QUICK TAKES - Feb. 21, 2009
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo on Friday won the first $1-million Birgit Nilsson Prize for his “unrivaled” contributions to the world of opera, the award foundation said.
The late Swedish soprano picked Domingo as the winner of the inaugural award -- billed as the biggest prize in classical music -- before her death in 2005. Prize officials said the name had been kept secret for nearly a decade.
Nilsson, considered one of the greatest Wagnerian sopranos, sang with Domingo several times, the foundation said.
“She wanted to honor one of the greatest opera singers of all time, whose contributions to the world of opera and concert are unrivaled,” said Rutbert Reisch, president of the Birgit Nilsson Foundation.
Domingo, who is general director of Los Angeles Opera, returned the admiration.
“Birgit personified musical excellence, and that’s why she was a role model for me even before we sang together,” Domingo said in a statement.
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