr1300.

Dance: The Icelandic Ballet (tel: 567 9188) puts on about three shows a year covering a range of classical and popular ballets. Tickets start from IKr1500. The Iceland Dance Company (tel: 588 0900; fax: 588 0910; website: www.id.is), based at the City Theatre at Listabraut 3, focuses on contemporary work and has a regular programme of modern dance pieces by Icelandic and foreign choreographers.

Film: Reykjavik has seven cinemas with a total of over 20 projection halls: Bioborgin, Snorrabraut 37 (tel: 551 1384); Biohollin, Alfabakki 8 (tel: 557 8900); Háskólabió, Hagatorg (tel: 530 1900); Laugarasbio, Laugarasbio, Laugaras (tel: 553 2075); Stjörnubio, Laugavegur 94 (tel: 551 6500); Kringlubio, Kringlan 4-12 (tel: 588 0800) and Regnboginn, Hverfisgata 54 (tel: 551 9000). Most of the new films shown are from America, although there are also a limited number of European films. Usually films are shown with the original soundtrack and subtitled in Icelandic. The daily papers can provide further details.

Cultural events: Light Nights, staged in English, is a summer theatre programme documenting highlights of Icelandic history, including the Viking era and the Settlement of Iceland. It takes place at Tjarnarbio, Tjarnargata 12 (tel: 551 9181 or 561 0280). Performances are held daily, except Sunday, at 2100. Tickets go on sale at 2000 or may be purchased in advance from the Tourist Office or major hotels (cost: IKr1700).

The annual Reykjavik Arts Festival takes place at the end of May and the beginning of June. This is Iceland's premier cultural festival and brings together the best in local and international theatre, dance, music and visual art. Jazz lovers can look forward to the annual Reykjavik Jazz Festival during the first week of September while film buffs usually gather in Reykjavik in September and October for the month-long Reykjavik Film Festival. The newly established Iceland Airwaves Music Festival also takes place in October as a forum for showcasing the best of popular international music. Among the performers in 2000 were the British group Suede.

Literary Notes
According to many experts, the foundations of Icelandic literature were laid during the 12th century when scribes wrote down the sagas and epic tales of the early Icelandic settlers which villagers gathered in farmhouses on cold winter nights to hear. One of the best known, Egils Saga, is a biography of the Viking hero Egill Skallagrimsson. Iceland's most famous modern writer is Halldor Laxness who was born in Reykjavik and who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1955 for works documenting life in Iceland such as Independent People, (1935) and The Atom Station (1948). Among the most successful of contemporary writers in Iceland is Hallgrimur Helgason whose novel 101 Reykjavik (1996) has recently been made into a film. A dark comic tale of life in the city, the novel tells of a lazy, aimless young man who begins to find maturity through an affair with his mother's Spanish lesbian lover. Well worth reading for its dry, slacker humour.



Copyright © 2001 Columbus Publishing
    
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