A New Opera based on The Heart of Jussi Björling
This summer a new opera about Swedish tenor Jussi Björling will be premiered. It is based on journalist Yrsa Stenius’s book Tills vingen brister (2002), available in English translation as The Heart of Jussi Björling. The libretto is by Greta Sundberg. The music is composed by Mats Larsson
Gothe, who recently had a great success at Norrlandsoperan in Umeå with Blanche och Marie about Nobel Prize Winner Marie Curie and her assistant and friend, Blanche Wittman.
Jussi Björling died of heart failure at the age of 49 and after almost 45 years as a singer, having made his debut together with his father and his two brothers aged 4. They toured extensively in Sweden and the United States for ten years and appeared in more than 1000 performances. After the death of his father, Jussi Björling was able to study singing and made his operatic debut at the Royal Opera in Stockholm when he was 19. After successful guest appearances in Budapest and Vienna in the mid-1930s, he arrived at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he was one of the brightest shining stars for more than 20 years.
The opera is entitled Silverfågeln (Silver Bird) and it will be produced at the Concert barn in the Little village of Vattnäs, close to Mora in the province of Dalarna (Dalecarlia) in central Sweden. With 14 soloists and an orchestra of 18 musicians, the Concert barn, which seats an audience of 300, will be completely sold out. The premiere is scheduled for 10 July and Silverfågeln will be performed six times in total.
Göran Forsling
I have great memories of Jussi as a child our house was always filled with opera also Caruso. Today I am an opera lover forever thanks to my wonderful family.