Johan Jonatan "Jussi"Björling (/ˈjuːsiˈbjɔːrlɪŋ/YOO-seeBYOR-ling,Swedish:[ˈjɵ̌sːɪˈbjœ̂ːɭɪŋ]; 5 February 1911[1] – 9 September 1960) was a Swedishtenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequently at the major European opera houses, including theRoyal Opera House in London andLa Scala in Milan. He sang the Italian, French and Russian opera repertory with taste.[2]
Björling was ranked the greatest singer of the 20th century by a poll of music critics inClassic CD magazine (UK) in July 1999.[3]
Björling (surname also spelled as "Bjoerling" and "Bjorling" in English-language sources) was born in Stora Tuna,Borlänge,Dalarna, Sweden, in February 1911. The midwife's register shows he was born on 5 February, but the church baptism records erroneously show 2 February, and that was the day on which he celebrated his birthday throughout his whole life.[1] He was known throughout his life by the name Jussi, which he received as a child from his Finnish-born grandmother (Henrika Matilda Björling née Lönnqvist, b. 1844 Pori, d. 1918 Borlänge). His father, David, was an accomplished singer and the first teacher of Jussi and his two brothers, Olle and Gösta, who also went on to become professional singers. He also performed with his sons asBjörlingkvartetten or theBjörling Male Quartet. Jussi made his debut public appearance at five years of age.[4] The group performed in concerts throughout Sweden and the United States for11+1⁄2 years. David Björling died in 1926, leading to the disbandment of the quartet and, as a consequence, Jussi Björling found work as a lamp salesman inYstad. In 1928, Björling made his radio debut. In the same year, he auditioned forJohn Forsell, and was admitted to the Opera School and theRoyal Swedish Academy of Music.
Björling made his first stage appearance in the small part as the Lamplighter inManon Lescaut at theRoyal Swedish Opera on 21 July 1930. This was soon followed by his official debut role as Don Ottavio inMozart'sDon Giovanni on 20 August 1930, with his teacherJohn Forsell as the protagonist. His other two official debut roles followed; Arnold in Rossini'sWilliam Tell on 27 December, and Jonatan inSaul og David byCarl Nielsen on 13 January 1931. This led to a contract with theRoyal Swedish Opera, where Björling added 53 parts up to 1938. Among the roles he was entrusted was Erik inDer fliegende Holländer, Almaviva inThe Barber of Seville, Duca inRigoletto,Wilhelm Meister inMignon,Faust, Vasco Da Gama inL'Africaine, Rodolfo inLa bohème withHjördis Schymberg, Tonio inLa fille du régiment, Florestan inFidelio and Belmonte inDie Entführung aus dem Serail. He was the first Swedish Dick Johnson inLa fanciulla del West, Luigi inIl tabarro, Elemer inArabella and Vladimir inPrince Igor, notably performing the part oppositeFeodor Chaliapin in 1935.[5]
In July 1931 he appeared in recital atCopenhagen's Tivoli, his first appearance outside Sweden as an adult.[6] Björling appeared quite frequently as a recitalist, often appearing in summer recitals in Scandinavianfolkparks and tivolis, while confining himself to more serious music during his recital tours abroad. In 1936–1937 he first appeared in recital and opera in Vienna and Prague and also appeared in Berlin, Dresden andNuremberg in operas in Swedish in an otherwise German ensemble. In 1937 Björling made his recital debut in London and his first American tour as an adult. Björling made his American concert debut at theCarnegie Hall in 1937 – also appearing in opera in Chicago that year. On 24 November 1938 he made his debut at theMetropolitan Opera as Rodolfo inLa bohème, where he remained on the roster until 1941, often appearing in opera in San Francisco and Chicago as well.
Björling sang the role of the SwedishKingGustave III inVerdi'sUn ballo in maschera in a new staging, the first to be set in Sweden, at the Metropolitan Opera for the 1940/1941 season.[7]
In December 1940Arturo Toscanini invited Björling to sing the tenor part inBeethoven'sMissa solemnis in New York, a recording of which exists.[8] Björling also performed theVerdi Requiem under Toscanini in 1939 inLucerne, Switzerland, and in November 1940 in New York, another performance that was recorded and eventually issued as anLP andCD.[9]
Björling made his debut at theRoyal Opera House in London in 1939 as Manrico inIl trovatore. The war confined his appearances to Europe. He appeared in opera in Copenhagen, Helsinki and Budapest and made his Italian debut at theTeatro Comunale, Florence, in 1943 inIl trovatore. In 1944 Björling was appointedhovsångare (i.e. "Royal Court Singer") by the Swedish King,Gustaf V.
In 1945 Björling returned to the US and appeared frequently at the Metropolitan Opera. His first performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City following WWII was as theDuke in Verdi'sRigoletto[10] He sang many major tenor roles in operas in the French and Italian repertoire, includingIl trovatore,Rigoletto,Aida,Un ballo in maschera,Cavalleria rusticana,Faust,Roméo et Juliette,La bohème,Madama Butterfly,Tosca andManon Lescaut. He appeared asDon Carlo in the opening of the 1950–1951 season, but the relationship withRudolf Bing was strained, and as a consequence he was absent for a couple of seasons in the mid 1950s. Meanwhile, Björling appeared with other American opera companies such asLyric Opera of Chicago andSan Francisco Opera.
Björling appeared atLa Scala in 1946 inRigoletto and 1951 inUn ballo in maschera. His planned Paris début in 1953 was cancelled, however, and except for recitals in United Kingdom, some performances in Yugoslavia, East Germany and South Africa in 1954, Björling rarely appeared outside Scandinavia and United States.
On 15 March 1960 Björling suffered a heart attack before a performance ofLa Bohème at Covent Garden. He insisted on singing in spite of his condition.[11] Björling then made a short American tour, making his last operatic performance asFaust in San Francisco on 1 April 1960 and his final recital at Skansen, Stockholm, on 20 August 1960 (thirty years to the day after his official debut in 1930). He died of heart-related issues in his sleep on the island ofSiarö [sv], Sweden, on 9 September 1960, aged 49.[12]
In 1951,RCA Victor recorded a series of duets with Björling and baritoneRobert Merrill including a noted performance of "Au fond du temple saint" from the operaThe Pearl Fishers byGeorges Bizet. Among the first complete opera recordings to be issued on LP by RCA Victor was a 1952 studio recording ofIl Trovatore, with Björling,Zinka Milanov andLeonard Warren. In 1953, Björling recorded the roles of Turiddu and Canio in complete versions ofCavalleria Rusticana andPagliacci also for RCA Victor.
In the summer of 1954, Björling recorded Puccini'sManon Lescaut withLicia Albanese and Robert Merrill in Rome for RCA Victor followed byAida opposite Milanov and Warren in 1955. Björling,Victoria de los Ángeles and Merrill, made a widely admired recording of Puccini'sLa Bohème conducted bySir Thomas Beecham in 1956. Björling's 1959EMI recording ofMadama Butterfly, with de los Angeles in the title role and conducted byGabriele Santini, is also widely celebrated. In Victoria de los Angeles's biography by Peter Roberts (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982), de los Angeles noted that "In spite of technical developments, none of the Jussi Björling recordings give you the true sound of his voice. It was a far, far more beautiful voice than you can hear on the recordings he left".
In 1957, Björling, Milanov and Warren made a complete stereo recording ofTosca, for RCA Victor in Rome withErich Leinsdorf conducting. The tenor was awarded the 1959Grammy Award forBest Classical Performance – Vocal Soloist (With Or Without Orchestra) for his RCA Victor recital album,Björling in Opera.
In 1956, Björling appeared in theNBC television anthologyProducers' Showcase in two programs entitledFestival of Music hosted byCharles Laughton, followed byJosé Ferrer. Björling can be seen with sopranoRenata Tebaldi in excerpts fromLa Bohème. BothFestival of Music programs, originally broadcast in color, have since been released on black-and-white kinescopes on DVD.
One of Björling's final recordings was the VerdiRequiem conducted byFritz Reiner for RCA Victor in June, 1960 withLeontyne Price,Rosalind Elias,Giorgio Tozzi, theVienna Philharmonic, and the chorus of theGesellschaft der Musikfreunde.
His 1961 album,Beloved Bjoerling, peaked at No. 142 on the USBillboard Top LPs.[13]
Björling was known as the "SwedishCaruso".[14] His sonRolf Björling [sv] was also a professional tenor and so is his grandsonRaymond Björling [sv].
His widow,Anna-Lisa Björling, published a biography with the cooperation of Andrew Farkas that described Björling as a loving family man and generous colleague. Nevertheless, she did not attempt to hide the destructive influence of Björling'salcoholism.
He is buried in the church cemetery at Stora Tuna, Borlänge, Sweden.
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Gröna Lunds Tivolis Jussi Björling-stipendium (TheGröna Lund Jussi Björling Award) was established in 1963 by the Stockholm amusement park where Björling often sang, for its 80th anniversary.
Jussi Björlings Minnesstipendium (Jussi Björlingstipendiet) was established in 1970 and is administered by Stiftelsen Kungliga Teaterns Solister (The Royal Opera Soloists Foundation) in Stockholm.
The Jussi Björling Recital Hall was dedicated atGustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, in 1970.
The Jussi Björling Tenor Competition took place in Borlänge in 1994. 125 tenors from 38 countries participated and winner was the Chinese Deng Xiao-Jun.
Jussi Björlingmuseet (The Jussi Björling Museum) was opened in Borlänge in 1994.[15]
Björling's name is now used with the prestigious Jussi Björling Music Scholarship atGustavus Adolphus College inSt. Peter, Minnesota.
An archive of nearly all of Björling's recorded performances, photographs, letters, recital and opera programmes, reviews, obituaries, and other items related to his career is maintained at theJacobs School of Music atIndiana University Bloomington.
Luciano Pavarotti, in a 1988 interview for the Swedish daily newspaperSvenska Dagbladet, stated:
When I'm about to train a new opera, I first listen to how Jussi Björling did it. His voice was unique and it's his path that I want to follow. I would more than anything else wish that people compared me with Jussi Björling. That's how I'm striving to sing.[16]
During his lifetime, Björling received many orders, decorations, honorary citizenships and other honours from monarchs, governments and cultural and charity organizations in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Belgium, Greece, Hungary and the US.
Complete works issued on CD
Larger general collections on CD
Selection of special collections and concerts on CD
A complete list of Björling's recordings and their CD and DVD issues is available on the Jussi Björling Museum's website.[18]
A spokesman for Mr Björling said 'I think he had a minor heart attack.'...'But being told that the Queen Mother was in the audience gave him an extra fillip and he sang the role.'
Jussi Bjoerling, called the "Swedish Caruso," is only 27, sang in U.S. music halls at the age of 10.
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