The Greatest Voice Ever?

A child prodigy, Björling was part of a family quartet which toured Sweden from 1922. He evolved into a solo artist, singing mainly in Scandinavia, but also in England and the US. His first international adult concert was in Copenhagen in 1931. He became equally beloved in Denmark. During WW2, being Swedish made him a 'neutral', so he continued to perform in Denmark, to rapturous reception. In 1945, he was one of the first Europeans to perform in the US. Many of his performances were recorded, but little from Denmark seemed to survive. That was until his very last Danish appearance - the 1959 concert featured here - was recently found Björling appeared eight times on The Voice of Firestone show, this being the last. He is in fine form - his sincerity and artistry evident.OPERA NEWS commented:'Eileen Farrel once said that when she was singing in Il Trovatore opposite Jussi Björling the sound that came out of him was so beautiful that she stood dumbstruck just listening to him, missing one cue after another. Back in 1999, Opera News ran a cover-story survey by Ira Siff, who posed the question 'What's the Greatest Voice You Ever Heard'' to a wide range of celebrated singers. Richard Leech, Blanche Thebom and Elizabeth Soderstrom, among others, named Björling. If I were to choose the most purely beautiful tenor singing I have heard, I might well vote for Björling's 'Instant charmant ....En fermant les jeux,' from Manon, one of the many intoxicating moments on the recording of his September 24 1955 Carnegie Hall recital. Now the Jussi Björling Society USA unveils an undiscovered Björling treasure - a Copenhagen recital from October 15, 1959. According to Sue Plaster, speaking on behalf of the Society, the recording brought to light by British collector John Haley, has just been released on the JSP label, with the engineering entrusted to the estimable Seth B. Winner and CD booklet essays by Harald Henrysson and Opera News contributor Stephen Hastings.'

Additional Details

Label: JSP Records

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 04/29/16

UPC: 788065680220