Placido Domingo to be Awarded One Million Dollar Birgit Nilsson Prize
New York, N.Y., February 20, 2009, -- The Birgit Nilsson
Foundation announces today that Placido Domingo is the first
winner of the One Million Dollar Birgit Nilsson Prize, the
biggest prize in classical music history. In the early
eighties, towards the end of her long and distinguished
career, the legendary Swedish dramatic soprano Birgit Nilsson
(1918 - 2005) decided to establish a foundation for a prize
to be awarded every second or third year in the amount of
one million dollars for outstanding musical achievement.
The name of the first prize winner, chosen by Birgit Nilsson
herself, was kept secret until this official announcement.
Domingo will receive the Birgit Nilsson Prize in a formal
award ceremony later this year.
Nilsson and Domingo first sang together in New York at the
Metropolitan Opera on February 15, 1969 in a matinee
production of Tosca. Nilsson remarked that "Placido 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." That same year in
July at theArena di Verona, with an audience of over 22,000
opera goers, Birgit and Placido sang their first "Turandot".
Once again, Ms. Nilsson was impressed by the young tenor
in his first performance as Calaf, "What a wonderful singer
and passionate actor he is." Birgit also recollected after
this performance that Placido was catching a cold. "He
didn't know it and I didn't know it either until a few days
later, after he gave it to me! His kiss at the finale was
so long that the public started to make a joke of it and
yell 'Eee, basta, basta' (Hey, enough, enough). And a week
later I had tonsillitis! But I must say it was worth it,
in order to sing with Placido Domingo! For he was born not
just with a stunning voice but also with the great, rare
gift of musicality, which you either have or you don't, and
was also a charming, fantastic person. And, yes, all the
high notes were in place!" In reference to Placido's
ever-increasing repertoire, Birgit Nilsson, a fervent admirer
of Placido even before they sang together in Verona, was
quoted in print as saying, "Placido, who sings beautifully
in six languages, has not yet learned to say no in any of
them." Years later, Birgit graciously acknowledged, "He
proved us all wrong. Here he is, nearly sixty, and still
singing."
Janos Gereben
www.sfcv.org
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