Jussi Bjoerling - Greatest Hits

For fans of the great tenor Jussi Bjoerling this compilation is, if not a complete meal, a good selection of snacks and starters. There's 2 hours 35 minutes of mainly studio excerpts to savour, these include substantial extracts from some of Bjoerling's complete opera recordings, the superb Pearl Fishers duet with Robert Merrill, and plenty more, including a live Nessun Dorma (with piano). Sound quality is basically good for 1950s, however on several tracks Bjoerling's unique voice comes over with plenty of its characteristic metallic sound but little of its sweetness. I have no idea if this is due to the original recording or the transfers, only that it detracts from listening enjoyment at times. As a collection of excerpts and bits this set is very good but 'ultimate' suggests there's nothing better. For ultimate Jussi Bjoerling singing, I suggest using this set as a jumping off point to seek out and discover his opera performances - very satisfactory choices would be La Boheme in the studio with Victoria De Los Angeles (outstanding) or live from New York Metropolitan Opera 1948, and Romeo et Juliette also from New York 1947, in the Met broadcasts Bjoerling and Bidu Sayao are superb.Disclaimer: Please note this review is for Jussi Bjoerling Ultimate Collection, RCA Victor 2CDs. If it appears with another recording, Amazon's systems have incorrectly linked it.

This was bought as a gift , always happy to spread the word about Jussi Bjorling.

As a musician and singer i have always liked Jussi Bjorling I must say though the selection of tracks on the cd set gave nearly all my lifetime favourite songs. I have performed many and taught most of them over the years. It was a fantASTIC SURPRISE TO HEAR ONE l`ALBA SEPARA DALLA LUCE L`OMBRA, I never heard before what a superb rendering I went and bought the sheet music the next day and will perform it at my xmas concert this year and hope to put the track on my new cd to be released next year. Go and buy this set it is wonderful.

Jussi Bjorling was quite rightly welcomed as the genuine successor to Caruso although he perhaps failed to receive his deserved acclaim as possessing the most superb voice. It was his quintessential rendition of the duet from the Pearl Fishers with Robert Merrill which led me to collect his recordings. This CDcontains many examples of his unparalled musicality, mastery of nuance and emphasis and all the attributes of a truly legendery voice which will survive over very many years to come.

The clarity in his voice is fantastic .Great old recordings.

I love my classical music and have listened to all the great tenors of today and yesteryear. You can keep your Pavarottis, Russell Watsons and Mario Lanzas... Jussi Bjoerling is simply in a class of his own. The purity and clarity of his voice knocks everyone else into a cocked hat. The reproduction on this album is outstanding especially when you consider these songs were recorded in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Just buy it. You will not regret it.

I can't really comment on this cd as I bought it as a present. I do know though that Jussi was quite an intrepid chap who also happened to be a world-renowned tenor and who in his final year had a heart attack immediately before he performed in Covent Garden. What a guy! I'll have to buy this cd for myself now.

On paper, this should be a wonderful double cd. RCA, as well as EMI in their 'References series', own the original masters so should be able to produce perfect results, yet they manage to completely remove the unique quality of Bjorlings voice. This is not the singer I heard in 1952, indeed the original 78's are much nearer to the sound of his voice than anything on these cd's. I am sure that I can produce a much more faithful cd from my own 78's than anything on this set. Indeed,they do not even compare with the LP set from which many of the arias have been taken, 'The Golden Voice of Jussi Bjorling.' In particular, the songs recorded during an actual performance sound as if they were made through an ear trumpet with all its reverberations. No, I cannot recommend this cd to anyone who would like to listen to what one of the greatest tenors ever really sounded like.