Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Some Memories Of Licia Albanese And Her Surprising Husband, Joe Gimma, James A. Drake

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Jim knew Licia and Joe Gimma well and offered to set down these remarks about their interactions for our JBS Journal and, in August 2014, for our JB Yahoogroup. (Dan Shea)

Licia Albanese and I spent a considerable amount of time together from 1977 until 2008, when she and I did an onstage interview here in Florida, at the Vero Beach Opera Company. Additionally, and just as importantly to me, I had the privilege of getting to know Joseph A. Gimma, whom she had married in 1945.

Remembering Irene Dalis, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The Met Auditions, Utah Festival Opera (Logan, Utah) and JBS-USA— each gave me a non-performing experience with Irene Dalis. The last time was July 2012 when she accepted the JBSUSA offer to become an Honorary Advisor of the Society.

The Jussi Björling Museum 20 Years: Borlänge And The Björling Memory, Harald Henrysson

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The idea of a Jussi Björling museum in Borlänge was put forward soon after his death in September 1960 by a local, culturally active merchant, Göte Åhsberg. Jussi himself had expressed the wish to preserve his childhood home at Magasinsgatan, which would later also prove to be the place of his birth, and had offered to give concerts for the purpose. Now the house was soon going to be pulled down due to large building projects, including expansion of the railway tracks. The first proposal was to move the house to the open-air museum Tunabygdens gammelgård, and install an exhibition …

June 3, 1935 – June 3, 2015: Celebrating The Björling 80th Wedding Anniversary, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The following information is condensed and quoted from Jussi by Anna-Lisa Björling and Andrew Farkas, pp. 76-78. We hope that reading this excerpt will motivate you to reread the complete account in that book. The engagement of Anna-Lisa Berg and Jussi Björling was prompted with a catalyst.

The couple held undeniable feelings for each other. And even though the subject of marriage had not been openly discussed, it was almost a given that they would one day marry.

Editor’S Comment, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

We welcome David Hill as a new member of The Board of Directors. We are so pleased to have David, ably supported by his wife Vivienne, work in the realm of Social Media. Located 900 miles north of Salt Lake City, we welcome David’s enthusiasm, commitment and Canadian fortitude. Thank you, David!

Front Matter

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Robert Tuggle On Jussi Björling, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Some of you may be aware of the Stefan Zucker book, Franco Corelli and a Revolution in Singing: Fifty-Four Tenors Spanning 200 Years (2015). Robert Tuggle was asked for some comments about Jussi Björling to be included in the book.

In January 2015 I approached Mr. Tuggle about doing a presentation on Kirsten Flagstad for the Salt Lake City JBS-USA Conference. He gave serious consideration to the possibility, which was urged on by another Honorary Advisor, and close colleague, Andrew Farkas. In the end, it simply did not work with his schedule. But he did share emails with me with …

Robert Tuggle, Andrew Farkas

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

There is no easy or gentle way to share tragic news. Our esteemed friend and honorary Advisory Board member, Bob Tuggle, has passed away on January 21st, 2016, of a massive heart attack while undergoing tests in the hospital.

Prayer For Thanksgiving, Donald J. Quinn Ii

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Life was music and music defined life for my father, Donald J. Quinn. My father developed his love for all things musical as a very young child singing in the St. Mary’s church choir in Greentop, Missouri. After serving in World War II, he studied voice at the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music where he became familiar with opera and the great singers of his time. He also studied Italian, French, and Spanish at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, which furthered his appreciation of his love for opera.

Lars Hemmingsson 1939–2015, Bengt Krantz

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Jussi Björling Society Chairman 1995 – 2004, afterwards Honorary President Lars Hemmingsson has died after a long and valiant fight with his illness. For me it was Lars, besides being a dear friend, who was one of the most significant representatives of the radio medium. All this magic that gave my childhood and youth, joy, hunger for knowledge and expectation.

Drake On Jussi, James Drake

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

One of the most important opera biographies of the decade. Making a case for Andrew Farkas’ JUSSI being one of the most important opera biographies—and certainly one of the most anticipated—of the decade is a rather easy task

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf And Jussi Björling— Oslo, June 2, 1955, Harald Henrysson, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

On 2 June 1955, at the Jordal Amfi arena in Oslo, Jussi Björling gave one of the more remarkable concerts of his career. It was remarkable for its size and for the fact that he sang for the only time with the German-born soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf under the baton of the American Dean Dixon, then principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony. Here Dixon conducted the Oslo Philharmonic in an event for the benefit of that orchestra’s pension fund. In the program, it was claimed to be “the biggest concert ever arranged in the Nordic countries,” and the public was estimated …

Broken-Winged Silver Bird —But It Flies On The Wings Of Music, Goran Forsling

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

It begins as it ends, Silver Bird, the opera about Jussi Björling, which was premiered in the Concert Barn in Vattnäs, Dalecarlia, Sweden, on 10 July. In other words, the ageing Jussi Björling is lying on his deathbed, looking back on his life, a not wholly unusual dramaturgical devise in literature, theatre and also opera. A fairly latter-day parallel is Leonardo Balada’s La Muerte de Colón (Death of Columbus) from 1992-1993. In a series of retrospective tableaux we follow Jussi from the endless touring of his childhood together with his father and his brothers, up to the unavoidable end. Th …

Jussi’S Reception In Italy: Past And Present, Tom Hines

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

For the most part, after becoming an international star, Jussi Björling fashioned his stage career around Italian opera (in addition to performances of Faust and Roméo et Juliette). Prior to the early forties, he had sung a wide variety of operatic roles, but primarily in Swedish. At only 25 years of age, Jussi undertook Aida and Pagliacci in Vienna under De Sabata, as well as an outstanding Faust (with Rethberg and Kipnis) sung in German and Swedish! Duly impressed, Victor De Sabata attempted to have Jussi perform in Rome but this couldn’t be arranged because of Björling’s prior engagements. Over …

To Utah In Time Of War: About The Beginning Of Jussi’S 1939/1940 Tour, Harald Henrysson

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

At the 2015 JBS-USA conference in Salt Lake City, material about Jussi Björling’s 1939 Provo concert, his first in Utah, was on display. Th at concert and its program may merit a special commentary, and this article will also deal a little more with the same tour. Before continuing, I would like to add that Jussi would sing only once more in Utah, in Ogden on 13 November 1945—not long after the start of his first US tour after WWII—and that there were plans, though never realized for unknown reason, for a concert in Salt Lake City on 19 February …

The Björling His Colleagues Knew, James A. Drake

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Having just heard Richard Tucker in the prime of his career, I think you’ll find it surprising to hear what he sounded like when he was 24 years old and had just learned his first opera aria. Let me describe how he learned that aria by re-telling the story as it was told to me by the pianist Alex Alexay, who was an accompanist for Eleanor Steber and Jan Peerce, among other singers:

Tonight, Jussi Björling……Today: A Response, Enrique Gilardoni

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Opera has today very little to do with what it was at the time of Jussi. Since its inception, opera was developed based on great singers who delighted audiences, and singing was all that mattered. Thanks to the invention of the gramophone it was possible to preserve and reproduce sounds, and of course, the human voice, so we can now listen to legendary singers of the past.

Jussi Björling—Recitalist: Out Front Alone, Duff Murphy

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Sound provokes emotion. We are alarmed at a car’s screeching brakes; calmed by a cat’s rhythmic purr. It’s difficult to determine whether these are intuitive or learned responses; yet to many the voice of an opera singer evokes alarm. Yet the amber tones of Jussi Björling’s warm embrace only alarms with its natural beauty.

Five Tenors In The Flower Song, Stephan Hastings

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Jussi Björling never took part in a complete performance of Bizet’s Carmen, either on stage or in the recording studio. Although in 1951 he was contracted to record the role of Don José for RCA under Fritz Reiner’s leadership, he realized he had insufficient time to learn the music and was replaced by Jan Peerce. All we have of his Don José is the flower song—“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”—which he performed frequently on the concert platform. Two studio recordings and twelve off-the-air recordings (including two videos) survive of him singing this aria. Björling performed a number of other …

Discovery Of The Jussi Björling Copenhagen Tape, John H. Haley

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

As Society members know by now, a new Society-sponsored CD is due out in the coming weeks that presents a recently discovered Jussi Björling live concert in Copenhagen on October 15, 1959, less than a year before Björling passed away from escalating heart trouble. I discovered this tape, which I own, and working together with Society members and expert audio restoration engineer Seth B. Winner, we put this project together, which is being released by JSP Records in London.

An Homage To Enrique Gilardoni (Celebrating His 80th Birthday), Bertil Bengtsson

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

For many years I’ve had a firm belief that one sure sign of Jussi Björling’s greatness as a performing artist is the ability to join together people from all walks of life, irrespective of ethnicity, political affiliation, religion or country. Over the more than 30 years that I’ve studied, researched and lectured about Jussi I’ve had the great pleasure of making friends with fellow “Jussicologists”, both in Sweden and abroad. Many of them have become very close friends. One of the most highly treasured friendships is the one I’ve established with the foremost Jussicologist in South America, Enrique Gilardoni, whom …

The History Of An Autographed Photo, Enrique Gilardoni

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

On that cold morning of February 23, Otniel Sobek woke with a strong idea in his mind. He had collected autographed photos of the main singers who appeared in the Vienna State Opera, but lacked the one of that young Swedish tenor that had already been presented there the year before singing Il trovatore, Aida and La bohème. Such was his success (despite he sang his roles in Swedish while the rest of the cast did it in German), that in 1937 he was again hired to sing nothing less than eight operas: La bohème, Il trovatore, Madama Butterfl y, …

Greetings From Your New President, Terry L. Williams

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

I wish you a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! By the time you read this we will be nearly two months into 2016.

Editor’S Comments, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

This Journal is the culmination of my two terms as President of JBS-USA. While I’m only beginning to become acquainted with you, I’m grateful for the chance and rewards of working with a dedicated Board of Directors, and immersing myself in the chronicle of Jussi Björling.

Front Matter

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Roberta Peters, 86, Sparkling Soprano Whose Fairytale Met Debut Led To A Five-Decade Career, Has Died, Ira Siff

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Roberta Peter’s overnight ascent to Met stardom at twenty combined with her uncommonly attractive face and form to suggest a sort of fairy-tale figure. But Peters’s early years were spent absorbed in arduous study, devoid of many of the diversions taken for granted by the average teenager. Although in later life the soprano spoke about tears shed under the pressure of trying to live up to the expectations of those who believed in her, she maintained that young people should be urged to fulfill their potential. It was, in fact, this seriousness of purpose and artistic integrity that carried Peters …

Jussi Björling’S Penultimate New York Recital, Ed Walter

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

I was at the March 7th Hunter College recital, as I was at every Björling New York recital from October 31, 1953 to his last. Th e highlight of that first recital was his singing of Lamento di Federico. His rendition of that aria stands out as one of the best I have ever heard from him or anyone else. Th e high note soared to the stratosphere. Th e live performance was even better than his recorded versions of that aria.

Ben Heppner In Utah, Walter B. Rudolph

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Not to become either a travelogue or a serialized column, but there is more to report about my 2016 experiences with our JBS Advisory Board Member, Ben Heppner. When last we talked . . . (July Newsletter 2016) I had met him in New York City. What I didn’t report was that he had indicated he was coming to Salt Lake City in July to visit his daughter and his new grandchild by that date. And, that he would call me.

In Jussi’S ”Sound Tracks”, Rodger Alderstrand

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

My first contact with Jussi Björling was as an 8-year-old, when my family visited my maternal grandmother on Sweden’s West coast. She had an EP recording of “O holy night,” and when it was playing, nobody was permitted to talk: “Quiet, Jussi is singing!” It wasn’t unusual for my grandmother to listen to him. I clearly couldn’t understand his singing’s quality to the fullest, but my grandmother’s admiration made a mark on me.

David Björling Becomes A Singer: Usa, Sweden And Vienna 1899-1908, Harald Henrysson

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

In all of its generations the singing Björling family has had close connections with the U.S. It was here it began —when David Björling got the education without which he might not have become a singer and thus Jussi, if he had been born, would have had quite a different future. Very little has been known about David’s first period in America, but this article, based on my presentation at the JBS-USA Salt Lake City conference, is an attempt to fill in that gap, as far as sources permit, and add something about his further education.