First published to wide acclaim in Sweden (1995) and in Germany (1997), the autobiography of opera legend Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005) is finally available in an English translation. From her humble roots in rural Sweden to her artistic triumphs in Stockholm, Bayreuth, Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera House, this candid and utterly charming memoir reveals the personality behind one of the great voices of the past century. Gracefully weaving together the private and professional, Nilsson chronicles her idyllic childhood in Vastra Karup, the early recognition of her unique natural abilities, and her first tentative steps into a wider artistic world. After achieving national acclaim in Verdi's Lady Macbeth, she went on to establish herself as the dominant Wagnerian soprano of her generation, appearing at the Bayreuth and Munich Festivals, and the Vienna and Bavarian State Opera Houses, creating, along the way, definitive performances of Sieglinde, BrŸnnhilde, and Isolde. The book details her rise to international stardom with behind-the-scenes recollections of her phenomenal triumph as Turandot at La Scala in 1958 and her headline-making Met premier in Tristan und Isolde the following year. Nilsson's long and illustrious career (she performed until 1984), her celebrated professional and personal relationships, her friendships and rivalries, are all recounted with a down-to-earth wit and an engagingly odd admixture of ego and selfeffacement. She tells it all: the legendary quips, the often prickly relationships with Met impresario Rudolph Bing and conductor von Karajan, the infamous story of the stalker "Miss N," and the touchingly rendered relationship with her beloved husband, Bertil Niklasson. What emerges from these pages is a diva in the old mold: a giant voice matched by an oversize personality, a professional who expected the same level of perfection from others that she demanded of herself, and a woman who loved and lived life with joy and good humor . . . and oh, that voice. Includes 56 photographs and a discography.

A comprehensive guide to Richard Strauss's SALOME, featuring insightful and in depth Commentary and Analysis, a complete, newly translated Libretto with German/English side-by side, and over 25 music highlight examples.

On May 17, 2018, Birgit Nilsson (1918 - 2005) celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano, would have celebrated her 100th birthday.Arguably the last of the 'true' Wagnerians, she was by no means limited to Wagner. Her Isolde and Brünnhilde together with Salome, Elektra, Dyer's Wife and Turandot were often collectively referred to as the 'Nilsson repertoire'.Birgit Nilsson's voice was capable of flooding an opera house with 'oceans of sound' which no commercial recording has ever been able to capture; recordings of live opera broadcasts however come much closer to the 'real' Nilsson voice.This epic book is an homage in appreciation of countless glorious performances. Her career lasted almost 40 years. For some 25 years -- from the late 1950s to the early 1980s -- she was the dominant force in the dramatic / heroic soprano repertoire and the undisputed 'Queen of Wagnerians' of her generation, one of the all-time Greats in the history of opera.This lavish, highly collectible boxed publication includes text contributions from prominent members of the music world such as conductors James Levine and Riccardo Muti, and opera tenor Placido Domingo, plus collected photographs of Birgit Nilsson in her various roles from all major opera houses around the world.Published on the occasion of the exhibition at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Autumn 2018 / Spring 2019).

The first biography of a legendary tenor.

(Amadeus). His exceptional good looks made him a matinee idol, and Franco Corelli the Prince of Tenors was dubbed "Mr. Soldout" for 20 consecutive years. In 1958, just seven years after beginning his career, he was already the highest-paid tenor in Italy. Following his Met debut in 1961, he was celebrated as the greatest tenor in the world, a position that he retained until his departure from the Met in 1975. His charismatic performances in such operas as La Vestale and Fedora (both in collaboration with Maria Callas), coupled with a formidable mystique, as well as a number of notorious and colorful incidents, including his real-life sword fight with Boris Christoff in Rome, the Callas walkout there, the beating up of a spectator in Naples, and the alleged biting of Birgit Nilsson on a Boston tour of Turandot , created a mania for Corelli. Nearly a decade in the making, this definitive biography is based on the author's extensive research of theater archives and interviews with the opera star's numerous friends, family members, colleagues (Nilsson, Pavarotti, and many others), as well as the management of some of the world's leading opera houses.