Birgit Nilsson was known as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her time. Born in Karup, Sweden, in 1918, she studied at the Royal Academy in Stockholm. In 1946 she made her dÈbut at the Royal Opera, Stockholm, in Weber's opera Der Freisch¸tz.
In 1951, Nilsson left Sweden to perform in Great Britain, at the Glyndebourne Festival. There she sang the role of Elektra in Mozart's Idomeneo. Two years later she sang at the Vienna State Opera, in German and Italian roles. These included Sieglinde, in Wagner's Das Rheingold, and Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.
Success in the German repertoire led to an invitation to sing in Bayreuth, the home of Wagnerian opera. She returned there regularly throughout the rest of her highly successful international career. Her recorded performances of The Ring cycle remain as an internationally recognised bench-mark of the Wagnerian soprano sound. With seemingly inexhaustible vocal stamina, excellent musicianship and accuracy, she created a tremendous volume of sound that cut through the big noise of the Wagnerian orchestra, and established her as the daunting darling of Wagnerites everywhere.
In 1958 she created a sensation at La Scala, Milan, as Turandot in Puccini's opera of the same name. Subsequently she often returned there, singing roles in both the Wagner and Strauss repertoires. By the mid-1960s she was unequalled in the Wagner rÙles, and her technique, stamina and range made her one of the most sought-after singers in the world.
