FESTIVAL D’AIX RECEIVES THE BIRGIT NILSSON PRIZE 2025 IN STOCKHOLM
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On Tuesday, October 21, the Festival d’Aix was honored to officially receive the Birgit Nilsson Prize, the world’s most prestigious award in classical music, during an exceptional musical evening in Stockholm. The event was attended by renowned international guests and artists. At the official ceremony, His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf presented the Prize to Sophie Joissains, Mayor of Aix-en-Provence, and Paul Hermelin, Chairman of the Board of the Festival.
The Festival d’Aix-en-Provence was honoured with the Birgit Nilsson Prize 2025 for its artistic achievements and commitment to developing new opera productions, with special recognition for the 2021 world premiere of Innocence, with music by Kaija Saariaho and original libretto by Sofi Oksanen.
[…] The Birgit Nilsson Stiftelsen is convinced that opera has an important role to play in our time, adding new perspectives and inviting us to both personal and collective experiences. Throughout it’s 77-year-long existence, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence has provided exactly this, creating experiences with strong impact on both artists and audiences.
Susanne Rydén, President of the Birgit Nilsson Stiftelsen
The accompanying musical Gala was led by conductor Susanna Mälkki and featured the Royal Swedish Philharmonic, Royal Swedish Opera Choir, court singers Peter Mattei and Daniel Johansson, and young rising Swedish star soprano Matilda Sterby, recipient of last year’s Birgit Nilsson Stipendium. The ceremony was streamed live from Konserthuset Stockholm and is available to watch worldwide on Konserthuset Play for 30 days.
For the celebrations Sofi Oksanen was joined by Sir George Benjamin and Klaus Mäkelä in a special press talk about the artists’ indvidual experiences collaborating with the Festival on premieres ranging from Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, Sir George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, and Picture a day like this and Stravinsky’s Ballet Russes.
