The 2011 recipient was chosen by an international panel of five operatic experts from the major countries where Birgit Nilsson was most active during her career. The distinguished panel, who are appointed by and work with the Foundation’s board, serve for a period of three years. Currently, they are:

• Austria: Clemens Hellsberg, President of the Vienna Philharmonic
• Germany: Eva Wagner-Pasquier, Co-Director of the Bayreuth Festival
• Sweden: Bengt Hall, Managing Director of the Malmö Opera, and former General Manager of the Royal Swedish Opera Stockholm
• United Kingdom: Rupert Christiansen, Opera Critic of the Daily Telegraph and Member of the OPERA Editorial Board
• USA: Speight Jenkins, General Director of the Seattle Opera