Garðar Thór Cortes
"He sang the main spinto tenor roles, including Caravadossi [from Tosca], Otello, Alfredo [La traviata] and Canio [Pagliacci].
"[This quote needs a citation] His English mother, Krystyna, was a concert pianist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
I'd listen to dad's records of other tenors and whole operas but I also had a huge pile of Bon Jovi, Queen and Shakin' Stevens albums.
[citation needed] Garðar got the part because he could speak English and ride horses bareback: "It was great fun: we had all sorts of adventures with polar bears, an erupting volcano and getting lost at sea with whales tipping the rowing boat over.
"[This quote needs a citation] He spent four years at his father's school in Reykjavík and then won a scholarship to the Hochschule, or University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, but left after six months to study privately with Professor Andrei Orlowitz in Copenhagen.
He sang at funerals and weddings, appeared as Tony in West Side Story at the National Theatre in Reykjavík in 1995, and for five summers worked with disabled people.
Recalling his father's advice about the hardships of a musical career, Garðar has commented: "Even though he told me it was difficult, I still wanted to pursue this road.
[citation needed] In 1999, Garðar won the principal role of Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End.
"[This quote needs a citation] He won a scholarship to the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music, where both his sister Nanna and mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins were at the time.
Other engagements included José in Carmen Negra, Curly in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, The Young Man in Dokaðu við, the Italian Tenor in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier for the Icelandic Opera, Ferrando in Mozart's Così fan tutte for Co–Opera Ireland, Rinuccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi for Nordurop Opera, and a Verdi Gala at The Anvil in Basingstoke, England.
Garðar was approached by Einar Bárðarson, manager of Icelandic girl band Nylon, who suggested that he make a record like Andrea Bocelli or Josh Groban.
The record, eponymously titled Cortes, was released in Iceland in 2005 and turned out to be the fastest-selling ever in that country, achieving double platinum status in three months.
[2] His single "Luna" (2007), featuring English soul singer Heather Small, reached number two on the Icelandic online music charts.
[citation needed] He also released an album of Icelandic songs in collaboration with his father, Gardar Thor Cortes Sr., called Ísland.
[citation needed] In 2012, an opera CD was released, named Rossini: L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro, which had Cortes as one of the casting tenors.
In November 2021, Garðar would have once again reprised his role as The Phantom in a Finnish concert production of Love Never Dies were it not for unforeseen changes, by which he was replaced by Swedish actor John Martin Bengtsson.
