BIRGIT-NILSSON-DAYS

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Wie „Tosca“ in Wacken

- VON JÜRGEN KESTING

- -AKTUALISIERT AM -15:29

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Bei den Birgit-Nilsson-Days in Südschweden profitiert der Nachwuchs vom Millionen-Vermögen, das die Jahrhundert-Sopranistin hinterlassen hat. Sie selbst ist auch postum mit Witz, Charme und Größe allgegenwärtig.

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Von einem kleinen, einem wundersamen, einem wunderlichen Festival gilt es erzählen. Es fand statt in einem idyllischen Ort auf der Bjäre-Halbinsel, einem schwedischen Urlaubsparadies. Bestritten wurde es von jungen Sängerinnen, die nach Meisterkursen bei Anne Sofie von Otter ihre Talente zeigten. Von der hochtalentierten Mezzosopranistin Ida Ränslöv, die nach einem Recital in der Dorfkirche von Båstad mit einem Stipendium in Höhe von 200.000 Kronen (etwa 25.000 Euro) ausgezeichnet wurde. Es sollte gipfeln in einer Freilicht-Aufführung von Giacomo Puccinis „Tosca“. Zu erzählen ist endlich von einer Schar musikalischer Enthusiasten, die sich während der Birgit-Nilsson-Days 2023 ihrer Heiligen verschrieben haben.

Wie in einer Wunderkammer

Nicht nur dem Weltstar, der 16 Jahre in Bayreuth gesungen hat und 22 Jahre an der Metropolitan Opera, 28 Jahre an den Opernhäusern von München und Wien und 35 Jahre in Stockholm; sondern der Frau, die sich nie vom Starruhm fesseln ließ und die ihrem Land und der Lebenswelt ihrer Jugend zeitlebens verbunden blieb; die in dem Nest Svenstad ihr Museum gefunden hat, unmittelbar neben dem Haus, in dem sie die beiden ersten Jahrzehnte ihres Lebens verbrachte. Wie in einer Wunderkammer ist dort die Saga der Sopranistin in Bild und Ton zu erleben. Zu sehen sind die Kostüme, in die sie als Isolde, als Brünnhilde, als Tosca gewandet war; die mehrzölligen Krallennägel, die sie als Turandot wie Folterwerkzeug angesteckt bekam. Fotos zeigen sie mit Dirigenten wie Fritz Busch, unter dem sie 1947 in Stockholm als Lady Macbeth den Starterfolg zu ihrer Karriere hatte; mit Karl Böhm, unter dessen Leitung sie viele ihrer insgesamt 207 Aufführungen als Isolde bestritten hat; oder mit einstigen Tenor-Partnern wie Benjamino Gigli, Jussi Björling, Franco Corelli, Jon Vickers oder Plácido Domingo.

In Vitrinen finden sich zahllose Paraphernalien einer Primadonna. In einer großen Kammer ist sie in Filmausschnitten bei Gesprächen zu erleben, die sie mit Kollegen führte – und zu bestaunen in Momenten, da hohe und höchste Schwedenstahl-Töne aus ihrem Mund dringen, ohne dass auch nur die geringste Anstrengung hörbar oder eine mimische Verzerrung sichtbar würde.

Die schwedische Sopranistin Birgit Nilsson mit der Heckenschere im heimatlichen Südschweden. Zu sehen im Birgit-Nilsson-Museum Båstad.

Die schwedische Sopranistin Birgit Nilsson mit der Heckenschere im heimatlichen Südschweden. Zu sehen im Birgit-Nilsson-Museum Båstad.

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Bild: Birgit Nilsson Museum

Selbst die Kuriosa, die das Museum anbietet, haben ihren eigenen Charme. Das Café bietet Kuchen an, die nach Rezepten à la Birgit gebacken sind, darunter eine hochkalorische Aida-Torte; und wer die in köstlich-kühlem Stil geschriebenen Erinnerungen der Sängerin, erwirbt, steckt das in Schweden mit einem Humoristen-Preis ausgezeichnete Buch oder einige CDs in eine Tasche mit einem signifikanten Doppelbildnis: auf der einen Seite ist sie als die eisig blickende Turandot zu sehen, auf der anderen Seite als lachende Gärtnerin, die mit hochgereckten Armen ein Schere aufklappt.

Die „Birgit Überall“ ist als Symbolfigur nahe der Kapelle auf dem Kirchhof ihres Heimatortes Västra Karup zu sehen: als zwei Meter hohe Statue aus Keramik, überzogen mit einer blauschimmernden Glasur; aufgerichtet zu einer imperialen Pose, den Kopf zurückgeworfen, die mächtigen Kiefer des breiten Schädels angespannt, die Augen geschlossen und mit Lippen, die sich gerade, wie es scheint, wie nach dem letzten Ton geschlossen haben. Man möchte glauben, im inneren Ohr das ekstatische C am Ende des Final-Duetts aus Wagners „Siegfried“ zu hören; das „Heil dir, Sonne“ der wachgeküssten Brünnhilde, das beim vorbereitenden Hören für ein beseligtes „Heil dir, Birgit“ sorgte.

„Wagner hat mich berühmt gemacht, Puccini reich.“

„Wagner hat mich berühmt gemacht“, hat Nilsson gesagt, „Puccini reich.“ Da sie, wie sie berichtete, hart gearbeitet hat, fand sie es selbstverständlich, „auch mein Geld arbeiten zu lassen“ – nicht nur für sich und ihren Nachruhm, sondern auch für Kollegen und für junge Künstler. Wenige Jahre vor ihrem Tod gründete sie die „Nilsson Foundation“, die einen nach ihr benannten Preis vergibt. Er ist mit einer Million Dollar dotiert. Den ersten Preisträger hat sie vor ihrem Tod (2005) noch selbst benannt: Plácido Domingo, der 1969 neben ihrer Turandot in Verona den Kalaf gesungen hatte – dass er sie im Finale der Oper, wie sie in ihrer Memoiren berichtet, so heftig und lange geküsst hat, dass die Besucher „Basta, adesso“ riefen, gehört zu den Anekdoten, die ihren Charme eingebüßt haben.

Nach dem spanischen Tenor fiel der Preis an Riccardo Muti, die Wiener Philharmoniker, die Sopranistin Nina Stemme und an den Cellisten Yo-Yo Ma. Dass diese Künstler den von Rutbert Reisch, dem Präsidenten der Foundation und deren Finanz-Magier, benannten Kriterien entsprachen, ist nicht zu bezweifeln: hohe Musikalität und technische Professionalität, bei Sängern die Schönheit der Stimme, bei Orchestern ein charakteristischer Klang; die Bereitschaft, Verträge zu erfüllen und Verpflichtungen einzuhalten, endlich eine hervorragende Aufführungsbilanz. Doch räumt Susanne Rydén, die Ko-Vorsitzende der Königlichen Musikakademie Schwedens und heutige Präsidentin der Stiftung, ein, dass sich die exorbitante Dotierung nicht mehr leicht vermitteln lässt.

Schon drei Jahrzehnte zuvor aber hatte sich Birgit Nilsson für den Nachwuchs eingesetzt. Die Gagen einiger Aufführungen als Tosca in Puccinis Oper waren die ökonomische Basis eines seit 1973 alljährlich vergebenen Nachwuchs-Stipendiums. In diesem Jahr fiel die Wahl der Jury auf die 31 Jahre alte Ida Ränzlöv, die an der Stuttgarter Oper binnen eines Jahres aus dem Nachwuchsstudio ins Ensemble übernommen wurde. Bei ihrem Konzert mit der keck-gefälligen Mischung von Carmens „Les tringles des sistres tintaient“ und Rosinas „Una voce poco fà“ einerseits und Liedern von Strauss, Wagner und Dvořák andererseits setzte sie ihre dunkel-glühende Mezzo-Stimme, sonor in der tiefen Lage, mattsilbern leuchtend in der Höhe, glänzend in Szene.

Video: Carl Andersson, Bild: Youtube: Carl Andersson

Das vom Museum gewählte Thema für die Birgit-Nilsson-Days 2023 lautete: „Puccini – love and art“, leicht erkennbar eine Assoziation zu Toscas „Vissi d’arte“ aus dem zweiten Akt von Puccinis Oper. Tosca gehörte nicht zu den „signature parts“ der Nilsson. Umso bemerkenswerter, dass der als Instanz angesehene amerikanische Kritiker Conrad L. Osborne von der „best sung Tosca on records“ sprach. Gemeint ist damit insbesondere die gesangstechnische Ausführung etwa der Schreiakzente in den Folterszenen des zweiten Aktes; wie berückend belcantisch sie aber auch die Arie des zweiten Aktes sang, wie sicher und genau sie das hohe B fasste und wie sanft das folgende As diminuierte, ist in Filmausschnitten in der Museumskammer (und auf Youtube) zu bestaunen.

Für die konzertante Aufführung von „Tosca“ war neben dem Museum eine Zelt-Bühne errichtet worden. Schon am Morgen setzte Nieselregen ein, der vor dem Beginn der Aufführung immer dichter wurde. Über tausend Besucher hockten in Regencapes auf ihren Stühlen; sahen verzweifelt lächelnd, wie Pfützen, die sich am Rand des Podiums gebildet hatten, weggewischt werden mussten. Aber sie harrten aus, auch nach der Pause. Hofften um 20.25 Uhr in einer Regen-pause, während Michael Fabiano die Sternen-Arie sang, auf Besserung. Vergeblich.

MEHR ZUM THEMA

Janet Baker im September 1973 bei einem Konzert mit dem London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire

JANET BAKER WIRD 90

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Singen von ernsten Dingen

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Frau am Steuer: die großartige Partisanin des Vergnügens Ekaterina Gubanova als Venus, neben ihr Klaus Florian Vogt als erschrockener Tannhäuser.

„TANNHÄUSER“ UND „HOLLÄNDER“

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Bayreuth wird weiblicher

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Hat James Turrell sich nach Bayreuth verirrt? Clay Hilley als Tristan (oben) und Catherine Foster als Isolde.

BAYREUTHER FESTSPIELE

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Lebt als Kinder des Lichts!

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Soweit erkennbar, war das Sinfonieorchester von Helsingborg unter Pier Giorgio Morandi ebenso gut disponiert wie die Birgit zu Ehren angetretenen Sänger. So- weit erkennbar? Die an der Rückwand der Zeltbühne agierenden Techniker sorgten dafür, dass die Musik Puccinis zu einem aus Wacken bekannten Heavy Metal Sound verstärkt wurde und den Hörern das Hören verging. Dass die Sopranistin Joyce El-Khoury als Tosca, der Tenor Michael Fabiano als Cavaradossi und der Bariton John Lundgren als Scarpia über eminente vokale Qualitäten verfügen, war nur zu ahnen, nicht aber zu erkennen, weil die Stimmen durch die Technik lauter klangen als einst die Spitzentöne der Diva, die selbst das Fortissimo von hundert fiedelnden und blasenden Musikern durchdrangen. Bewunderungswürdig aber die Anstrengung, mit der die Musiker dem Wett-Unbill trotzen. Und noch bevor sie ihren Beifall in Empfang nahmen, zollten sie dem Publikum, das drei Stunden lang heroisch den Launen des Wetters widerstanden hatte, ihre Anerkennung.

Birgit Nilsson

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Brigitte Nielsen.

Birgit Nilsson

Birgit Nilsson in 1948

Born

Märta Birgit Svensson

17 May 1918[1]

Västra Karup, Skåne, Sweden

Died

25 December 2005 (aged 87)[2]

Kristianstad, Skåne, Sweden

Education

Royal Swedish Academy of Music

Occupation

Wagnerian soprano

Years active

1946–1984

Awards

- Hovsångerska, 1954[3]

- Bavarian Kammersängerin

- Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres

- Gramophone's Hall of Fame in 2012[4]

- Illis quorum

Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.[5] Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power, and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Birgit Nilsson was born Märta Birgit Svensson on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne (100 km/60 miles north of Malmö) to Nils Svensson and Justina Svensson (née Paulsson). When she was three years old she began picking out melodies on a toy piano her mother bought for her. She once told an interviewer that she could sing before she could walk, adding, "I even sang in my dreams". Her vocal talent was first noticed when she began to sing in her church choir. A choirmaster near her home heard her sing and advised her to take voice lessons.

She studied with Ragnar Blennow in Åstorp for six months to prepare for an audition at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm where she came in first out of a group of 47 singers and was awarded the Christina Nilsson scholarship named for the famous soprano. Her teachers at the Academy were Joseph Hislop and Arne Sunnegårdh. However, she considered herself self-taught: "The best teacher is the stage", she told an interviewer in 1981. "You walk out onto it, and you have to learn to project." She deplored her early instruction and attributed her success to native talent. "My first voice teacher [Hislop] almost killed me ... [T]he second was almost as bad."[5]

Early career[edit]

In 1946, Nilsson made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm with only three days' notice, replacing the ailing Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. Conductor Leo Blech was not very kind to her and, as she wrote in her autobiography, she even contemplated suicide after the performance. In 1947 she claimed national attention as Verdi's Lady Macbeth under Fritz Busch.[6] A wealth of parts followed, from Strauss and Verdi to Wagner, Puccini, and Tchaikovsky. In Stockholm she built up a steady répertoire of roles in the lyric-dramatic field, including Donna Anna, Aida, Lisa, Tosca, Venus, Sieglinde, Senta and the Marschallin, one of her favourite roles, all sung in Swedish. In 1949 she sang Ariadne auf Naxos with Hjördis Schymberg and Elisabeth Söderström among others.

International engagements[edit]

Giuseppe Verdi at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, 1947.

Under Fritz Busch's tutelage, her career took wing. He was instrumental in securing her first important engagement outside Sweden, as Electra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1951. Her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1953 was a turning point; she would be a regular performer there for more than 25 years. It was followed by Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival in 1954, then her first Brünnhilde in a complete Ring at the Bavarian State Opera, at the Munich Opera Festival of 1954. Later she returned as Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, and Isolde until 1969.

She took the title role of Turandot, which is brief but requires an unusually big sound, to La Scala in Milan in 1958, and then to the rest of Italy. Nilsson made her American debut as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre in 1956 with the San Francisco Opera. She attained international stardom after a performance as Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1959, which made front-page news. She said that the single biggest event in her life was being asked to perform at the opening of the 180th season at La Scala as Turandot in 1958. She performed at many major opera houses in the world including Vienna, Berlin, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires, Chicago, and Hamburg.

She sang with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the all-Wagner concert that opened the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.[7]

From the 1960s through to the 1980s[edit]

Nilsson was widely known as the leading Wagnerian soprano of her time, the successor to the great Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad, particularly as Brünnhilde. However, she also sang many of the other famous soprano roles, among them Leonore, Aida, Turandot, Tosca, Elektra, and Salome. She had, according to The New York Times, a "voice of impeccable trueness and impregnable stamina".

The conductor Erich Leinsdorf thought that her longevity, like Flagstad's, had something to do with her Scandinavian heritage, remarking that Wagner required "thoughtful, patient and methodical people." Nilsson attributed her long career to no particular lifestyle or regimen. "I do nothing special", she once said. "I don't smoke. I drink a little wine and beer. I was born with the right set of parents."

In sheer power, her high notes were sometimes compared to those of the Broadway belter Ethel Merman. However Nilsson claims her "explosive" high notes that were her biggest asset on-stage "have not been recorded like they should have been" in the studio. She later lamented: "It always made me a little bit sad when I heard my own recordings. And many people told me that I sang much better in person than I do on the recordings! That didn't flatter me at all, because I know what's going to be left when I am no longer singing".[8]

Twice at the Met, Nilsson sustained injuries that kept her from performing. In February 1971, she sprained her ankle during a performance of Elektra that resulted in cancellation of one performance (that was replaced by a historical performance of Fidelio starring Christa Ludwig). Nilsson recovered to sing the broadcast performance of Elektra on 27 February. More seriously, in March 1974 she fell and dislocated her shoulder during a rehearsal of Götterdämmerung.[9] While recuperating in her hospital room at Roosevelt Hospital she said, "other than my bruises and my black and blues I feel fine".[9] Although able to sing Brünnhilde for the first two performances with her arm in a sling, her injury caused her to miss subsequent performances, including that season's Götterdämmerung broadcast. The New York Times' review of the production's 8 March opening night is reprinted in the Metropolitan Opera Archives.

"Miss N."[edit]

Beginning at the summer of 1968 at the Bayreuth Festival, Nilsson was obsessively stalked by a much younger American actress and model, Nell Theobald, until Theobald's suicide nine years later in 1977. Nilsson recounted her experiences with Theobald at length in her memoir, La Nilsson, in which she referred to Theobald solely as "Miss N." The stalking incident was later featured in Opera News magazine and The New York Times.[10][11]

Nilsson's humour[edit]

Nilsson did not get along with famous conductor Herbert von Karajan. Once when rehearsing on stage at the Vienna Staatsoper, her string of pearls broke. While helping her retrieve them, Karajan asked, "Are these real pearls bought with your La Scala fees?" Nilsson replied, "No, these are fake pearls bought with your Vienna Staatsoper fees." When Nilsson first arrived at the Met to rehearse the production of Die Walküre conducted by Karajan, she said, "Nu, where's Herbie?" And Karajan once sent Nilsson a cable several pages long, proposing in great detail a variety of projects, different dates and operas. Nilsson cabled back: "Busy. Birgit."[12]

The Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson, who became world famous for his documentation of pregnancy from conception to birth, was asked by the magazine Life to photograph Birgit Nilsson's vocal cords as she sang high C. Birgit Nilsson turned the proposal down with the words "Your photographer wants me to swallow the tiny camera so he can take pictures of the vocal cord [sic]. I don't want that, since I know where it has been before."[13] Eventually, though, she agreed on having the pictures taken.[14]

There was a healthy competition between Nilsson and tenor Franco Corelli as to who could hold the high C the longest in Act II of Turandot. In one tour performance, after she outlasted him on the high C, he stormed off to Rudolf Bing during the next intermission, saying that he was not going to continue the performance. Bing, who knew how to handle Corelli's tantrums, suggested that he retaliate by biting Nilsson on the neck when Calaf kisses Turandot in Act III. Corelli didn't bite her but he was so delighted with the idea that he told her about Bing's suggestion. She then cabled Bing, informing him she had to cancel the next two performances because she had contracted rabies.[15][16][17][18][19]

When Nilsson started singing Aida at the Met, soprano Zinka Milanov was miffed as Aida had theretofore been her role. After one performance in which Nilsson was singing, Milanov commandeered and drove off in the Rolls-Royce Nilsson had hired for after the performance. When asked about this afterwards, Milanov said, "If Madame Nilsson takes my roles, I must take her Rolls."[20]

The secret to singing Isolde, she said, was "comfortable shoes."[21] After a disagreement with the Australian soprano Joan Sutherland, Nilsson was asked if she thought Sutherland's famous bouffant hairdo was real. She answered: "I don't know. I haven't pulled it yet."[22]

Once, asked what was her favourite role, she answered: "Isolde made me famous. Turandot made me rich". When long-time Metropolitan Opera director Sir Rudolf Bing was asked if she was difficult, he reportedly said, "Not at all. You put enough money in, and a glorious voice comes out".[23] When Nilsson was preparing her taxes and was asked if she had any dependents, she replied, "Yes, just one, Rudolf Bing".[24]

Business[edit]

Nilsson was also famous for her ability to make money. She became one of the highest-paid singers in the field, in part because of the rarity of her skills. Being a shrewd businesswoman, she negotiated much of her own career. She never ranted or engaged in tantrums. She would begin contract talks by refusing every offer and being evasive about her availability. This tack would continue until the impresario offered something she wanted. Nilsson's reply would be "maybe". Now in control, she would be begged to accept what she desired in the first place.[citation needed]

Gröna Lund, Stockholm, 1960s.

Interactions with conductors[edit]

Nilsson was known for standing up to conductors. In a 1967 rehearsal of Die Walküre with Herbert von Karajan conducting, Nilsson responded to the gloomy lighting of the production by wearing a miner's helmet (complete with Valkyrian wings).[25] When on some occasion von Karajan urged a retake "but this time with more heart. That's the place where you have your purse", Nilsson replied, "I'm so pleased to find we have something in common."[26] When Georg Solti, in Tristan and Isolde, insisted on tempos too slow for Nilsson's taste, she made the first performance even slower, inducing a conductorial change of heart. After a tiff with Hans Knappertsbusch, Nilsson reported: "He called me by a name that begins with "A" and ends with 'hole'".[citation needed]

Self-criticism[edit]

Despite her worldwide recognition, Nilsson said she was nervous before every major performance. "Before a premiere, on the way to the opera, I'd hope for just a small, small accident, it didn't need to be much, but just so I would not have to sing", she said in a 1977 interview on Swedish TV. Nilsson often spoke of her limits. She said her voice was not a good fit with what she described as the softer textures and refined tones of Italian operas. Nonetheless, she sang roles in Italianate operas such as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.[27]

Recordings[edit]

Nilsson recorded all of her major roles in major commercial recordings of the complete works, as well as about a dozen solo recitals of arias, art songs, concerts, and hymns—all were originally released on vinyl LP format and most have been reissued on CD or in digital format. Partly because of her availability to play Brünnhilde, Decca Records undertook the expensive project of making a studio recording of Wagner's four-opera Ring Cycle, conducted by Solti and produced by John Culshaw. The effort took seven years, from 1958 to 1965. A film of the proceedings made her a familiar image for arts-conscious television viewers.[28]

Absence from New York and Salzburg[edit]

Though a frequent visitor to the Metropolitan Opera, Nilsson did not always see eye to eye with its redoubtable general manager, Rudolf Bing (who was often said to dislike Wagner), nor with conductor Herbert von Karajan. Subsequently, she made fewer New York appearances than hoped in the early 1970s and was virtually excluded from the Salzburg Festival. Her American career was derailed in the mid-1970s by US Internal Revenue Service claims filed for back taxes. Several years later a schedule of payments was worked out, and Nilsson's hiatus from the United States ended. When she returned, Donal Henahan wrote in The New York Times, "The famous shining trumpet of a voice is still far from sounding like a cornet."[29]

Nilsson appeared at the Metropolitan Opera 223 times in 16 roles. She sang two complete Ring cycles in the 1961–62 season, and another in 1974–75. She was Isolde 33 times, and Turandot 52. She played most of the other major soprano parts: Aida, Tosca, the Dyer's Wife in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten, Salome, Elektra, as Verdi's Lady Macbeth, and Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio. In 1966 she simultaneously performed the roles of Venus and Elisabeth (who never appear together) in Wagner's Tannhäuser.[30] She memorably appeared as replacement Sieglinde to Rita Hunter's Brünnhilde in the 1970s. She appeared 232 times at the Vienna State Opera from 1954 to 1982, and the Vienna Philharmonic, the company's orchestra, made her an honorary member in 1999. "If there ever was someone that one can call a real star today and a world-famous opera singer during her time then that was Frau Nilsson", said Ioan Holender, director of the Vienna State Opera.

Later life[edit]

Nilsson's autobiography, Mina minnesbilder (My memoirs in pictures) was published in Stockholm in 1977. She retired in 1984 to her childhood home in the Skåne province of southern Sweden, where her father had been a sixth-generation farmer and she had worked to grow beets and potatoes until she was 23. In an interview in the mid-1990s, she appeared happy, serene and as unpretentious as ever. "I've always tried to remember what my mother used to tell me", she said. "Stay close to the earth. Then when you fall down, it won't hurt so much."

In 1981, Sweden issued a postage stamp showing Nilsson as Turandot.[31] She received the Illis quorum gold medal, today the highest award that can be conferred upon a Swedish citizen by the Government of Sweden.[32] In 1988, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of New Sweden, the first Swedish settlement in America, The American-Scandinavian Foundation named their prize for promising young American opera singers the Birgit Nilsson Prize. Nilsson personally chaired several competitions.[33]

Death[edit]

Nilsson died, aged 87, on 25 December 2005 at her home at Bjärlöv, a small village near Kristianstad in Skåne in the same county where she was born. No cause of death was released. She was survived by her husband Bertil Niklasson (died March 2007), a veterinary surgeon whom she had met on a train and married in 1948. They had no children.[34]

Legacy[edit]

Three years after Nilsson's death, in December 2008, the Birgit Nilsson Foundation announced that it would award a prize every two to three years to a concert or opera singer, a classical or opera conductor, or a specific production by an opera company. The prize was funded by Nilsson herself. The foundation said that Nilsson had chosen the first winner, to be announced in early 2009.

On 20 February 2009, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo was announced as the inaugural recipient of the prize, which carried with it a cash award of $1,000,000.[35] The first award ceremony took place in the Royal Swedish Opera on 13 October 2009. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden personally presented the prize to the designated winner. A jury has been set up by the foundation to make recommendations for future prizes.[36] The second winner of the Birgit Nilsson prize was Riccardo Muti,[37] who received the award in Stockholm on 13 October 2011. On 9 April 2014 it was announced that the third recipient of the prize would be the Vienna Philharmonic.[38]

A Pågatågen train has been named for Nilsson by operator Skånetrafiken, with the train 'Birgit Nilsson' being the first in the new X61 series to depart Malmö Central Station in December 2009.[39]

On 6 April 2011, the Bank of Sweden announced that Nilsson's portrait will feature on the 500 kronor banknote, beginning in October 2016.[40][41]

Honours and awards[edit]

- 1954 Royal Court Singer (Swedish: Hovsångerska), Stockholm, Sweden[42]

- 1958 Gold Medal, Teatro Liceo, Barcelona, Spain

- 1960

Sweden Royal medal Litteris et Artibus

- 1960 Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Stockholm

- 1966 Sonning Award, Denmark[43][44]

- 1967 Gold Medal For the Promotion of the Art of Music (Swedish: För tonkonstens främjande) of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, Stockholm

- 1968 Austrian Kammersängerin in 1968

- 1968 Honorary Member of the Vienna State Opera, Vienna, Austria

- 1970 Honorary doctorate from Merrimack College, Andover, Mass. USA

- 1970 Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, London, England

- 1970 Bavarian Kammersängerin, Munich, Germany

- 1972

Denmark Royal medal Ingenio et Arti

- 1974

Sweden Commander First Class of the Order of Vasa

- 1975

Norway Commander First Class of the Order of St. Olav

- 1981 Gold medal of the Royal Opera Stockholm (Swedish: Kungliga Operan), Stockholm

- 1981

Sweden Illis Quorum gold medal, 18th grade with chain

- 1982 Honorary doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music, New York City

- 1982 Honorary doctorate from Michigan State University, East Lansing, US

- 1982 Swedish-American of the Year Award, New York City

- 1988

Germany Cross of Merit First Class of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit, Land of Lower Saxony

- 1991

France Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres

- 1993 Royal Opera House Silver Medal for 25-year's service as a Guest Artist, London, England

- 1994 Award of the Sweden–America Foundation (Swedish: Sverige-Amerikastiftelsen), New York City

- 1997 Honorary doctorate of the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland

- 1999 Honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna, Austria

- 2012 Gramophone's Hall of Fame in 2012[4]

Videography[edit]

- The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala, Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538

References[edit]

1. ^ "About Birgit". Birgit Nilsson Foundation. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

2. ^ "Birgit Nilsson". The Independent. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

3. ^ "Honours and Awards". BirgitNilssonPrize.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.

4. ^ Jump up to:a b "Birgit Nilsson (soprano)". Gramophone. Retrieved 11 April 2012.

5. ^ Jump up to:a b Holland, Bernard (12 January 2006). "Birgit Nilsson, Soprano Legend Who Tamed Wagner, Dies at 87". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

6. ^ Blyth, Alan; Barker, Frank Granville (12 January 2006). "Obituary: Birgit Nilsson". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 October 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

7. ^ "Sydney Opera House Opening Concert". 29 October 1973. Retrieved 6 August 2012.

8. ^ "Birgit Nilsson Interview with Bruce Duffie . . . ."

9. ^ Jump up to:a b "Wagnerian Soprano Injured". The Robesonian. Lumberton, NC. 5 March 1974. p. 2. Retrieved 4 April 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

open access

10. ^ Kathryn Leigh Scott (August 2009). "The Star and the Stalker". Opera News. Retrieved 6 August 2009.

11. ^ Ralph Blumenthal (21 May 2006). "Soprano's Tale: Obsession, Love and Death. Offstage". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2009.

12. ^ The New York Times Biographical Service. 1971. p. 4301. Retrieved 29 April 2018. Several years ago, in response to his detailed, two- page cablegram offering her a long list of new production Miss Nilsson sent the maestro a curt two-word cable: "Busy. Birgit". Their feud broke into print two years ago when the soprano canceled several Metropolitan engagements because she felt Mr. von Karajan wanted to work another soprano into her favorite parts. "When the birds aren't happy they don't sing," she declared. Such Nilsson moods pass quickly, ordinarily. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

13. ^ "Gåtan Birgit Nilsson lever vidare (in Swedish)". Retrieved 29 August 2012.

14. ^ "Är gastromikrofonin framtidens melodi? (in Swedish)". Archived from the original on 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2012.

15. ^ Seghers, R. (2008). Franco Corelli: prince of tenors. Opera biography series. Amadeus Press. p. 216. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. Later she sent a legendary telegram to Rudolf Bing: "Muss die kommende Vorstellungen absagen stop schwere Bissverletzung stop Birgit" (Have to cancel all coming performances stop severe bite wounds stop Birgit). Bing, in whom Birgit Nilsson had found a lively verbal sparring partner since her arrival at the Met, immediately saw the public-relations value of the telegram and leaked to the press that Nilsson had written that she had contracted rabies. From there the story ...

16. ^ Fiedler, J. (2003). Molto Agitato: The Mayhem Behind the Music at the Metropolitan Opera. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 91. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. ... When a jealous Franco Corelli nipped her neck while she held a high C longer than he could, Nilsson called Bing the next day to say she could not go on that night: "I have rabies," she announced. Bing loved her spontaneity ...

17. ^ Veckojournalen (in Swedish). Åhlén & Åkerlunds. 1969. p. 40. Retrieved 29 April 2018. "Gå in bara, och när du ska kyssa henne så bit henne ordentligt!" Det gjorde Corelli. Nästa dag fick Bing ett telegram : Kan inte sjunga. Biten av en hund. Har rabies. Birgit Nilsson. — Man ska skämta sig igenom vardagen, sa hon en gång. Det är säkert inget dumt recept ...

18. ^ Leinsdorf, E. (1976). Cadenza: a musical career. Houghton Mifflin. p. 111. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. The bill was Puccini's Turandot, the stars were Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli, the conductor Stokowski, and I sat next to Bing in the audience. Toward the close of "In questa reggia" in act two Nilsson held the high C longer than the tenor. Furious over this, Corelli stalked ... This appealed to Corelli, and all proceeded as suggested until at the final curtain Nilsson called for the general manager, loudly crying: "Mr. Bing, get me a veterinarian, I have the rabies." Bing told me later that the ...

19. ^ Mihalap, H. (1994). Where There's Hope: There's Life and Laughter. Trudy Knox, Publisher. p. 82. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. By now legendary is the night in Boston that Birgit Nilsson, the great Swedish soprano, held a note longer than Franco Corelli, who had near apoplexy about it later in the dressing room. He threatened to quit that instant until Bing cleverly suggested he bite Nilsson in the next act. Apparently he lost his nerve, but later Nilsson sent Bing a telegram from Minneapolis, the next stop on the tour. "Corelli bit me tonight," she wired, "am being treated for rabies."

20. ^ "The Roles Birgit Nilsson & Zinka Milanov Shared & Fought Over". The high and low notes from around the international opera stage. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

21. ^ Emmons, S.; Thomas, A. (1998). Power Performance for Singers: Transcending the Barriers. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 216. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. Rehearse in the clothing and shoes that you plan to use. (Remember what Birgit Nilsson said when asked how to sing Wagnerian opera? "Get a good pair of comfortable shoes.")

22. ^ Joan Sutherland (1997). A Prima Donna's Progress: The Autobiography of Joan Sutherland. Regnery Pub. p. 155. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018. It was on this occasion that Birgit Nilsson, when asked was Miss Sutherland's hair real, was reported (in Leonard Lyon's column) to have replied: 'I don't know - I haven't pulled it yet!'

23. ^ International Record Review. International Record Review. 2006. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2018. The world of opera is mourning Birgit Nilsson, who died on December 25th. On page 14 John Hughes relates a few tales about her famed wit, including an anecdote regarding her strained relationship with Rudolf Bing, to which could be added another. When asked if Nilsson was difficult, Bing's response was, 'Not at all, you put enough money in and a glorious voice comes out. When preparing her taxes, Nilsson was asked if she had any dependents ...

24. ^ Wechsberg, J. (1972). The opera. Macmillan Co. p. 189. Retrieved 29 April 2018. ... und Isolde depended on the availability of Birgit Nilsson; there was no one else in her class. (According to a story told around the Met., when an accountant helped Miss Nilsson with her income tax return and asked whether she had any dependents, she replied at once, "Yes, Mr Bing".)

25. ^ Blum, D.; Steinhardt, A. (1999). Quintet: Five Journeys Toward Musical Fulfillment. G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Cornell University Press. p. 173. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018.

26. ^ Nilsson, B.; Popper, D.J. (2015). La Nilsson: My Life in Opera. University Press of New England. p. 113. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018.

27. ^ Terkel, S. (2006). And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey. New Press. p. 33. ISBN . Retrieved 29 April 2018.

28. ^ Metropolitan Opera Guild (1997). Opera News (in Spanish). Metropolitan Opera Guild. p. 5. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

29. ^ The New York Times Biographical Service. 1981. p. 1393. Retrieved 29 April 2018. As recently as last season, Donal Henahan declared that "the famous shining trumpet of a voice is still far from sounding like a cornet." Miss Nilsson's longevity in this taxing profession is a marvel. She has outlasted even Kirsten Flagstad who left the operatic stage at 58. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

30. ^ "BiblioTech PRO V3.2b". 69.18.170.204. Retrieved 31 October 2019.

31. ^ The New York Times Biographical Service. 1981. p. 1393. Retrieved 29 April 2018. It is Birgit Nilsson — and although 63 years old and a survivor of 35 years in the world's most demanding- dramatic soprano repertory, she can still summon an instrument of stunning power and clarity. ... Payment schedules were worked out, tempers soothed, and in February, 1980, Miss Nilsson gave New York a triumphant "Elektra. ... As she travels the world, her honors follow her — one of them a newly issued Swedish postage stamp bearing her likeness in the role of "Turandot". {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

32. ^ Nordic Council (1981). Nordisk kontakt (in Swedish). Statens reproduktionsanstalt. p. 724. Retrieved 29 April 2018. Sångerskan Birgit Nilsson har fått Illis Qourum i I8:e storleken. Hon fick medaljen för "sina synnerligen uppmärksammade insatser inom operan och annan sångkonst", heter det i regeringens motivering. Det är första gången Illis Quorum i 18:e storleken tilldelats en kvinna och det är fem år sedan den delades ut förra gången.

33. ^ Swedish Council of America (1998). Sweden & America (in German). Swedish Council of America. p. 9. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

34. ^ "Birgit Nilsson, 87; Wagnerian Soprano Known for the Power of Her Voice and Personality". Los Angeles Times. 12 January 2006. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

35. ^ "Placido Domingo | Domingo Awarded $1 Million Prize". Contactmusic. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2011.

36. ^ DAVE ITZKOFF For Classical Music, a $1 Million Prize 5 December 2008

37. ^ "Riccardo Muti wins Birgit Nilsson Prize". BBC News. 16 March 2011.

38. ^ "Vienna Orchestra to Receive $1 Million Birgit Nilsson Prize". The New York Times. 9 April 2014.

39. ^ Stendahl, Sandra; Andersson, Elisabeth (4 December 2009). "Häng med ombord på nya Pågatågen". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Retrieved 28 February 2023.

40. ^ "Sveriges Riksbank/Riksbanken – Sweden's new banknotes and coins". Riksbank.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.

41. ^ Peter Vinthagen Simpson (6 April 2011). "Ingmar Bergman to adorn new Swedish banknotes". Retrieved 7 April 2011.

42. ^ Unless otherwise indicated, this section is sourced from "Honours and Awards". BirgitNilssonPrize.org. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.

43. ^ Leach, H.G.; American-Scandinavian Foundation (1966). The American-Scandinavian Review. American-Scandinavian Foundation. p. 203. Retrieved 29 April 2018. The Leonie Sonning Prize for 1966 was recently awarded the Swedish singer BirgitNilsson. The amount of the Prize is 50,000 Danish kroner. The Leonie Sonning Prize was awarded for the first time in 1959, with Igor Stravinsky being the recipient. The 1965 winner was conductor Leonard Bernstein.

44. ^ Theatre in Denmark. Danish Centre of the I.T.I. 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 29 April 2018. This year's Leonie Sonning Music Prize was given to Birgit Nilsson, who visited The Royal Theatre on May 17th, 1966, for a guest performance in "Fidelio". Birgit Nilsson honoured yong Danish singers by donating her salary for this performance to be used as a scholarship for two young female singers.