Birgit Nilsson - The Great Live Recordings

The Guardian 80

The supreme dramatic soprano of her age, this collection of Nilsson’s live works, many of them remastered, is fascinating
(Sony Classical, 31 CDs)

Those who were lucky enough to hear Birgit Nilsson live have never forgotten the experience. And even many of us who have only heard her on record have been left with an impression of singing that has never been equalled since in its apparently tireless control and unswerving accuracy in some of the most demanding roles in the operatic repertoire.

From the late 1950s until her retirement in 1984, Nilsson was regarded as the supreme dramatic soprano of her age. Her contributions to the first studio-made Ring cycle, conducted by Georg Solti (soon followed by the Philips recording from Bayreuth under Karl Böhm), together with recordings of Tristan und Isolde under the same two conductors, made her name almost synonymous with Wagner on record in the 1960s and 70s, just as her performances in the title roles of Strauss’s Elektra and Salome and Puccini’s Turandot from the same era were equally definitive.

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