Great Sopranos: Nilsson

Birgit Nilsson 1918 - 2005


I still get goose-bumps listening to the lady.
Every inch the incredible diva. Yes, her voice was as big as it seems.

Dich, teure Halle, from Wagner's Tannhauser

Clip below is the end of Strauss's Salome. It looks like some kind of gala; it's at the Met in NYC, and the stage looks like it's from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

Birgit Nilsson was known for her witty one-liners:

When asked what was the most important requirement for a soprano to sing Isolde, Nilsson said, "a comfortable pair of shoes."

When Nilsson was asked if she thought Joan Sutherland's famous bouffant hairdo was real, she answered: "I don't know. I haven't pulled it yet."

Nilsson called Turandot, one of the most punishing roles in the soprano repertory, her "vacation role."
Rudolf Bing made a ritual joke of getting on his knees every time Nilsson returned to the Met. When he did this after having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth, Nilsson said, "You do that much better since you practiced for the queen."

Bing asked Nilsson to sing the final scene from Salome at his farewell gala in 1972. As an added inducement, he said that she could have his head on a platter. Nilsson replied, "Oh, that's not necessary, Mr. Bing. I will use my imagination."

Nilsson did not get along with the 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 fabulous Metropolitan Opera fees?" Nilsson replied, "No, these are very ordinary fake pearls bought with your lousy Vienna Staatsoper fees."

When Nilsson first arrived at the Met to rehearse the production of Die Walkure 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."

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 Nilsson outlasted Corelli on the high C, Corelli stormed off to Bing during the next intermission and said 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 Nilsson but he was so delighted with the idea that he told her about Bing's suggestion. She then cabled Bing, informing him that she had to cancel the next two tour Turandot performances because she had contracted rabies.

Here's a listen to the healthy competition:

 And a most beautiful Liebestod, from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde: