The 2023 Birgit Nilsson Days will culminate in a gala performance of “Tosca in concert” at the Birgit Nilsson Museum on 12 August. The weeklong programme opens with a Master Class and concert, both presented publically at Ravinen cultural centre in Båstad, followed by the 2023 Birgit Nilsson Stipendium laureate recital at Västra Karup Church. 

The large outdoor performance of “Tosca in Concert” – on Birgit’s field – features international star soloists such as Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Fabiano and court singer John Lundgren in leading roles. In addition, the well-respected opera singers Anton Ljungqvist, Fredrik Zetterström, Rickard Söderberg and Anders Lorentzson as well as the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and a large choir from the Bjäre Peninsula – all under the direction of maestro Pier Giorgio Morandi, one of the world’s leading experts in Italian opera.

Puccini’s Tosca was one of the operatic roles that Birgit – and her audience – loved most. She sang her first Tosca at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1951 and went on to perform the role alongside Jussi Björling, Beniamino Gigli, Franco Corelli and, later, Placido Domingo, who was the recipient of the first Birgit Nilsson Prize in 2009. 

Puccini is also the theme of the new exhibition at the Birgit Nilsson Museum, which opens on 27 June and is entitled “Puccini, passion and art” – in keeping with Tosca’s showpiece aria “Vissi d’arte” (“I lived for art”). 

A four-day Master Class will conclude with the students’ concert, held once more in the Birgit Nilsson Hall at the Ravinen Cultural Centre in Båstad. The programme this year includes concert and lieder repertoire.

The laureate of the 2023 Birgit Nilsson Stipendium will be announced on May 17, Birgit’s birthday. First awarded in 1973, this will be the fifth consecutive year that the Stipendium has been presented during the Birgit Nilsson Days.

Birgit Nilsson Days 6-12 August 2023:   

Master Class in the Birgit Nilsson Hall, Ravinen in Båstad, 6-9 August at 11-16.30

Master Class concert in the Birgit Nilsson Hall, Ravinen, 10 August at 18:00

Stipendium presentation and laureate recital in Västra Karup Church, 11 August at 6 pm

Gala concert at the Birgit Nilsson Museum, 12 August at 6 pm

Tickets:

https://www.juliusbiljettservice.se/events/1146

Press contact: Torbjörn Eriksson +46 706 34 43 53