By Spring of 1936, Jussi Björling had already made about seventy recordings for Swedish HMV’s Scandinavian X series, all in Swedish. They included opera and operetta recordings (available on Naxos 8.110722) and songs (many of which are to be found on Naxos 8.110740). The 23 arias and duets from 18 operas presented on this CD were all recorded in Stockholm between 1936 and 1944 at a time when Björling was in great demand on the European stage. Although his voice retained its unmistakable timbre, its beauty of tone from top to bottom and its characteristic freedom of delivery throughout his career, the opera recordings from the 1930s and 1940s, with their youthful bloom and purity of intonation remain classics of the gramophone.