Birgit Nilsson Prize Odds

The Birgit Nilsson Prize is an international music prize founded by the famous opera singer herself. It awards a single performing artist, a conductor or a production in the field of opera or classical music with one million dollars.

Birgit Nilsson

The dramatic soprano Birgit Nilsson (1918 - 2005) decided towards the end of her career to establish a foundation for a prize to be awarded every second or third year in the amount of one million dollars for ”outstanding achievements by, a singer in the field of opera or concert or oratorio, or a conductor in the classical field of opera or concert, or a specific production by an opera company, as long as this production is outstandingly cast and conducted and, most importantly, staged in the spirit of the composer.”

The award was announced to the public only three years after the death of its founder by the Birgit Nilsson Foundation in Stockholm on 5 December 2008. It was the wish of Birgit Nilsson that the award had to be kept secret until then.

First Winner of Birgit Nilsson Prize

Birgit Nilsson herself chose the first prize-winner and put the chosen name in a sealed envelope to be opened three years after her death, which was on Christmas Day 2005. The envelope was opened in February 2009 and the first winner is the opera tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo.

Plácido Domingo’s worldwide career is legendary - singing 130 different roles, more than any other tenor in history. Domingo’s musicality is confirmed by his extraordinary repertoire and singing career as well as his accomplishments as a conductor, administrator, humanitarian, and creator of young artist programs and competitions.

Birgit Nilsson and Plácido Domingo first sang together in New York at the Metropolitan Opera on February 15, 1969 in a matinee production of Tosca. Nilsson remarked that "Plácido acquitted himself splendidly. He was an incredibly good Cavaradossi, his acting was superb — he was the part, he loved the part and on top there was gorgeous singing."

A collegial recognition of Birgit’s artistry was evident during a television interview several years ago when Plácido Domingo was asked what musical recordings he cherished most – he answered, "One of my all-time favorites is ‘In questa reggia’ sung by Birgit Nilsson but the recording cannot compare to the sound I heard when singing with her.

Second Winner of Birgit Nilsson Prize

Riccardo Muti won the second ever Birgit Nilsson prize in 2011.

Who will get the third Birgit Nilsson Prize?