Birgit Nilsson Foundation President Rutbert Reisch announced today that the Birgit Nilsson Prize for 2011 will be awarded to laureate RICCARDO MUTI at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, Sweden on October 13, 2011 in the presence of H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia. This extraordinary prize of one million dollars, the largest ever given in the world of classical music, is awarded every 2-3 years for outstanding achievements to a currently active singer (in the fields of…

Plácido Domingo was the first recipient of the Birgit Nilsson Prize, chosen by Nilsson herself. Yet the announcement was not made until February 2009, three years after Birgit Nilsson’s death and 40 years after her first collaboration with Domingo, performing Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. “Plácido Domingo’s worldwide career is legendary - singing 130 different roles, more than any other tenor in history” commented, Rutbert Reisch, President of the Birgit Nilsson Foundation. “His musicality is confirmed by…