JUSSI BJÖRLING/OPERATIC ARIAS ALP 1620 (-59) UK MONO

Never been an opera connoisseur or very interested in the genre, but this I couldn't resist. It brings back memories from my toddler days in the fifties when he was often played on radio and by my grandparents on a 78 rpm grammophone. I also remember the grave reactions when he passed away 1960, only 49 years old. He's frequently named as one of the greatest tenors ever and still today seen as a role model by upcoming opera singers. It has been said you must have heard him live to fully appreciate his timbre and power and that no recordings could do him justice. But they're all we got today and this is one released when he was still alive. For more details please check the very generous rear notes below. Audio a-ok for a fifies mono issue - rather dense, yet very warm and transparent enough to let the emotions sip through. I'm not conversant enough to make statements about any particular aria, but strangely captured by the voice...a message from over sixty years ago that we can still enjoy today. Fifties release also Downunder (HMV OALP 1620). Reissued on vinyl in a couple of other countries, not sure exactly when. US 18-track 1988 CD on EMI (CDH 7 61053 2). Premiere UK had label as shown here in a laminated flip/back cover with detailed opera house/artist inner.