Product Description
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“Her Wagner supremacy was recognized by all her colleagues, who
regarded her with affection and respect, while audiences simply
worshipped her as though she had come down to them from Valhalla”
(The Guardian, London). This 79-CD + 2-DVD Limited Edition,
released to mark the centenary of her birth, is presented with
original jackets, spined wallets and a 200-page perfect bound
book, and offers not only Nilsson’s complete s for
Decca, Philips and Deutsche Grammophon but also every major role
she recorded. That makes this a unique proposition that will
delight the admirers of one of the 20th century’s greatest
singers.
"Birgit Nilsson’s name and legacy will live on in the recorded
history of Wagner’s music forever. Her performances on stage can
only be rivalled by her magnificent s, to be cherished
by fans and marveled at by those of us who endeavor to keep the
music of Wagner alive and relevant in the 21st century. Her
ability to galvanize the listener with her special sound was
unique, and we are all extremely fortunate to have this sound
preserved for our continued enjoyment and edification.”
GRAMOPHONE
• Limited Edition 79-CD + 2-DVD covering all the major roles
Nilsson performed – 27 full-length operas including 2 full Wagner
‘Ring’ cycles.
• Birgit Nilsson’s complete Decca, Philips and Deutsche
Grammophon s marking her 100th birthday and produced
with the full support of the Birgit Nilsson Foundation
• Handsome packaging includes CDs presented in wallets with a
spine and with original sleeve art encased in an anti-scratch
rigid box with magnetic-hinged lid.
• Beyond the operas recorded for Decca, Philips and DG include 4
operas recorded for EMI (now Warner Classics): Aida, La Fanciulla
del West, Turandot and Der Freischütz; as well as her earlier
1959 Turandot under Leinsdorf for RCA.
• 200-page perfect bound book, in English and German, including:
• New essay – “Apotheosis Achieved” by Raymond McGill
• A note by Decca producer Christopher Raeburn
• Many unseen photographs from the Decca archive
• Index
• Composer/Work Index
• 27 COMPLETE OPERAS, including:
• TWO COMPLETE RING CYCLES – Böhm/Solti NEWLY REMASTERED FOR THE
CENTENARY
• TRISTAN UND ISOLDE with Solti – REMASTERED including the
rehearsals PLUS the Bayreuth/Bohm from Deutsche
Grammophon
• Strauss SALOME AND ELEKTRA – REMASTERED
• Verdi MACBETH and Beethoven FIDELIO
• Two TURANDOT s – with Leinsdorf and Molinari-Pradelli
• AIDA, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FREISCHUTZ – with Heger
• Decca Operatic Recitals (Verdi, Beethoven, Weber and Wagner)
and “Swedish Songs in Land of the Midnight Sun”
• DVDs of the MET production of ELEKTRA, and the GOLDEN RING
documentary of the making of the Solti Ring
About the Artist
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Birgit Märta Nilsson was born in Västra Karup in southern Sweden
to a farming family on 17 May 1918. She sang a wide variety of
dramatic soprano roles, but her reputation was based on her
mastery of some of the most punishing in the repertory, whether
excelling as the fire-and-ice heroine of Puccini's Turandot, or
in the roles of Isolde, Brünnhilde or Sieglinde, which confimed
her as a successor to Kirsten stad. Nilsson's Elektra – the
role considered by some critics as her finest achievement – had
not only the sheer vocal power required to sur the huge
Straussian orchestra without difficulty, but the emotional
strength needed to give truly heroic proportions to the work. She
remains peerless in the repertoire best suited to her qualities.
No dramatic soprano has since truly approached her stature. Her
extraordinary vocal power and breath control enabled her to hold
on to flawless high notes for almost unnatural lengths of time.
Her stamina was inexhaustible and impregnable, so that she
appeared perfectly fresh at the end of the most grueling
performance. She had a rock-solid technique and a voice of such
soaring, unforced power that it was able to cut through the
massed forces of a Wagnerian orchestra with ease, yet retained a
purity of tone which enabled her to switch to the most delicate
pianissimo. “Perhaps the most amazing thing about her was that
she rarely, if ever, gave a performance which fell below the
standards she set herself, and at the age of 65 she could still
dominate the 1983 Metropolitan Opera Gala featuring the cream of
the world's singers. She retired in 1984, her Wagner supremacy
recognised by all her colleagues, who regarded her with affection
and respect, while audiences simply worshipped her as though she
had come down to them from Valhalla.” – THE GUARDIAN