Birgit Nilsson

Märta Birgit Nilsson was born on May 17, 1918, in Västra Karup, Scania, working on her parents' sugar beet and dairy farm until age twenty-three. Entering the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, she made her Royal Swedish Opera debut in 1946 as Agathe in Der Freischütz.

Possessing a dramatic soprano voice of unprecedented volume, laser-beam focus, and stamina, Nilsson reigned supreme over the heroic roles of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. For over two decades, she dominated the Bayreuth Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, and Vienna State Opera as Isolde (performed over 200 times), Brünnhilde, Elektra, and Puccini's icy princess Turandot, cutting through 110-piece orchestras with effortless brilliance. Her portrait graces the Swedish 500 kronor banknote.