Jussi Bjorling - Bizet: "The Pearl Fishers" Duet / Puccini & Verdi: Duets and Scenes
This disc is essential for Jussi Bjoerling fans--doesn't that include  almost everyone?--and for anyone who wants a distinctive sampling from  recorded opera's most eloquent age. Best are Bjoerling's duets with baritone  Robert Merrill--especially the classic "Au fond du temple saint" fromThe Pearl Fishers--and the scene with Renata Tebaldi, "Signore,  ascolta; non piangere, Liu," fromTurandot. Although the sound is  variable--and sometimes disappointingly, annoyingly glitch-ridden in these  recordings made between 1950 and 1959--the voice, the style, and the passion  of the inimitable Bjoerling more than make up for it.--David Vernier