Birgit Nilsson

Birgit Nilsson

Swedish opera singer (dramatic soprano)
Date of Birth: 17.05.1918
Country: Sweden

Content:
  1. Biography of Birgit Nilsson
  2. International Success
  3. Later Life and Legacy

Biography of Birgit Nilsson

Early Life and Career

Birgit Märta Svensson, later known as Birgit Nilsson, was born on May 17, 1918, on a farm in the tiny town of Västra Karup, located in the Skåne province, 100 km north of Malmö, Sweden. At the age of three, Birgit began picking out melodies on a toy piano, a gift from her mother. However, her vocal abilities were noticed when she started singing in a church choir. Upon hearing her sing, the choir conductor advised Birgit to take vocal lessons. Unfortunately, she had no luck with her teachers. The singer once claimed that her first voice teacher almost killed her, and the second one was equally bad. In 1941, she became a student at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm but always considered herself self-taught and believed that the best teacher was the stage.

Birgit Nilsson

In 1946, Nilsson made her debut at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, stepping in for an ill singer in the role of Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's "Der Freischütz." The conductor treated her poorly, and in her autobiography, the singer confessed that after the performance, she even contemplated suicide. However, in 1947, Nilsson became a national sensation when she performed Verdi's "Macbeth" under the direction of Fritz Busch. This was followed by a wide selection of roles, from Verdi to Wagner, from Puccini to Tchaikovsky. In Stockholm, she developed a solid repertoire of lyric-dramatic roles in Swedish, including Donna Anna, Aïda, Lisa, Tosca, Venus, Sieglinde, Senta, and the Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier," one of her favorite roles. With the support of Fritz Busch, Nilsson's career soared. In 1951, she performed Elettra in Mozart's "Idomeneo" at the Glyndebourne Festival, and in 1953, her debut at the Vienna State Opera became a turning point – she regularly performed in Vienna for the next 25 years.

Birgit Nilsson

International Success

Nilsson's first Wagnerian role on the international stage was Elsa in "Lohengrin" at the Bayreuth Festival in 1954, followed by Brünnhilde at the Bavarian State Opera, and then Sieglinde and Isolde. In 1958, Nilsson sang Turandot at La Scala in Milan. In 1959, she made a sensational debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Isolde, after which all the world's theaters opened their doors to her. Nilsson performed at the Metropolitan Opera 223 times in 16 different roles. Until the 1980s, she sang in many major opera houses, including Berlin, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Moscow, and Hamburg.

In 1973, Nilsson performed a Wagner concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Charles Mackerras, in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. Nilsson was also known for her ability to make money. She became one of the highest-paid singers of her time, partly because she had almost no rivals. As a shrewd businesswoman, she secured contracts for every stage of her career. When asked which role was her favorite, she replied, "Isolde made me famous. Turandot made me rich."

Despite her worldwide fame, Nilsson admitted that she still got nervous before every important performance. She left the stage in 1984 and returned to her ancestral home in southern Sweden, where her father represented the sixth generation of farmers, and she herself grew beets and potatoes until the age of 23. Nilsson was often invited to jury panels of various singing competitions but mostly enjoyed peace and solitude.

Later Life and Legacy

Birgit Nilsson passed away on Christmas Day, December 25, 2005, at the age of 87, in her home located in the same district where she was born. Her husband, Bertil Niklasson, whom Birgit married in 1948, survived her briefly – he passed away in March 2007. They did not have children.

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