Camilla Tilling leads the Birgit Nilsson Master Class 2025
Camilla Tilling trained as a singing teacher but instead took a “detour” and became a great soprano favorite with conductors, audiences and critics. But – in the middle of an international career, this summer she gets to show off her pedagogical skills and train the next generation of singers at a Master class in front of an audience during the Birgit Nilsson Festival.
After Camilla started the festival week as a guest in the program series Music & meetings at the Birgit Nilsson Museum, she enters the stage as a course leader for this year’s Birgit Nilsson Master class at the cultural center Ravinen in Norrviken.
Camilla Tilling is really looking forward to leading a singing course in Birgit’s home region:
* • What could be better and more enriching than meetings with a focus on singing on the beautiful Bjäre Peninsula. Besides singing, gardening is my great interest. And why not ask the course participants to bring a song that connects to the environment…
By her side, she has the pianists Annika Bjelk and Jacob Lidåkra. New for this year will be scenic design under the direction of Katarina Sörenson. The four-day course ends with the students getting to show off their skills at a concert at Ravinen. All arranged in collaboration with Birgit Nilsson Society, Birgit Nilsson Foundation and Birgit Nilsson Museum.
Camilla Tilling comes from Linköping, trained as a singing teacher in Örebro and as a soloist at the University of Opera in Gothenburg and the Royal College of Music in London.
The summer’s Birgit Nilsson Festival (August 3-9) has been expanded and further developed compared to previous years’ Birgit Nilsson days. More than 20 events at various venues – in addition to the Master class, the museum presents an extensive program as well as a 2025 exhibition on the theme of the Homeland, a scholarship award and a concert in Västra Karup’s church. As a finale, the festival week gets a grand end with Verdi’s opera Aida as an open air concert at the Tennis Stadium in Båstad. More information is published at birgitnilsson.com
4 quick questions for Camilla
Where do you live today?
My family and I have been living in a small village in Switzerland for 17 years. We ended up there when the children were born. The location, in the middle of Europe, has been a good starting point for all the journeys that the song has entailed. The question is whether “Away is good but at home is best” is correct?
What are you doing right now?
I’m in the middle of a series of performances of The Marriage of Figaro at the Royal Opera House. A new production directed by Linus Fellbom, I sing the Countess.
What do you want to convey when you teach?
I want to inspire and help find the core – a balanced and equalized voice that can clarify the text. But really, I tend to think of the word “Fall Sown”, I want to put a seed, that I believe in, in the soil and then wait and see if it sprouts in the spring… and can be of use to the student.
Your relationship with Birgit?
I never got to meet Birgit but, like her, I grew up on a farm and besides, my birthday is almost on the 17th of May… I waited one more day before I came out. When you enter the stage from the conductor’s side at the Stockholm Opera, the fine portrait of Birgit as Turandot greets you. Very inspiring!
Birgit Nilsson festival 3-9 August
https://www.birgitnilsson.com
For interviews, photos or further information, contact Elisabeth Boström at the Birgit Nilsson Museum tel. +46 70-5780517
masterclass@birgitnilsson.com