Silja Elsabet was born and raised in Vestmannaeyjar, an island off the south coast of Iceland. At the age of six, she joined the Children’s Choir of Landakirkja and soon after began her studies at the Music School of Vestmannaeyjar. Following her secondary education, Silja pursued classical singing at the Söngskólinn in Reykjavík, where she also sang with the Langholtskirkja Choir and the Reykjavik Opera Choir. With these ensembles, she received solo opportunities, including performances of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion.

She continued her studies in London at the Royal Academy of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree and an Advanced Diploma in Opera. Silja has since appeared in a wide variety of performances, including as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Magna Symphony Orchestra, at the Icelandic Opera’s Kúnstpása series, and at an opera gala in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig.

On the operatic stage, her roles include the Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas. Coming from Vestmannaeyjar, the music of local composer Oddgeir Kristjánsson has always held a special place in her heart. In 2021, together with pianist Helga Bryndís Magnúsdóttir, she released the album Heima on both CD and vinyl, featuring 24 of Oddgeir’s songs in his own arrangements for voice and piano.

Silja has been awarded grants from several funds, including the Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson Music Fund, the Marinó Pétursson Memorial Fund, and the Oddgeir Kristjánsson Memorial Fund. In the summer of 2024, she was the recipient of the Bayreuth Festival Bursary from the Richard Wagner Society in Iceland, which gave her the opportunity to travel to Bayreuth and experience Wagner’s operas in the renowned Festspielhaus.