Birgit Nilsson

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Lore & Background

Birgit Nilsson was born Märta Birgit Svensson on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne. At three she picked out melodies on a toy piano. She told an interviewer she could sing before she could walk, adding, 'I even sang in my dreams.' Her vocal talent was first noticed in church choir. A choirmaster advised her to take voice lessons. She studied with Ragnar Blennow for six months to prepare for an audition at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm, where she came in first out of 47 singers and was awarded the Christina Nilsson scholarship. Her teachers were Joseph Hislop and Arne Sunnegårdh, but she considered herself self-taught: 'The best teacher is the stage,' she said in 1981. 'You walk out onto it, and you have to learn to project.' She deplored her early instruction: 'My first voice teacher [Hislop] almost killed me ... [T]he second was almost as bad.'

In 1946 she made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera with only three days' notice, replacing an ailing singer as Agathe in Der Freischütz. Conductor Leo Blech was unkind; she even contemplated suicide after the performance. In 1947 she claimed national attention in Verdi's Lady Macbeth conducted by Fritz Busch. Under Busch's tutelage, her career took wing. He secured her first important engagement outside Sweden, as Electra in Mozart's Idomeneo at Glyndebourne 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 Lohengrin at Bayreuth in 1954, then her first Brünnhilde in a complete Ring at the Munich Opera Festival of 1954. She returned to Bayreuth as Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, and Isolde until 1969. She took the title role of Turandot to La Scala in Milan in 1958. She made her American debut as Brünnhilde in 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 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 sang with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the all-Wagner concert that opened the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House in 1973. Nilsson was also known for her humour. Once when rehearsing at the Vienna Staatsoper, her string of pearls broke. While helping her retrieve them, Herbert von 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 she first arrived at the Met to rehearse Die Walküre conducted by Karajan, she said, 'Nu, where's Herbie?' Karajan once sent a long cable proposing projects; Nilsson cabled back: 'Busy. Birgit.' There was a healthy competition with tenor Franco Corelli over who could hold the high C the longest in act 2 of Turandot. After she outlasted him, he stormed off to Rudolf Bing, who suggested Corelli retaliate by biting Nilsson on the neck in act 3. Corelli didn't bite but told her about Bing's suggestion. She then cabled Bing, informing him she had to cancel two performances because she had contracted rabies. Beginning in the summer of 1968 at Bayreuth, 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 this at length in her memoir, La Nilsson, referring to Theobald solely as 'Miss N.'

Reader's Guide

Birgit Nilsson's significance rests on her dominance as a dramatic soprano in the mid-to-late 20th century, particularly in the demanding roles of Wagner and Strauss. Her voice combined immense power with clarity—The New York Times called it 'a voice of impeccable trueness and impregnable stamina.' In sheer power, her high notes were sometimes compared to Broadway belter Ethel Merman. However, Nilsson claimed her 'explosive' high notes 'have not been recorded like they should have been' in the studio. She 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!'

She performed at many major opera houses worldwide including Vienna, Berlin, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires, Chicago, and Hamburg. Twice at the Met she sustained injuries: in February 1971 she sprained her ankle during Elektra, cancelling one performance; she recovered to sing the broadcast on 27 February. In March 1974 she fell and dislocated her shoulder during a rehearsal of Götterdämmerung. She sang Brünnhilde for the first two performances with her arm in a sling but missed subsequent performances. Conductor Erich Leinsdorf thought 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: 'I do nothing special. I don't smoke. I drink a little wine and beer. I was born with the right set of parents.' The secret to singing Isolde, she said, was 'comfortable shoes.' Once asked her favourite role, she answered: 'Isolde made me famous. Turandot made me rich.' When 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.' When Nilsson was preparing her taxes and was asked if she had any dependents, she replied, 'Yes, just one, Rudolf Bing.'

Did You Know?

• Nilsson came in first out of 47 singers at her audition for the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and was awarded the Christina Nilsson scholarship.
• She made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera with only three days' notice, replacing an ailing singer as Agathe in Der Freischütz.
• She was obsessively stalked by an American actress and model, Nell Theobald, from 1968 until Theobald's suicide in 1977; Nilsson called her 'Miss N.' in her memoir.
• After Franco Corelli threatened to bite her on stage (on Rudolf Bing's suggestion), Nilsson cabled Bing that she had to cancel two performances because she had contracted rabies.
• She sang in the all-Wagner concert that opened the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.