- Nilsson, Birgit
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orig. Märta Birgit Svennssonborn May 17, 1918, West Karup, Swed.Swedish soprano.She made her debut in Stockholm in 1946, and she performed in the complete Ring cycle of Richard Wagner in Munich (1954–55). She went on to sing most of the major Wagnerian soprano roles at Bayreuth between 1959 and 1970; she was acclaimed as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her time for the astonishing power and capacities of her rich voice. From 1959 she often sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her other significant roles include Richard Strauss's Elektra and Salome, Giacomo Puccini's Turandot, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Leonora. She retired in 1984.
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▪ 2006Märta Birgit SvennssonSwedish operatic soprano (b. May 17, 1918, Västra Karup, Swed.—d. Dec. 25, 2005, Västra Karup), was celebrated for her powerful, rich voice and for her interpretations of Richard Wagner's operas. She studied with Joseph Hislop in Stockholm, where she joined the Royal Opera and made her debut (1946) in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. Other successes followed, particularly in Vienna and Bayreuth, where between 1954 and 1970 her Wagnerian roles included Isolde, Sieglinde, and Brünnhilde. In 1957 Nilsson made her debut at Covent Garden, London, as Brünnhilde in the complete Ring cycle, and the next year she appeared at La Scala, Milan, in the title role of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, as Isolde in 1959. Her other significant roles included Beethoven's Leonore, Weber's Rieza, and Richard Strauss's Salome, Elektra, and the Dyer's Wife. In 1969 the Austrian government gave her the honorary title of Kammersängerin (“court singer”), and in 1981 the Swedish government issued a postage stamp in her honour. Following her retirement from the stage in 1982, Nilsson returned to her birthplace, occasionally teaching master classes. At a 1992 gala at Covent Garden, she sang one last time Brünnhilde's signature battle-cry, “Ho-jo-to-ho! Heia!”* * *
▪ Swedish singernée Märta Birgit Svenssonborn May 17, 1918, Västra Karup, Swedendied December 25, 2005, Västra KarupSwedish operatic soprano, celebrated as a Wagnerian interpreter and known for her powerful, rich voice.On the advice of a local choirmaster, she went to study with Joseph Hislop in Stockholm, where she joined the Royal Opera and made her debut in 1946 as Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. A year later she achieved a major success there as Giuseppe Verdi's Lady Macbeth. Other successes followed, particularly in Vienna and Bayreuth, where between 1954 and 1970 her Wagnerian roles included Isolde, Sieglinde, and Brünnhilde.In 1957 Nilsson made her debut at Covent Garden in London as Brünnhilde in the complete Ring cycle of Richard Wagner (Wagner, Richard), and in 1958 she first appeared at Milan's La Scala in the title role of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot. She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as Isolde in 1959. Her other significant roles included Richard Strauss's Salome and Elektra, Ludwig van Beethoven's Leonore, and Carl Maria von Weber's Rieza.In 1975 Nilsson appeared in the demanding role of the Dyer's Wife in the first performance in Stockholm of Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten, which she repeated in San Francisco in 1980 and New York City in 1981. In 1969 the Austrian government gave her the honorary title of Kammersängerin (“court singer”), and in 1981 the Swedish government issued a postage stamp in her honour. Nilsson retired from performing in 1984.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
