Birgit Nilsson, the dominant Wagnerian soprano of the post-World War II period, whose unforced, voluminous sound, superhuman stamina and steely vocal brilliance thrilled audiences as she took on the ...

The Met, Bayreuth, and all the other great opera houses of the world fell over themselves to acquire stakes in her special incandescence, but she always returned to her home region. Her parents’ ...

Birgit Nilsson, who has died aged 87, was considered to be the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her day; she had a rock-solid technique and a voice of such soaring, unforced power that it was able to cut ...