Editing Birgit Nilsson (section)

=== International engagements ===
[[File:Bnilssonlmacbeth.jpg|thumb|left|Nilsson as Lady Macbeth in the opera by Verdi at the [[Royal Swedish Opera]], Stockholm, 1947]]

Under [[Fritz Busch]]'s tutelage, her career took wing. He was instrumental in securing her first important engagement outside Sweden, as [[Electra]] in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[Idomeneo]]'' at the [[Glyndebourne Festival]] in 1951. Her debut at the [[Vienna State Opera]] in 1953 was a turning point; she would be a regular performer there for more than 25 years. It was followed by Elsa in [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s
''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' at the [[Bayreuth Festival]] in 1954, then her first Brünnhilde in a complete ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]'' at the [[Bavarian State Opera]], at the [[Munich Opera Festival]] of 1954. Later she returned as Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, and Isolde until 1969.

She took the title role of ''[[Turandot]]'', which is brief but requires an unusually big sound, to [[La Scala]] in Milan in 1958, and then to the rest of Italy. Nilsson made her American debut as Brünnhilde in Wagner's ''[[Die Walküre]]'' in 1956 with the [[San Francisco Opera]]. She attained international stardom after a performance as [[Tristan und Isolde|Isolde]] at the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in New York City in 1959, which made front-page news. She said that the single biggest event in her life was being asked to perform at the opening of the 180th season at La Scala as Turandot in 1958. She performed at many major opera houses in the world including [[Vienna]], Berlin, the [[Royal Opera House]] at [[Covent Garden]], Tokyo, Paris, [[Buenos Aires]], Chicago, and [[Hamburg]].

She sang with the [[Sydney Symphony Orchestra]] in the all-Wagner concert that opened the Concert Hall of the [[Sydney Opera House]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://aso.gov.au/titles/music/sydney-opera-house-opening/ |title=Sydney Opera House Opening Concert. |date=29 October 1973 |access-date=6 August 2012}}</ref>