I have this same recording on an LP and it is still to me the finest performance of this aria I have ever heard. The ping in Mr Björling's voice in the upper register is just incredible and his legato line is sublime! I love his use of light and shade and the delicate piano he achieves and then crescendo is stunning! BRAVISSIMO! How we could do with a tenor voice like this again today!
The LP I have is a mono one and if I remember correctly it was recorded around 1936 with his long time mentor and friend Maestro Nils Grevillius and I think possibly the Stockholm Opera Orchestra, but I stand to be corrected as this is all from memory and I don't think I've played that LP in 30 years!
Cielo e mar! l'etereo velo Splende come un santo altar. L'angiol mio verra dal cielo? L'angiol mio verra dal mare? Qui l'attendo; ardente spira Oggi il vento dell'amor. Ah! quell'uom che vi sospira Vi conquide, o sogni d'or! Nell'aura fonda Non appar nè suol nd monte. L'orizzonte bacia l'onda! L'onda bacia l'orizzonte! Qui nell'ombra, ov'io mi giacio Coll'anelito del cor, Vieni, o donna, vieni al bacio Della vita e dell'amor ... Ah! vien!
The man who could sing anything or everything, and did....Matchless I saw him as a teenage usher at SF Opera in 1950 It was a late season Sunday Matinee performance and the house was half empty. It was terrific...(Bjoerling/Albanese - Manon Lescaut
Hi Ray, I saw him as a teenager in the 50th at the Shrine Auditorium in LA when the SF Opera came to town for a few months I remember it like it was yesterday?
Who could compete with this man at his best? From the late thirties until his totally untimely death you would be hard pushed to count them on the FINGERS of one hand.
The best "cielo e mar" ever with all respect to Tuckers and Corelli's. Shicoff 1 is perfectly correct here as usual. But for the aria itself no one touches Bjorling here,...listen again how he builds power and intensity towards the end,....JUST AMAZING!
Come on you sad it your self that Bjoring can not be compared with Corelli. And its true Bjoring being a very beautifull and incredibly scilled ( he had to be as they cold him "piccolo Caruso" no one gets a nick name like this without reason). but with the emphasis on piccolo , Bjoring was a rather small voice, in comparison corelli had a huge voice .So it is much more easy to do some things wen your voice is lighter and smaller. And even so correlli is probably the most elastic of huge voices. Tucker on the other hand is a different matter. Tucker actually did had a huge voice,and so you can compare this two artists. I'm personnally a big fan o both Corelli & Tucker among others.
@SHICOFF1 I do not know the language, like Italian, but I feel that Corelli's pronunciation is different than others, I do not know why, but feel that JB and Tucker sang better or more precise language wise than Corelli. Also I am surprised at your saying of JB is a Better musician than C. Hope you can get more details on this. Appreciated,
@SHICOFF1 There comes Jonas Koffmamn, he is close to if not better looking, what do you think of this young guy's voice and style to compare to great Corelli?
