June Blog

One of the strong memories I have from the time I was about ten years old or so is that of being kept up one night because of a very loud conversation going on in the neighbourhood on a warm summer night. Today that wakeful night is a good conversation piece, but I remember bitterly whining the following day about the one VERY loud voice and the constant clinking of glasses.

I grew up in one of the prettiest parts of Stockholm, across from Skansen, in the little town of Djurgården (that you can read more about on page 17). One of our closest neighbours was Nadeshta Nilsson, the owner of the nearby Gröna Lund, and she always hosted a dinner on her terrace for Jussi Björling after his annual concert. It was his powerful voice that had kept me awake all that night.

Living so close to Gröna Lund meant putting up with quite a bit of noise during the summer when the tivoli was open, most of it not from such an eminent source as Jussi Björling. However we were amply compensated as residents of Djurgårdsstaden had a free pass to Gröna Lund. This was a great privilege especially when stars like Paul Anka and Ray Charles were performing.

I spent quite a lot of time at Gröna Lund during the rest of the year also thanks to Nadeshta Nilsson's grandchildren, "the wild brothers Lindgren" who attended the same school as me.

Jussi Björling, who died before he was 50, was one of the world's foremost tenors. And according to the widow of Enrico Caruso "the only one worthy of wearing his mantle". Jussi toured Swedish America already as a young boy with his father and three brothers to perform under the "Bjoerling Male Choir" banner. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1938 and toured extensively and triumphantly in Europe and North America for the next 22 years. Jussi Björling's appearances at opera houses in New York, Chicago and San Francisco were eagerly awaited each season. But he also crisscrossed the country to perform in concerts and recitals as well as on radio and later television.

One of the places he sang to sellout audiences was Vancouver. Fans here are in for a treat this midsummer when the Scandinavian Centre presents the Tribute to Jussi Björling concert featuring local tenor Richard Tyce who will sing many of the classics that Jussi Björling became so famous for (see page 31).

Despite his enormous popularity across three continents, Jussi remained a humble and simple man. On one of his visits to Vancouver he beat the Swedish Cultural Society president in arm wrestling and the Swedish Press editor in a “fingerkrok” locked-fingers tug of war. And that was quite an achievement, wrote a humiliated Matt Lindfors in Swedish Press, because there were very few who had managed to beat him at his game.

Have a nice Midsummer!

Anders

PS. If you ever wanted to find your lost cousin, rent out your cottage in Sweden or make money on your children’s forgotten Brio wooden toys, Swedish Press offers you a free classified ad on page 32. It’s one of the ways we celebrate our 80th!