STOCKHOLM — Some of the world’s most influential artists gathered on Oct. 22 at Konserthuset Stockholm for the official Birgit Nilsson Prize ceremony honoring its 2025 recipient — the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The prize recognized the festival for its artistic achievements and commitment to developing new opera productions, with particular praise for the 2021 world premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, with a libretto by Sofi Oksanen.
The triennial Birgit Nilsson Prize, often called “the Nobel Prize of classical music,” honors outstanding achievement in classical performance. It shares more than a national heritage with the Nobel distinction: There is no formal nomination process, the winner is chosen by a committee, and the prize carries a value of one million dollars. This year’s decision to award an institution rather than an individual marks a second in the foundation’s 25-year history: The Vienna Philharmonic, with which Nilsson appeared many times, received the honor in 2014. Previous laureates include Plácido Domingo (chosen by Nilsson herself), Riccardo Muti, Nina Stemme, and Yo-Yo Ma.
The award is part of a larger legacy endowment conceived by the late dramatic soprano (1918-2005) for whom it is named. Her searing portrayals of Salome, Turandot, Brünnhilde, and Isolde defined her era on the world’s leading opera stages.
For the Birgit Nilsson Foundation and its president, Susanne Rydén, the task of stewardship is “a gift of responsibility and care” — not only to preserve Nilsson’s contributions for future generations but also to sustain the humanitarian spirit of the arts she championed through her instigations of master classes for young singers and the care for her place and her community in her birthplace of Västra Karup in southern Sweden.
Before the ceremony, I spoke with Rydén, herself a former soprano and now executive and artistic director of Konserthuset Stockholm, about what “legacy” means in this context. There is no direct equivalent in Swedish to the English word; the closest, arv, aligns more closely with “heritage.” It stems from the old expression arvsilve, meaning “inherited silver” — used for family heirlooms believed to hold a touch of magic or ancestral spirit. At the prize-giving ceremony, there was no doubt that the same magic — the enduring spirit of Nilsson’s vision — hovered in the room.
King Carl XVI Gustaf presented the prize to Sophie Joissains, mayor of Aix-en-Provence, and Paul Hermelin, chairman of the festival’s board. The accompanying gala, led by conductor Susanna Mälkki, featured the Royal Swedish Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus, baritone Peter Mattei, tenor Daniel Johansson, and rising soprano Matilda Sterby, recipient of the 2024 Birgit Nilsson Stipendium.
As master of ceremonies, Rydén spoke passionately about the 2025 laureate: “The Birgit Nilsson Stiftelsen is convinced that opera has an important role to play in our time — adding new perspectives and inviting both personal and collective experiences. Throughout its 77-year existence, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has done precisely that.”
British composer George Benjamin, whose opera Written on Skin (with librettist Martin Crimp) premiered at Aix in 2012, was among the evening’s distinguished speakers. “To put it simply,” he said, “the experience of collaborating with Aix is akin to operatic paradise. From the very first moment of inception until the world premiere itself — a period of five to six years — I can recall nothing except for the most wonderful support at every instant.”
The night’s celebration also carried a note of poignancy, as the audience paid tribute to Pierre Audi, the festival’s visionary general director, whose sudden death earlier in 2025 this year marked a profound loss for the operatic world. Librettist and opera director Ted Huffman recently was announced as his successor and will begin his role in January 2026. He will honor Audi’s 2026 programming and will inherit some of Audi’s 2027 vision. The 2026 program will be announced on Dec. 6.
The evening’s music-making was as eloquent as the speeches — curated with nuance, relevance, and a sense of intergenerational legacy. Mattei, who made his international breakthrough in 1998 as Don Giovanni in Peter Brook’s production at Aix, offered a suave, silk-gloved rendition of the famous “Serenade.” The luminous Sterby brought openhearted clarity and emotional conviction to the Act V wedding aria from Saariaho’s Innocence. For the finale, Mattei and Sterby were joined by tenor Johansson — another Nilsson Stipendium laureate (2009) — in a powerful rendering of the Tannhäuser Act III finale. Throughout, Mälkki, who also conducted the world premiere of Innocence at Aix, led the Royal Swedish Philharmonic with elegant precision.
It was a night that reminded us of that music, and this award, can lift us — if only for a moment of inherited silver and magic. This is the Birgit Nilsson legacy.
The ceremony was streamed live from Konserthuset Stockholm and is available worldwide on Konserthuset Play until Nov. 21.
