Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Our Honorary Advisors: An Encounter With Neil Shicoff, Mati Zeti-Elboim

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Toward the Jewish Passover Holidays, the Israeli Opera House presented "La Juive" by Halevy. T h is was an obvious choice, since the second act of the opera is dedicated to the "Seder"-the ritual Passover meal which commemorates the flight of the Jews from Egypt (by reading its story and eating "matzot': the unfinished bread taken on the exodus).

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Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

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Memorials At Voxna: We Look Back (And Ahead), Sue Flaster

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

For the last eight years, Stefan Olmars has produced events with terrific organization and splendid music and lectures, and this year's mid-July gathering in Halsingland upheld his very high standards while reaching for a wider focus.

Immortal Performances Ipcd 1003-2: Bjorling's Radiant Romeo At Last In Good Sound, Kristian Krogholm

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The February 1,1947 Romeo et Juliette performance from the Metropolitan Opera has at last surfaced in fresh and good sound and has been released in a fine package from Immortal Performances, with nice texts, information and photos. The improvement from Myto's version is substantial, and the sound is warm and pleasant, and the voices both full and clear.

Naxos, Jussi Bjorling Collection #8: "O Sole Mio", Kristian Krogholm

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

A new great CD from Naxos in the JB Collection with careful restorations and transfers by Stefan Lindstrom, whose reproductions include some surface noise but consequently leave more of Jussi Bjorling's voice. Seldom have the old 78s been transferred to CD with such clarity and total balance, always maintaining Jussi Bjorling's voice in absolute focus. Mr. Lindstrom is always faithful to the actual sound of the source, never trying to create anything other than what is on the original recording, thus obtaining a more truthful result.

Movies With Jb Sound Recordings, Harald Henrysson

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Movies with JB sound recordings

• 40 Days and 40 Nights (4fijours et 40 nuits) Michael Lehmann, USA 2Q02: Recondita armonia
• Aria, Ken Russell (in segment with JB), USA 1987: Nessun dorma {240)
• and more

Jan-Olof Damberg: The New Curator Steps Up

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Jan-Olof has been a considerable presence in our lives and in the life of the JB Museum for the last six years. Every Summer he has joined Harald in greeting visitors, responding to email, making presentations and managing the many administrative chores of a small museum. During the more financially flush years of the past, Jan-Olaf was often joined in the Summer by the extremely tall Roger Alderstrand ( discoverer of an enormous number of performances by the young Bjorling boys in the Swedish hinterlands), but at the end, it is Jan-Olof who is putting his DNA into the Museum. …

2011 Update And Membership Renewal, Sue Flaster

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

A s of this writing, activities and events for the centennial year of 2011 are collecting in a satisfying way, even if some things do remain uncertain: the Royal Swedish Opera is planning a memorial concert to take place in Stockholm on 2 September 2011; the critical assessment by Stephen Hastings, which we are all looking forward to, should be out in the late Fall of 2010, and a major photographic book should appear at the same time; at least one film appears to be on the way in Sweden; the City of Borlange is planning a memorial concert for …

Harald Henrysson Retires

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The Jussi Bjorling Museum was established nearly 15 years ago. It was built on the foundation of a small(er) local collection, the gifts and depositions of the Bjorling family and the Royal Swedish Opera , as well as contributions of many sorts from Bjorling admirers all over the world.

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Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

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Of The Great Voices Of The Past Century, Which Does The Public Most Want To Hear?, John Steane

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

More or less everything, it seems, is now "historical" if it dates back beyond the day before yesterday. At least it won't be long before 100 years of recording will be seen as falling under that heading. A hundred years, among other things, of singing voices. And if the recent lists are any indication, whom from out of that century of singers does the general public most want to hear? The name that leads all the rest, by some distance, is Jussi Bjorling. The edition on Naxos reaches its seventh volume, a collection of songs is published on one label …

Heidi Melton Update

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Heidi Melton, whom we heard at the July, 2008 commemorative concert in Voxna, Sweden (see newsletter number 14, November, 2008), has recently won the George London Foundation Awards Competition. Described by the NY Times as "one of the most prestigious contests for promising young singes (35 and under) in North America;' the award carries a prize of $ 10,000 to the top s ix contestants, and $1,000 to eight others. There were 26 finalists in the competition held March 20th, 2009 in the Morgan Library.

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Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Members of the Jussi Bjorling Society-USA can order the WHRA Don Carlo from the JB Museum via email for the bargain postage-included price of $42 and then pay via JBS-USA using a US bank check or Paypal: email your order and postal address to Jan-Olof Damberg at jussibjorlingmuseet@borlange. Then s end your check to Treasurer Art Skantz at 8317 W, Franklin Ave., St Loui s Park, MN 55426, USA (or, for Paypal, via [email protected]).

A New 1950 Don Carlo, Masterfully Remastered, Dan Shea

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Jussi Bjorling took on his last n ew stage role, Don Carlo, to help open the Met's first season with Rudolph Bi ng as manager. At the November 6, 1950, premiere -which was telecast- and again for the radio broadcast five days later, Bjorling was at the top of his form vocally and interpretively, steadily producing bright, vividly- colored tones in an impassioned portrayal of his character. It's another state-of-grace performance worthy to stand next to his famous 1940 and 1947 broadcasts as Romeo and his 1956 broadcast as des Grieux in Manon Lescaut.

Jussi's Visit To Charleston A Triumph, Ward Murray

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Had Jussi ever performed in Charleston, SC, that would most assuredly have been the local headline! Nearly fifty years after his death, a large contingent of JBS members descended upon this jewel of the South for a weekend conference that celebrated his life, legacy, and repertoire, as well as a strong Swedish connection to this port city dating back to the ante-bellum period and extending to the present day.

Editors' Note

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

This issue is largely devoted to the recent JBS Conference in Charleston, SC. As you will read, the presenters were as varied as their subjects, and we managed to cover a good deal of ground, both Jussicological and otherwise. Ward Murray has written an evocative and personal narrative, and we are able to accompany that with entertaining pictures thanks to David and Vivienne Hill and Ward himself.

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Notes On Being "Professional", Roger Horn

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

I have no idea who Ada may have been, but that is how I have felt about music-performance for many a year. At one time I was playing the tuba in the Mecca Temp le Band, which met in a church basement in Greenwich Village. One night I found myself with a very well known player (las t name was Black, I think) who was counted a considerable success. He had played the whole run of South Pacific and had lots of other work. During a break he said to me, " I don't know who you are, Horn, but …

Record Review: Aida, Naxos 8.111042-44, 3 Cd's, Stephen Hastings

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Perlea's Aida, recorded in July 1955, is not especially charged with electricity, yet it has some musical gems of great value, among them the Judgment Scene in which the painful identification of Fedora Barbieri (Amneris) and the pure and passionate lyricism of Jussi Bjorling (Radames) blend into something forceful and unique, and the final duet in which Bjorling and Zinka Milanov reach incomparable sublime beauty. The tenor and soprano's paths had crossed for the first time in Prague, also in Aida, on March 14, 1938 (he sang in Swedish, she in Croatian), and curiously, that was their only joint performance …

2009 Jussi Bjorling Conference

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

There are some updates to our plans for the May 15-17, 2009 Conference, one of the most important of them is that we are now an official pre-festival part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. The Festival folks do a terrific job of publicity and promotion, and have more than 25 years of expertise in presenting the performing arts to the Charleston public.

In Memoriam: Hjordis Schymberg, Stefan Johansson

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Hjordis Schymberg, the soprano with whom Jussi Bjorling was most often paired at the Royal Opera, died on September 8th at the age of 99.

Record Review: Jussi Bjorling In Song Testament Sbt 1427, Greg Fitzmaurice

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

To my knowledge, this is the first release by Testament of a Bjorling album and it is to our good fortune that they've chosen the LP, RCA LM 1771, "Bjoerling in Song'; to base it on. For those not familiar with Testament, it is a company which obtains licenses from the original recording companies to release recordings that the original company has no plans for. As a result , Testament is allowed to use the original master tapes for the re- issue, which is important because that generally results in a recording superior to others which have had to rely …

Our Distant Correspondents: Per Backstrom Reports On Voxna 2008, Per Backstrom

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

It has now become an established tradition that the Scandinavian Jussi Bjorling Society arranges a two-day event in the middle of July, starting with a concert in Voxna church, in collaboration with the local parish, followed by a buffet at Voxna mansion. The evening ends with a talk by someone who sang with or at least knew Jussi, followed with listening to Jussi recordings, where the audience can make requests. The following day there can be a lecture and guided visits. As in the past, Stefan Olmars was the event organizer.

Phyllis Josell Meets Jbs-Usa Honorary Advisor Rolando Villazon, Phyllis Josell

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Rolando Villazon is internationally recognized as one of the leading lyric tenors of our day and has bee n acclaimed for performances at leading theaters across the world. I first heard him on February 3, 2005, when the Jussi Bjorling Society sponsored a "mini -conference" at the Los Angeles Opera's Chandler Pavilion : Rolando was due to sing Romeo that night to Anna Netrebko's Juliette, and administration officials at Placido Domingo's LA Opera had been very supportive of JBS's inquiry about our bringing a group of about 25 members to the performance. Not only we re we give n excellent …

Editors' Note

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

In this issue, you'll find an appreciation of Hjordis Schymberg who died recently at 99 and had so much to do with the professional life of Jussi Bjorling. The informative obituary note by Stefan Johansson, Head of Dramaturgy at the Royal Opera, is on p. 5.

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