Jussi Björling was born in 1911 in Sweden’s province of Dalarna. His father, a tenor, taught his three oldest sons, including Jussi, to sing, and together they formed the ‘Bjoerling Male Quartet’ and toured extensively in Sweden and the United States. In 1928 Jussi Björling left the band and entered the Stockholm Conservatory and at the age of nineteen made his Stockholm Royal Opera début. He then toured as a solo concert singer, singing in Swedish. In 1938 he made his successful Metropolitan Opera début as Rodolfo in La bohème. After the war his repertoire was reduced from fifty-five to twelve rôles, ten of which he had learned in Swedish. He left behind a vast body of recordings through which later generations can experience a voice of rare beauty, unmistakable timbre with a characteristic sadness, which could reach great dramatic intensity without resorting to non-musical effects.