Gísli Júlíus Eyjólfsson, better known in the West as G. J. Oleson was a well-known writer in
Manitoba. He wrote the history of the Icelandic settlement in Argyle, Manitoba. Numerous
articles of his were published in Icelandic magazines and weeklies as well as the Almanak
edited and published by Ólafur S. Þorgeirsson in Winnipeg. In 1940 one such article appeared
by G. J. Oleson on his uncle, Sigbjörn Sigurðsson (See Icelandic heritage) in which he
comments on his children and grandchildren. He writes on the daughter of Kristjana Solveig
and Sigurður Gunnlaugsson and says; “Their daughter, Christine is a well-known songstress
who spent some time in Italy and gained an international reputation (her opera-name is
Leonita Lanzoni). Currently she teaches in the Ladies Seminary in Staunton, Virginia, the
birthplace of the famous and highly respected President of the United States, Mr. Woodrow
Wilson. She frequently sings concerts publicly on special occasions.”. Quite a few years
earlier, October 11, 1928 Morgunblaðið in Reykjavík, Iceland published an article on the
Western Icelandic singer.
Icelandic Songstress
In the Norwegian publication “Morgenavisen” the following article appeared recently: “The
young Icelandic woman, Kristín Gunnlaugson from Montevideo, Minnesota, appears to have
a brilliant future as a singer. Trained and educated in places in Europe, mostly Italy, she
built a promising reputation for her singing. When she returned home to Montevideo this past
summer, two tempting offers awaited her to sing publicly, one from Italy the other from the
Syndicate Opera Company in Philadelphia and New York. She accepted the latter, even
though she was very tempted to go to Italy. Her friends and admirers in Italy, recently sent
her a very pretty doll, as a souvenir and when she left Montevideo recently for New York she
had the beautiful doll in her arms – When she will become famous worldwide, she will not be
recognized as Kristín Gunnlaugson. The Italians gave her the name Leonita Lanzoni and that
is the name she now uses. And then the paper asks:
Can no songstress become famous without carrying an Italian name?