Manon: Instant charmant ... En fermant les yeux (1938)
Manon: Je suis seul! ... Ah! fuyez, douce image (1945)
Cavalleria Rusticana: O Lola (1948)
Cavalleria Rusticana: Mamma! ... Quel vino (1944)
Pagliacci: Recitar! ... Vesti la giubba (1944)
Fedora: Amor ti vieta (1944)
Manon Lescaut: Donna non vidi mai (1948)
La Boheme: Che gelida manina (1936)
TOSCA: Recondia armonia (1936)
E lucevan le stelle (1937) - Puccini
Turnadot: Nessun dorma (1944)
Jussi Björling was one of the strongest and steeliest lyric tenors of the 20th century, as famous for his Rodolfo in La Boheme as he was for his Calaf in Turandot. This superbly engineered survey of his early career t... more »akes us from 1936 to 1948, and covers, for the most part, his standard repertoire of French and Italian music--extracts from Aida and from Faust, and from both Massenet's Manon and Puccini's Manon Lescaut. He was a singer equally at home with the elegances of bel canto and with the passionate sorrows of verismo--he is particularly fine in "Vesti la guibbia" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Björling was always going to have to struggle to make this repertoire his own--much of his early audience had heard Caruso. What Björling brought to his roles was a superb theatricality and a capacity for thoughtful passion; amid the lyricism, you also always remembered that his heroes were for the most part tough guys. --Roz Kaveney« less
Jussi Björling was one of the strongest and steeliest lyric tenors of the 20th century, as famous for his Rodolfo in La Boheme as he was for his Calaf in Turandot. This superbly engineered survey of his early career takes us from 1936 to 1948, and covers, for the most part, his standard repertoire of French and Italian music--extracts from Aida and from Faust, and from both Massenet's Manon and Puccini's Manon Lescaut. He was a singer equally at home with the elegances of bel canto and with the passionate sorrows of verismo--he is particularly fine in "Vesti la guibbia" from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Björling was always going to have to struggle to make this repertoire his own--much of his early audience had heard Caruso. What Björling brought to his roles was a superb theatricality and a capacity for thoughtful passion; amid the lyricism, you also always remembered that his heroes were for the most part tough guys. --Roz Kaveney
CD Reviews
The most beautiful sound in the world.
John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 01/31/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bjorling began recording arias from the Italian and French repertory, in their original language, in 1936. At the age of 25 he had just launched his international career. These records immediately became best sellers, they have been reissued countless times since, and now they feature on this budget-priced CD from Naxos, in restorations engineered by Mark Obert-Thorn - no less. All recordings were made between 1936 and 1948 in the same venue in Stockholm. The conductor was always Nils Grevillius, a compatriot who judged Bjorling's voice to be "the most beautiful sound in the world". I too had a similar thought when I heard Bjorling sing in London. It was Bjorling who top-scored in a recent survey conducted amongst a panel of music critics who were asked, "Which singers of the C20th do you think best deserve to be remembered?" When I add that the singing in the last track, "Nessun dorma" is some of the most thrilling I have ever heard, you will have more than enough reasons for adding this to your trolley."
Bjorling's voice shines in this outstanding remastering
pm444 | Okemos, MI USA | 12/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jussi Bjorling was one of the greatest tenors of the last century; many would place him in the top three, along with Caruso and Gigli. This CD contains some of the most familiar arias of the Italian and French repertoire, all sung with a style and controlled passion that was Bjorling's hallmark. These recordings are from the 1930s and 40s, but the sound is remarkably good for that time. I have an earlier EMI remastering of most of these same recordings, but the sound on Naxos is so far superior that there's really no comparison. The engineer eliminated the worst of the surface noise, but did nothing to restrict the high end, so that the listener can hear this wonderful voice in all its beauty. There's an excellent 2-CD Bjorling set on RCA/BMG, made from different masters with better sonics, but these earlier recordings captured his voice at a younger age and are indispensible. Naxos's super-bargain price should convince any wavering Bjorling fan who already owns the EMI versions of these recordings."
Rational remastering
Susan Flaster | Charleston, SC United States | 02/24/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Although most collectors will have multiple versions of the selections on this CD, what makes it special is the way in which the remastering has been done. According to the engineer in charge, only the "de-clicking" module has been used, rather than the full complement of "de-noising" technology. The result is a little more noise than we're used to on recent issues ( such as the EMI 4-disk set), but a whole lot more of the voice than usual. I heard much more "fullness" of the voice, particularly in the middle and upper registers.If there's a flaw, it's that the orchestral bass seems a bit heavy and out of balance on a few of the cuts, but this is a marvelous record and gives us a great hearing of Bjorling's rather early and most brilliant singing."
Bravo Bjorling!
katia38 | usa | 01/11/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a member of the first generation of opera lover's to know Bjorling's voice only by recordings I urge everyone to treat themselves to this. The power, accuracy and youthful sparkle of his voice are gloriously evident on this remaster. Think of Pavorotti, Corelli and the other Mediterranian masters as sunshine, with warm undertones i think of Jussi's voice as moonlight, cool undertones of the North. Knowing of his struggles with depression and/or alcoholism makes the sound even more poignant. The opera world lost a treasure far too soon."
Best of bjorling
Susan Flaster | 07/20/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"bjorling was in his prime in the 1940's, when most of these arias were recorded. the top register was still warm and full, and had no sign of the hardening that started to creep into his voice in the 50's. so these are truly the 'best of', sound quality notwithstanding. naxos has done an excellent job remastering these tracks. at this price, this is a must have for fans of good singing."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1