Astbjorn and Domhildur

Astbjörn and Domhildur

Age: 53 and 84
Occupation: Opera Singer and Retired

My mother Domhildur lives across the street from me.

She is my biggest fan.

She’s seen everything I ever did on stage.

The Puccinis were always her favourite.

A few years ago, her hearing started to get worse, so coming to my performances was no longer an option.

By now, she’s as deaf as a bat.

But if I stand close to her, she’s still able to hear me sing.

The problem is that I can’t get close to her anymore.

So I decided to build this amplifying device.

I call it a Gigaphone.

I sing for her every Sunday morning.

In this photograph, I’m performing an aria from La Mosca Cavallina, the experimental opera by the notorious Italian composer Giancomo Tuttivabenni.

I think she liked it.

It’s a little hard to tell with the masks on.

She might have been asleep during the whole thing.

But I do love spending this time with her.