DETAILED EXAMINATION OF THE VOCAL AND INTERPRETIVE ARTISTRY OF THE GREAT JUSSI BJÖRLING. A half century after his death in 1960, Swedish tenor Jussi Björling remains one of the most beloved singers in the world. He spent forty-five of his forty-nine years performing in public, rapidly conquering opera-house and concert stages on both sides of the Atlantic. Along the way, he left a vast recorded legacy that continues to enchant lovers of vocal music and inspire young singers. In this ground-breaking book, Stephen Hastings analyzes more than four hundred of the great tenor's recordings, comparing them with the output of a hundred other tenors, from Caruso to Alagna. The repertoire ranges from brief art songs by Schubert and Sibelius to entire opera recordings--some madein the studio, others captured live. What emerges is a richly layered portrait of this most musical of singers. As Hastings's comparisons demonstrate, Björling left his unique imprint on all the scores he sang, combining a perennial freshness of approach with the richly inflected phrasing made possible by a perfectly honed technique. Born in London and educated in Oxford, Stephen Hastings has been the Milan correspondent of _Opera News_since 1991 and editor in chief of the Italian monthly _Musica_ for the past twelve years.