Birgit Nilsson

Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power, and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register. In 1946, Nilsson made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm with only three days' notice, replacing the ailing singer scheduled for the role of Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. Conductor Leo Blech was not very kind to her and, as she wrote in her autobiography, she even contemplated suicide after the performance. In 1947 she claimed national attention in Verdi's Lady Macbeth condu