Swedish opera singer
Jussi Björling (1911-1960) was one of the
most beloved tenors of the twentieth century. He made his Metropolitan Opera
debut in 1938 and went on to become one of the principal singers there during
the 1940s and 1950s. He sang many major tenor roles in operas in the French and
Italian repertoire, including Il trovatore, Rigoletto, Aida,
Pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana, La bohème, Madama
Butterfly and Manon Lescaut.
Gustavus Adolphus College has a strong
connection with Jussi Björling. At the age of nine Jussi Björling presented a
recital here. The prestigious Jussi
Björling Music Scholarship was named in his honor, he was awarded an honorary
doctorate by Gustavus and in 1970 Jussi
Björling Recital Hall in the
Fine Arts Building was dedicated. Three generations of Björlings are alumni of Gustavus. His son Anders Björling is also a retired comptroller of the College.
The Library recognizes Jussi Björling’s importance to the College
and we would like to highlight a collection we have of over 100 CDs and LPs with
performances by Jussi Björling, which have recently been
digitized and are easily accessible to anyone on campus. In our catalog search “All Fields” for Jussi Bjorling and
click on the link to listen.
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