Jussi Björling radio interview from 1958

The great Swedish tenor in an American radio interview from 1958. I believe the host is Alan Wagner, who would later become the president of the Disney Channel.

Many thanks to my friend for this recording!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Jussi
• Björling
• Bjorling
• Bjoerling
• Radio
• Interview
• Tenor
• Opera
• 1958

[Cantormatis]

I SO wish he had sung Faust and Romeo on record. And so, I wish he had been well enough to record that Ballo. Unfortunately he was already quite ill and was unable to finish the recording.

[VinylToVideo]

@Cantormatis I think I have a complete recording with him singing Romeo?

[Cantormatis]

@VinylToVideo I know there is a bootleg recording of him doing Faust from the Met in 1959 (I have it) which is okay, and a Romeo from 1948(?) also from the Met. Both are recordings from the broadcasts. I was referring to commercial studio recordings. In fact I am not sure JB even recorded Ah leve toi soleil commercially...?

[VinylToVideo]

@Cantormatis The only recording I have of the opera a is February 1, 1947 Met broadcast. I greatly prefer broadcasts to studio recordings, which I don't often listen to.

[ideale123]

Lol, Mr. Bjorling is so unfussy and direct to the point. Even his speaking voice is beautiful ).Fascinating post, thanks for sharing.

[fernhill36]

What a wonderful memory of that great tenor. For anyone interested, I instantly recognized the voice of the interviewer as Alan Wagner, who had a program here in New York called"Living Opera" on WNYC. He is still alive and active in the opera world and appeared on the Met Opera quiz recently.

[Threedeehoo]

I can't believe Jussi passed only two years after this... so sad.

[SHICOFF1]

@cantormatis He did record the Romeo aria commercially in the 40's and the met. Romeo was in 1947 and available, was with Sayo. The met recently played it on Sirius network and in better sound then the ones available. I think he was more a lyric spinto then a spinto and early he was a lyric not a spinto.

[MrSwifts31]

It is so sad,that despite all his future plans,he would leave this earth just two years after this interview.

[Kotlettbengt]

@tenornmd Precisely what I was thinking!

[tenornmd]

For those who say that you can tell a voice category by listening to a speaking voice, I'd like to play this video.

[ellandelachapelle]

I´m not that spinto hahaha! (very few understood that.) Amazing to hear him speak English. Very good at it too! (even able to joke.) Of course he sang in Swedish operas that none of you non-Swedes have ever heard! How about the famous aria "Vad skall jag sjunga, o drottning, befall!" (What shall I sing, oh Queen, just demand.)

[RonaldBarone]

is my impression or was him a very shy man

[madisonelectronic]

@fernhill36 Sorry the man passed in Dec. 2007.

[Cantormatis]

@VinylToVideo True, Bjoerling was given to a far more impassioned performance live, to be sure. But the sound quality of the 1947 performance (yeah, that is the one I have, with Sayo) leaves much to be desired, even with the great singing.