Editing Birgit Nilsson (section)

=== From the 1960s through to the 1980s ===
Nilsson was widely known as the leading [[Wagnerian]] [[soprano]] of her time, the successor to the great Norwegian soprano [[Kirsten Flagstad]], particularly as Brünnhilde. However, she also sang many of the other famous soprano roles, among them [[Fidelio|Leonore]], [[Aida]], [[Turandot]], [[Tosca]], [[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]], and [[Salome (opera)|Salome]]. She had, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'', a "voice of impeccable trueness and impregnable stamina".

The conductor [[Erich Leinsdorf]] thought that her longevity, like Flagstad's, had something to do with her [[Scandinavia]]n heritage, remarking that Wagner required "thoughtful, patient and methodical people." Nilsson attributed her long career to no particular lifestyle or regimen. "I do nothing special", she once said. "I don't smoke. I drink a little wine and beer. I was born with the right set of parents."

In sheer power, her high notes were sometimes compared to those of the [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] belter [[Ethel Merman]]. However Nilsson claims her "explosive" high notes that were her biggest asset on-stage "have not been recorded like they should have been" in the studio. She later lamented: "It always made me a little bit sad when I heard my own recordings. And many people told me that I sang much better in person than I do on the recordings! That didn't flatter me at all, because I know what's going to be left when I am no longer singing".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bruceduffie.com/nilsson.html|title=Birgit Nilsson Interview with Bruce Duffie}}</ref>

Twice at the Met, Nilsson sustained injuries that kept her from performing. In February 1971, she sprained her ankle during a performance of ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' that resulted in cancellation of one performance (that was replaced by a historic performance of ''Fidelio'' starring [[Christa Ludwig]]). Nilsson recovered to sing the broadcast performance of ''Elektra'' on 27 February. More seriously, in March 1974 she fell and dislocated her shoulder during a rehearsal of ''[[Götterdämmerung]]''.<ref name="Injury at the Met">{{cite news |title=Wagnerian Soprano Injured |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4831500/wagnerian_soprano_injured/|newspaper=[[The Robesonian]]|location=Lumberton, North Carolina|date=5 March 1974 |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=4 April 2016}} {{Open access}}</ref> While recuperating in her hospital room at Roosevelt Hospital she said, "other than my bruises and my black and blues I feel fine".<ref name="Injury at the Met" /> Although able to sing Brünnhilde for the first two performances with her arm in a sling, her injury caused her to miss subsequent performances, including that season's ''[[Götterdämmerung]]'' broadcast. ''[[The New York Times]]''' review of the production's 8 March opening night is reprinted in the [[Metropolitan Opera|Metropolitan Opera Archives]].