Seattle Opera General Director Speight Jenkins was a member of a five-nation jury that awarded the 2011 Birgit Nilsson Prize last week. The international panel, including representatives from Austria, Germany, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom, was selected to choose a currently active singer or conductor for excellence and major contributions in opera.
Jenkins’ friendship with Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson and his commitment to the works of Wagner, who Nilsson performed to much acclaim in her career as an opera singer, are some of the reasons he was chosen, said Seattle Opera spokesperson Tamara Vallejos in an e-mail. Jenkins has been the general director of the Seattle Opera since 1983.
The prize of $1 million, the largest amount ever given in the history of classical music, will be awarded to Italian conductor Riccardo Muti at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, Sweeden October 13, according to the Birgit Nilsson Foundation.
This is the second time the international Birgit Nilsson Prize has been awarded, the first being in 2009. The prize is awarded every 2-3 years.
From the Birgit Nilsson press release:
The philosophy behind the Birgit Nilsson Prize is to perpetuate the legacy of Ms. Nilsson and Sweden’s great operatic tradition by paying tribute to today’s legendary, active figures in music, recognizing the excellence of their work and their major contributions.