Soprano Christina Nilsson: 'I have not lived a minute without grief'

Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson is currently navigating a demanding summer, performing the role of Elisabeth in Richard Wagner's opera "Tannhäuser" at the Zurich Opera House. The intense heatwave gripping Central Europe has added an extra layer of challenge, with temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

"When you get this warm and heavy, you feel it in your voice too," Nilsson explained over the phone. "Fortunately, they have air conditioning at the opera house, but you have to drink a lot of water and avoid the sun entirely."

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When you get this warm and heavy, you feel it in your voice too. Fortunately, they have air conditioning at the opera house, but you have to drink a lot of water and avoid the sun entirely.

Nilsson described her character, Elisabeth, as someone who, for most of the opera, appears "frozen and stiffened in the men's icy gazes." She elaborated on the character's arc, noting a moment of release during her aria before returning to a state of paralysis due to "pain."

Born in Ystad, Sweden, in 1990, Nilsson's journey to becoming a world-renowned opera singer began with a childhood fascination with Disney's "Sleeping Beauty." The portrayal of a "petrified woman" in the film sparked a musical dream that led her to prestigious institutions like Lilla Akademien and the Operahögskolan in Stockholm. Her career has since taken her to major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She was appointed a court singer by the King of Sweden in 2025.

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When the opera begins, I look like a statue on stage. Then, in the middle of the choir in my aria, she breaks free. Afterwards, Tannhäuser returns and she gets more love, but then... well, he fucks up, and she returns to a statue again because she cannot take the pain.